THE AGILE MANAGER’S

HANDBOOK
HOW TO BECOME AN EFFECTIVE AGILE LEADER
INTRODUCTION

What does being an “Agile manager” mean to you?

Depending on your management style – otherwise known as the unique

blend of who you are and how you lead – being an Agile manager could
mean many things.

Maybe it means leading change. Setting strategy. Or helping teams work

more efficiently. It could also mean stepping back from the everyday
details. Letting go of perfectionism. Or pushing out of your comfort zone.

Whatever being Agile means to you, there’s one thing it means to every
manager: Learning how to lead differently.

You may have a lot to learn – and you may have a lot to unlearn. You may
feel energized, hesitant, or maybe even a little overwhelmed. Wherever
you are on your journey, you’re not alone.

Many managers have been exactly where you are, and many more will
follow in your footsteps.

In fact, industry analysts report that the pace of Agile adoption shows no
signs of slowing down, meaning that more managers will be making the
leap to Agile in the coming months and years.

Agile is more than a rising trend: It’s a sought-after way of working that’s
being adopted across the business – and at all levels of the organization.

THE AGILE MANAGER’S HANDBOOK

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THE AGILE MANAGER’S HANDBOOK

What you’re about to read is a handbook for managers who are new to
Agile. It will help you learn the basics of Agile leadership, including:

• How Agile can benefit your growth as a leader

• Five core skills shared by all Agile managers

• Guidance in choosing the right Agile framework for your team

• Challenges you’ll face and how to navigate them

• A brief introduction to Agile and its benefits

In short, you’ll learn how to think, manage, and solve problems like an
Agile leader.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

THE AGILE MANAGER’S HANDBOOK

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

BEING AN AGILE MANAGER: WHAT’S IN IT 5

FOR YOU?

WHAT IS AGILE? 8

11 AGILE TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW 10

MOST COMMON AGILE FRAMEWORKS 13

TYPICAL GOALS FOR AGILE TEAMS AND 15

ORGANIZATIONS

WHAT CHALLENGES WILL YOU FACE? 17

5 ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR AGILE MANAGERS 20

CONTINUING YOUR AGILE JOURNEY 24

AGILE RESOURCES 26

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PAGE 4
CHAPTER 1

BEING AN AGILE
MANAGER: WHAT’S IN IT
FOR YOU?
Expand your leadership skills
You’ll build the skills you need to be a servant leader for your team, like
how to empower your team, how to enable them to identify and ask for
the resources they need, and when to leverage your knowledge and
visibility across functions to do what’s best for the business.

Lead change
As a manager, you’re the true lynchpin of an Agile, digital, or Lean
transformation initiative. Your leadership creates the environment that
accelerates growth and enables change.

Set the strategy

You belong to a group of peers and executives that meet regularly to
assess and adapt the strategic direction of the business.

Be free from the everyday details

You’re elevated within the business to play a more strategic, and less
tactical, role. This means your team is responsible for the everyday details,
freeing you to focus on higher-level analysis, measurement, and decisions.

Broaden your understanding of the business

Cross-functional Agile teams allow managers to spend more time
collaborating with members from various disciplines, broadening your
organizational knowledge and relationships.

Have a greater understanding of customer needs

Iterative planning, MVPs, tighter feedback loops – those and other tools
anchor your planning and execution in Agile. They help you understand
and quickly respond to the evolving needs of external customers (your
buyers) and internal customers (your stakeholders).

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CHAPTER 1: BEING AN AGILE MANAGER: WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? | PAGE 6
Make better decisions
Collaborating with customers, stakeholders, and interdisciplinary teams
exposes you to different perspectives and goals, which helps you make
better decisions.

Have room to experiment with new ideas

Agile enhances flexibility and adaptability. Iterative work with short
feedback loops allows you to quickly test new ideas, products, or services,
while giving you a framework for applying what you’ve learned to make
the next round an ever better fit for your customer.

Coaching and mentoring opportunities

As an extension of your role as a servant leader, managing an Agile team
also means mentoring and coaching – not only helping them work at their
best, but also supporting their career development.

