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Measuring Leadership

By Adam Zimman, Lee Barnett, Julia Harrison, Dean Leffingwell, Christof Leng, Steve Mayner, Tamara Skye

The Impact of Informal Leaders in a Modern DevOps Organization

Who are your leaders? The answer to this question used to be obvious. Leaders were the individuals responsible for managing people. Often they were celebrated for being stern, appropriately distant, and swiftly decisive. The ability to command every situation with the deftness and authority of a silverback gorilla was a prize to attain. We are happy to share, those days are long gone.

Leadership in the twenty-first century has taken a turn for the better—a turn toward people. With this change, there is an increase in the prevalence and impact of informal leaders. These individuals are followed for their empathy and ability to empower others, rather than their title or placement on an org chart.

As more and more well-established companies find themselves undergoing transformation activities, it is critical that they also undertake a leadership revision.

“Interesting, but why?” you may ask. The answer is simple: leadership styles foster culture, which will facilitate the adoption and sustainability of whatever your “new” is. As such, whether your transformation activities are focused on DevOps/Agility/Lean development, new customer-interaction channels, or something else entirely, the cultures (both macro and micro) your organizations are made up of will enhance or detract from your transformation. Taking a proactive approach will guide leadership behavior and a culture shift in a way that adds value rather than detracts.

  • Publication Date September 27, 2022
  • Pages 10

Features

  • Leadership Foster Culture

    This paper shows that leadership styles foster culture, which facilitates the adoption and sustainability of whatever your “new” is.

  • Expert Authors

    This paper is written by experienced leaders who have led their own successful leadership transformations within large enterprise organizations.

  • All Levels

    Change Agents can come from anywhere on the org chart. This paper directly provides guidance on how to lead change no matter your role or title.

  • Clear Tactics

    Taking a proactive approach will guide leadership behavior and a culture shift in a way that adds value rather than detracts.

About the Resource

Who are your leaders? The answer to this question used to be obvious. Leaders were the individuals responsible for managing people. Often they were celebrated for being stern, appropriately distant, and swiftly decisive. The ability to command every situation with the deftness and authority of a silverback gorilla was a prize to attain. We are happy to share, those days are long gone.

Leadership in the twenty-first century has taken a turn for the better—a turn toward people. With this change, there is an increase in the prevalence and impact of informal leaders. These individuals are followed for their empathy and ability to empower others, rather than their title or placement on an org chart.

As more and more well-established companies find themselves undergoing transformation activities, it is critical that they also undertake a leadership revision.

“Interesting, but why?” you may ask. The answer is simple: leadership styles foster culture, which will facilitate the adoption and sustainability of whatever your “new” is. As such, whether your transformation activities are focused on DevOps/Agility/Lean development, new customer-interaction channels, or something else entirely, the cultures (both macro and micro) your organizations are made up of will enhance or detract from your transformation. Taking a proactive approach will guide leadership behavior and a culture shift in a way that adds value rather than detracts.

Adam Zimman
Lee Barnett
Julia Harrison
Dean Leffingwell
Christof Leng
Steve Mayner
Tamara Skye
Adam Zimman

Adam Zimman

Adam Zimman is a VC advisor providing guidance on leadership, platform architecture, product marketing, and GTM strategy. He has over twenty years of experience working in a variety of roles from software engineering to technical sales. He has worked in both enterprise and consumer companies such as VMware, EMC, GitHub, and LaunchDarkly. Zimman is driven by a passion for inclusive leadership and solving problems with technology. His perspective has been shaped by a degree (AB) from Bowdoin College with a dual-focus in physics and visual art, an ongoing adventure as a husband and father, and a childhood career as a fire juggler.

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Lee Barnett

Lee Barnett

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Julia Harrison

Julia Harrison

Digital product leader, occasional agile product coach and public speaker. Creating the conditions for teams to do their best work and deliver great outcomes.

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Dean Leffingwell

Dean Leffingwell

Cofounder and Chief Methodologist at Scaled Agile, Inc.

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Christof Leng

Christof Leng

SRE Engagements Product Area Lead at Google

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Steve Mayner

Steve Mayner

SAFe Fellow and Principal Consultant at Scaled Agile, Inc.

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Tamara Skye

Tamara Skye

Tamara Skye, founder of Center Gravity, is a peak-performance coach, strategy consultant, and leadership development expert, who partners with C-Suites, Boards, and upper management to achieve extraordinary, lasting results. Tamara’s prior experience includes serving as a Fortune 25+ executive. While working in corporate roles, her organizations consistently achieved outstanding, impactful, and measurable results in transformative enterprise initiatives, while working within highly regulated environments. Many of the large-scale initiatives included a need for wide-spread learning of new skills as a critical component for lasting success. A strong personal interest in integrative and behavioral psychology and the deeper aspects of emotional intelligence, as they pertain to leadership, led her to current work; helping existing leaders elevate their game, grow their impact, and achieve their fullest potential, while also facilitating sessions for aspiring leaders as they seek to unlock their potential and lay a strong foundation for leadership. Skye has an irrevocable belief: the goal of leadership is to successfully connect with and maximize the results of others consistently - advocating for their learning is the key. Learn more at centergravityleadership.com.

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