I ran into an old frolleague yesterday. That’s a friend who is a colleague. We had a great chat about our team whom I taught agile, scrum and lean startup too a few years ago. They are still together using the frameworks we put in place. I was proud and admired them at the same time. We got on to chatting why some teams do great and some don’t using agile frameworks. One of my first teams still work together to this day after 9 years, and changing multiple businesses. Other teams have been disintegrated - not necessarily because of the people but because of the ecosystems around them corroded all the good they’d establish. My frolleague then asked me how was I able to help teams do so well and to continue building great teams as a leader despite the complexities of business, markets etc. 

I keep it simple; at the core as an Agile Business Leader I focus on

• People - who are we and how can we amplify our culture

• Product - why are we together and how can we satisfy our customers

• Practices - how do we make it happen and always progress how we make it happen

• Performance - what’s our impact and are we making a difference?

And to complement that core approach I’m constantly cultivating;

• Strategy - planning through to accountability

• Systems - structures, environments and support mechanisms

Personally I’m always actively being shrewd, applying common sense and good judgement. The above framework for Agile Business Leadership is like a keel on a sail boat. It keeps me steady, focused and supportive regardless of the corporate storm around me. As a leader, go through your actions - where’s your focus?