Help teams work more efficiently

One of your key responsibilities is identifying and removing barriers – e.g.,
miscommunications, inefficient processes, and wait time – so your team
can complete work more efficiently.

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CHAPTER 1: BEING AN AGILE MANAGER: WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU? | PAGE 7
CHAPTER 2

WHAT IS AGILE?
Agile is a set of principles that guide teams in planning and executing
their work incrementally and iteratively. Originally used by software
developers – and primarily championed by startups and tech companies –
Agile began to gain mainstream popularity over the last decade.

These days, Agile isn’t confined to software development and high-

tech meccas like Silicon Valley. It’s deployed across departments, as well
as industries, to improve:

• Adaptability

• Alignment

• Product quality

• Customer satisfaction

• Time to market

Under the umbrella of Agile guidance, there are several different

methodologies, a formal Agile Manifesto, and even approaches such as
the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) for growing the use of Agile up and
out across an organization.

But there’s more to becoming an effective Agile manager than simply

following guidelines. Agile is just as much of a culture as it is an
approach to work management, and becoming a good Agile leader
starts with you.

Developing an Agile mindset that prioritizes respect, collaboration,

accountability, and continuous improvement will help ensure your success
as an Agile manager.

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CHAPTER 3

11 AGILE TERMS YOU

SHOULD KNOW
Agile isn’t just a work management approach – it’s a culture, with its own
terminology and practices. Here are 11 Agile terms you need to know.

Agile Program Management

A flexible approach to planning, coordinating, and executing interrelated
features, stories, and tasks that prioritizes value delivery across one or
more value streams.

Backlog
A dynamic list of deliverables based on the customer’s needs and
expectations. Work in the backlog is prioritized and delivered by Agile
teams.

Functional/Guild Manager
Functional managers control departmental resources and teams. Guild
managers oversee interdisciplinary groups with shared interests.

Kanban
A visual management framework that uses boards and cards for planning,
tracking, and completing work, as well as to fuel continuous improvement
efforts.

Program Increment (PI) Planning

Scheduled events for planning all upcoming work to increase alignment,
mitigate risks, and pause/persist/pivot programs where necessary, as
a team of teams. Can be known as other terms, such as “Big Room
Planning.”

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CHAPTER 3: 11 AGILE TERMS YOU SHOULD KNOW | PAGE 11
Product Owner
A core role on an Agile team who’s responsible for tasks like prioritizing
the backlog, defining stories, and being a liaison between the team and
other product owners or executives.

Retrospective
A meeting held at the conclusion of a significant event; e.g., the end of a
PI period or project or when issues arise, to discuss what went well with
the process, what didn’t, and how it can be improved.

Scrum
A subset of Agile with its own process framework for how work is identified
and completed. Under Scrum, work is broken up into short cycles known
as sprints.

Scrum Master/Team Coach

Leaders who ensure teams are staying true to their Agile working
agreements and meeting cadences, while helping the team further their
Agile practice.

Scrumban
A versatile Kanban-Scrum hybrid that combines the structure of Scrum
with the flow-based delivery model and tools of the Kanban Method.

Standup
A regular team sync – typically no more than 15 minutes – where team
members stand, rather than sit, to encourage brevity and surfacing/solving
problems that are preventing the team from completing work, rather than
a status update.

Read this article to learn other key Agile terms.

