5 Attributes Of An Agile Workforce

The concept of agile teams and workforces has been a common theme over the last few years, with businesses forced to adapt to unprecedented times. This agile approach has allowed lots of teams to flourish at a time when many have struggled.

There are many positive attributes associated with agile teams, including a strong element of flexibility, a heavy team focus and detail-orientated methods of working. In addition to these factors, they’re results and trend-driven, meaning they mmm high and maintain an awareness of their sector in order to achieve the best possible results.

We’ll discuss each of these key attributes in more detail below, but first – what is the definition of an agile workforce exactly?

What is an agile workforce?

Agile workforces can be defined as adaptable and fast-reacting teams that are constantly developing with the times. They’re teams who are on the same page as one another, with team members actively sharing responsibility and taking on an approach of self-management that allows them to continuously improve performance. These teams have a shared goal of pursuing the best possible outcome in all situations and are willing to go above and beyond in order to do this.

The opposite of an agile workforce would be a company that is rigid and firm in its beliefs, favouring traditional ways of doing things. This type of company is slow off the mark when it comes to exploring new avenues and may be heavily orientated around top-down management, therefore giving teams less autonomy and chance to develop.

An agile workforce recognises that they must be proactive and innovative, whereas a rigid workforce sticks to what they know. Essentially, the agile methodology relies on team members seeking and having the freedom to constantly develop, whilst applying many different flexible attributes to their work.

5 features of an agile workforce

They’re flexible

It goes without saying that agile teams are adaptable, taking in any scenario in their stride. They often operate with a proactive stance, meaning they can anticipate scenarios and react before they even take place.

This agile approach leaves these teams in good stead for when the inevitable unexpected circumstances arise. In keeping an adaptable mindset, an agile workforce maintains a healthy balance of perspectives and is able to manoeuvre in any direction as and when issues arise.

Additionally, they can often see scenarios from an aerial view, which gives them the added benefit of a balanced perspective, along with excellent foresight.

They’re team aligned

Agile workforces tend to be especially strong when it comes to their team skills. They recognise that their colleagues’ unification is the key to improved performance. Agile teams have a deep mutual respect for their team members, which helps to create a strong culture of skill sharing.

This form of mutual development can even be classified as an organisation operating with a coaching culture, meaning that employees are in a constant state of development by nurturing one another’s skills and strengths. When teams collaborate in order to improve the overall level of work, the results are often inspiring.

They aim high

Agile workforces are consistently aiming for the best results, in a confident and self-assured manner. They’re enthusiastic, results-driven and are constantly on the lookout for ways to develop, so that they can achieve even better results.

This type of team work in unity together to achieve what’s best for one another. Collectively as a group of people, they strive to lift up their colleagues as they know this will result in a stronger performance, which is their ultimate goal. Prioritising their personal development means they are constantly evolving and learning, taking an agile approach to achieving targets.

They’re trend-driven

Another key attribute of agile employees is that they’re aware of the fluidity of trends and seek to maintain the latest knowledge on their industry. Teams that stay on top of industry trends and new technologies are naturally more agile than rigid companies (that rely on outdated technology, with a mindset of doing what they know best).

Agile teams recognise that to continuously improve, they need to be on the lookout for new technologies and trends in their sector. This key attribute is just another factor that makes agile teams stand out from the crowd.

Achieve agile teams with a business coach or mentor

Building an agile team is all about developing the above skill sets; these are all areas that can be cultivated through offering your workforce learning and development schemes.

If your business is ready for its agile transformation, one of the easiest ways to develop agility is by working with a dedicated coach or mentor. Wiseup is home to over 100 business experts who cover a diverse range of specialisms, meaning however niche your business is, we have the expertise to help develop your teams.

Offering tailored programmes means every solution is uniquely suited to your business, so your teams are given all the right tools to develop into an agile workforce.

Learn more about our tailored business mentoring programmes by speaking with a member of our team here.

About Wiseup

Pairing experts with scaling businesses, our industry leaders have delivered strong results to a number of organisations, helping to create an agile framework. With a host of talent and expertise at our fingertips, we help startups, SMEs and scale-ups in a number of key areas.

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