In this article the authors describe how such an agile leadership team functions, how it differs from the conventional corporate-style executive committee and from other agile teams, and what agile means for senior executives’ day-to-day work lives.

The job of a conventional agile team is to create innovative solutions to a problem—be it the need for a new product or service, a better business process, or an advanced technology to support new offerings. The job of an agile leadership team is to strike the right balance between standardizing operations and pursuing innovation.

Most agile team members dedicate virtually all of their time to their agile roles, but that’s not possible for executives. They have to simultaneously build and run the agile enterprise operating system, oversee business units and functions, serve as mentors and decision makers, and handle the crises of the moment.