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CHAPTER 4

MOST COMMON AGILE

FRAMEWORKS
 KANBAN
Best for ... projects with widely
varying priorities.
Roles and There are no pre-defined
responsibilities roles for a team. Although
there may still be a Project
Manager, the team is
encouraged to collaborate
and chip in when any
one person becomes
overwhelmed.
Due dates/ Products and processes are
Delivery delivered continuously on
timelines an as-needed basis (with
due dates determined by
the business as needed).
Delegation Uses a “pull system,” or a
and systematic workflow that
Prioritization allows team members
to only “pull” new tasks
once the previous task is
complete.
Modifications/ Allows for changes to
Changes be made mid-stream,
allowing for iterations and
continuous improvement
prior to completion.
Measurement Measures production using
of Productivity “cycle time,” or the amount
of time it takes to complete
one full piece of a project
from beginning to end, with
the goal being a steady flow
of work.
SCRUM
... teams with stable
priorities that may not
change as much over time.
Each team member
has a predefined role,
where the Scrum master
dictates timelines, Product
owner defines goals and
objectives, and team
members execute the work.
Deliverables are determined
by sprints, or set periods of
time in which a set of work
must be completed and
ready for review.
Also uses a “pull system”
however an entire batch is
pulled for each sprint.
Changes during the sprint
are strongly discouraged.
Measures production using
velocity through sprints.
Each sprint is laid out back-
to-back and/or concurrently
so that each additional
sprint relies on the success
of the one before it.
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CHAPTER 4: MOST COMMON AGILE FRAMEWORKS | PAGE 14
SCRUMBAN
... teams looking for Scrum’s
structure and the added
flexibility of Kanban. This
makes it a great starting
point for teams transitioning
to Agile or teams moving
from Scrum to Kanban.
No pre-defined roles for
a team, but Scrum roles
are useful. Teams tend to
be interdisciplinary, with
every member bringing
in their own skills and
responsibilities.
Due dates are used under
Scrumban, but teams aren’t
locked into sprints like
Scrum teams.
Uses a “pull system” hybrid.
Can set the amount pulled
during a sprint. Work is
prioritized on demand,
based on capacity. Teams
get the optimal tasks to
work on during a sprint – no
more, no less.
Similar to Kanban. Changes
are encouraged to keep
up with changes that could
affect your product.
Production is commonly
measured using “cycle
time” rather than burndown.
CHAPTER 5

TYPICAL GOALS FOR

AGILE TEAMS AND
ORGANIZATIONS
Gain alignment between strategy and outcomes
Agile stresses the importance of alignment between strategic priorities
and business outcomes. Short-term planning and fewer low-priority
distractions allow you to focus on work that brings the most value to
customers and stakeholders and gives you the ability to iterate and
continuously improve.

Break down silos

Embracing the concept of using cross-functional teams will help you to
break down departmental silos that hinder work delivery. The benefits of
breaking down these silos include fewer delayed handoffs, better on-time
work completion, and improved collaboration between business functions.

Improve time-to-market
During planning sessions, your team has a process for rigorously
identifying and not committing to low-value work so you can prioritize
and deliver high-value work first. You also have the rhythm of continuous
improvement to make changes to your process as you go, to improve
efficiency and the pace of work delivery.

Respond to market changes, new competition, or customer needs

By testing the MVP of a new idea, product, or service over a short
iteration, you can gauge customer expectations and market changes
quickly and effectively. This gives you the information you need to
routinely decide whether to pause, pivot, or persist where it makes sense
for the business.

Improve morale and engagement

By empowering teams to be self-organized and proactive in planning and
executing work, you will boost team member morale and encourage more
engagement among team members and with other functional groups.

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CHAPTER 5: TYPICAL GOALS FOR AGILE TEAMS AND ORGANIZATIONS | PAGE 16
CHAPTER 6

WHAT CHALLENGES WILL

YOU FACE?
Letting go of the details
Shifting your mindset from control to trust is a necessary journey for all
Agile managers and organizations. When you’re tempted to step in and
direct how work gets done, try applying the core elements of servant
leadership and lean on your teams.

Embracing different approaches

In Agile, teams need the autonomy to figure out which approaches will
best meet the needs of the business. If you’re struggling, remember this
guidance: “I am responsible for communicating the why behind the
work. My team is responsible for deciding how the work gets done.”

Saying “I don’t know”

When you were in every meeting and making tactical decisions for
your team, you may have had all the answers when you were asked for
information. Now that you play a more strategic role for the business –
and your team has autonomy over the details – you’re not as close to the
everyday work. You’ll be saying “I don’t know” more frequently, but you’ll
be able to leverage your team for answers.

Reframing failure
Failure isn’t normally a sought-after experience, but Agile offers a different
approach. Continuous improvement is a core tenant of Agile, and part of
improving is learning from mistakes. Instead of fearing failure, use it as a
learning experience to help you know where to adjust and adapt.

Everyone is learning
The process of reflecting on and learning from your mistakes is part of the
Agile DNA. Every mistake is an opportunity for you to learn how to be a
better servant leader – and for teams to learn how to build better products
and services.

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CHAPTER 6: WHAT CHALLENGES WILL YOU FACE? | PAGE 18
Everyone is unlearning
Not only are you and your teams learning how to become Agile, but
you’re also unlearning practices that undermine agility. Understand that
unlearning is also a process that takes time, and be patient as you and
your teams work to adopt an Agile mindset.

Vulnerability with visibility

Everyone, from new managers to those with years of experience, feels
the discomfort of vulnerability when switching to Agile – especially if you
aren’t used to giving stakeholders visibility into your planned and ongoing
work. Remember that visibility isn’t meant to be a judge’s gavel, but a
new lens for understanding capacity, resolving bottlenecks, improving
communication, and much more.

Getting out of your comfort zone

For many managers, becoming an Agile manager can feel like exploring
uncharted territory. You’ll be learning new skills, trying new approaches,
and shifting responsibilities from you to your team. Support yourself by
reaching out to Agile coaches or other managers at your company, who
are going through the same transition. Meet up to discuss challenges and
wins.

MVP > Perfect

French writer Voltaire said, “The best is the enemy of good.” You want
your deliverables to be perfect, but the process of chasing perfection
often spirals into delivery delays and other negative effects. Instead, aim
for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) – an Agile approach that quickly
produces a satisfactory first release that is continuously updated and
improved over time, based on customer feedback.

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CHAPTER 6: WHAT CHALLENGES WILL YOU FACE? | PAGE 19
CHAPTER 7

5 ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR

AGILE MANAGERS
1. Adopting servant leadership
Agile managers are often referred to as “servant leaders” because their
job is to support Agile teams, rather than direct them.

This shift to servant leadership can be difficult, but it’s necessary for
becoming an effective Agile manager. As a servant leader, your role is
to guide your team through the Agile journey. You trust team members
to make their own decisions about planning and executing work, while
you provide the necessary resources, skills, and guidance they need to
complete their work.

Action
In your team meetings, listen for obstacles that hinder work completion,
and facilitate brainstorming creative solutions. Allow team members
to voice their concerns. Be the voice that asks, “How can I help?” and
“How can we solve this problem?” or “What resources do you need to be
successful?” before offering your opinion of what to do next.

2. Mentoring teams
Accountability is an important element of Agile. Teams need to take
pride in their work and be accountable for their triumphs and setbacks.

Mentoring allows you to stress the importance of ownership and

responsibility. You can use this opportunity to show teams the value of
their work and how it fits in the bigger picture, in addition to helping
teams solve problems and reach goals while following the Agile
framework.

Action
Rather than directing what work should be done or how it should be
accomplished, ask probing questions to help team members make better
decisions, enabling them to maintain ownership of and accountability for
their work. Instead of leading with direction, i.e., “We are going to do x,”
lead with curiosity: “Did you think about x?”

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CHAPTER 7: 5 ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR AGILE MANAGERS | PAGE 21
3. Prioritizing skill development
Continuous improvement is an important part of being Agile. And to
continuously improve, teams should be constantly developing their skills.

It’s the Agile leader’s responsibility to facilitate skill development, and one
way to do that is by creating a culture that encourages teams to grow.
Give teams the space to experiment and try new ideas as they learn how
to make Agile work for them. Don’t solve every problem for your teams.
Give them a chance to tackle problems, but know when to step in, if
needed.

Action
Create a skills matrix with your team that helps to identify their strengths
and areas for improvement and focuses on what level of interest each
team member has for specific types of work, as well as for cross-training
team members in skills where they are particularly competent.

4. Focusing on strategy and outcomes

You may have to resist the urge to plan and manage work at the granular
level, because that’s not your role anymore.

As an Agile leader, your role is to support teams, make Agile a

sustainable solution, and look at the bigger picture. Don’t worry about
the small details. Instead, focus on the strategy and outcomes. Work with
the leadership team to define what’s best for the business, set the goals,
and let your teams take care of the rest.

Action
Keep your focus on high-level initiatives and priorities, allowing team
members to manage their day-to-day work with guidance. Measure the
results of team efforts on a monthly basis and take any necessary steps
to improve processes. Make sure to communicate risks, successes, and
learnings to stakeholders and other functional groups to ensure strategic
alignment.

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CHAPTER 7: 5 ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR AGILE MANAGERS | PAGE 22
5. Strengthening stakeholder relationships
Maintaining alignment between your teams and stakeholders is
important for success. For this to happen, you must manage stakeholder
expectations from the outset. Keep stakeholders involved and have an
open channel of communication during every step.

Action
Form a delivery steering committee of managers and stakeholders from
multiple business functions that meets weekly to provide guidance and
ensure that work is aligned to strategic objectives.

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CHAPTER 7: 5 ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR AGILE MANAGERS | PAGE 23
CHAPTER 8

CONTINUING YOUR
AGILE JOURNEY
Ultimately, being an effective Agile leader starts with your mindset.
Embracing the idea of being a servant leader and giving your teams more
autonomy will not happen overnight, but the benefits to your team and
organization will be immense, as your teams begin to deliver more high-
value work and continuously improve your process to greater efficiency.

Whether you want to coordinate and facilitate Program Increment (PI)

or Quarterly planning, launch and manage teams of teams or Agile
Release Trains (ARTs), and/or connect and consolidate disparate Agile
teams, Planview’s Agile Program Management solution brings everything
together inside highly configurable program boards.

Give your Agile teams a way to visualize, plan, coordinate, and deliver your
organization’s biggest initiatives quickly, effectively, and with clear insight
into the value delivered.

Learn more about the Planview solution for

Agile Program Management and watch a product demo.

“We are using Planview LeanKit to scale Agile across our

organization. LeanKit makes it easy for change to happen,
and that’s a permanent and sustainable change.”

Paul Hickman
Senior Business Analyst at NatWest

Read case study

See for yourself what you can do with Planview LeanKit.

Try Planview LeanKit free for 30 days

THE AGILE MANAGER’S HANDBOOK

CHAPTER 9: CONTINUING YOUR AGILE JOURNEY | PAGE 25
CHAPTER 9

AGILE RESOURCES
LEARNING AGILE

Agile Best Practices for More Effective Teams

Learn the six valuable people skills you need for successful Agile teams.

SCALING AGILE

The 7 Must-Haves for Achieving Scaling Agile Success

Get the must-haves and pro tips for scaling Agile.

AGILE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

What is Agile Program Management?

Learn what Agile program management is and the benefits it offers.

ENTERPRISE AGILE PLANNING

Program Increment Planning (PI Planning)

Explore PI Planning, its importance to SAFe® development, and some of
the challenges of PI planning with multi-locational teams.

LEARNING KANBAN

Kanban 101
Learn what Kanban is, the many benefits it offers teams, and the four core
elements of Kanban you need to know.

Stop Flying Blind

Learn how Kanban can unlock visibility, optimization, and collaboration for
every team across the company.

Kanban Roadmap
Use these team activities and pro tips for managers to go from mapping
your process to continuous improvement in 5 easy steps.

7 Principles of Smart Kanban Board Design

Use these 7 principles to design a Kanban board that accurately reflects
your team’s current process.

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CHAPTER 8: THE VIRTUAL LIBRARY ON AGILE | PAGE 27
SELECTING SOFTWARE

Complete Agile Software Buyer’s Guide

Learn the criteria for Team, Program, and Portfolio Level Solutions.

Online Kanban Software Buyer’s Guide

Use these interactive worksheets and curated best practices to help you
choose the right solution.

MENTORING

The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More, and Change the Way You Lead
Forever
Learn the seven questions and the tools you need to make mentoring an
everyday habit.

THE AGILE MANAGER’S HANDBOOK

CHAPTER 8: THE VIRTUAL LIBRARY ON AGILE | PAGE 28
 About Planview
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customers and 1 million users. The company drives the industry via
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adaptable entity that not only survives, but thrives.

Learn more at Planview.com.

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