• Agile Leadership

Joost van Droffelaar on daring, doing and 3 game changers

“Suddenly my team proved much more capable of adapting quickly to changing priorities and requirements,” Joost reflects on his very first experience with the benefits of Agile working. He grabbed that first during his time as a team manager at AkzoNobel. Here, Joost himself advocates the introduction of Agile and Scrum, partly because his team of 18 members works all over the world. “As a team manager, how do I make sure we work together in an efficient, productive and fun way?” is the question he asks himself. For the answer to that question, he lands on the Agile philosophy and Scrum framework. With results, “Communication and cooperation between team members also increased. That in turn led to a greater sense of ownership and responsibility for the projects’ successes.” The Agile fire was lit.

‘A better atmosphere is created in the team, which leads to high-quality results and that in turn leads to more satisfied customers’

Out of the Agile box

In the years that followed, Joost immersed himself more and more in Agile working, preferring to learn by applying it in real scenarios. Because: “A training course, workshop or kickstart is only the beginning. After that, working Agile is also just a matter of daring and doing.” Practice what you preach is a fitting statement here, because Joost himself gains experience in different branches of sport. Think of sales, marketing, finance, IT, HR and procurement. That results in a mountain of Agile experience outside the more obvious areas.

‘Are you wondering if Agile working is possible at your company or within your team? Do you doubt whether it is valuable in your field? I can help you with that perfectly’

Transformation & Change Management

The journey continues. Joost spreads his wings and starts working on transformation programs at the larger multinationals. There he further specializes in organizational structure, team dynamics, leadership and business processes. “That experience within multinationals gave me a good perspective on what the impact of change is on an organization and its teams,” Joost summarizes. That summary sparked a new fire several years later: “In the last few years I started to study change in particular. For that, among other things, I took the academic post-master in Change Management.”

Authentic leadership

A subject that Joost has been dealing with much earlier (something to do with a ladle) is authentic leadership. Spurred on by his father Boy van Droffelaar, who will receive his PhD from Wageningen University & Research in 2020 in the field of natural leadership, the young Droffelaar is also developing in this area. The common ground between Agile and leadership? “The same as in Agile, new leadership requires a mindset change. Authentic leaders are guided by moral convictions and act in accordance with their deeply held values, even under pressure. A style and approach that fits very well within Agile thinking, where value and (self) reflection are key components for success.”

Teamup with Scrum Academy

The next destination: Scrum Academy. The seed for this logical collaboration is planted during an Agile Transformation at FrieslandCampina. “Together with a number of colleagues within FrieslandCampina and Scrum Academy colleague Steije de Lat, we formed an Agile Transformation team,” Joost explains. The focus within that transformation is on training and guiding account teams and innovation teams. The larger goal of the transformation? A faster and more efficient approach because of the continuous changes within customer and consumer needs.

‘We provided several bootcamps and kickstarts for top management and commercial teams. In addition, we trained a number of Product Owners’

The 3 gamechangers

The experiences and insights Joost gained during his Agile journey, he now likes to put to use for Scrum Academy. The three Agile gamechangers he likes to remind everyone of: communication, collaboration and improvement.

1. Communication is crucial when working with an Agile mindset. So make sure everyone is on the same page, goals and objectives are clear, and feedback is provided regularly. That means actively listening to the client and team members, and maintaining an open line of communication throughout the collaboration.
   
   
2. Collaboration is essential to success. So always encourage team members to collaborate more, share ideas and provide support when needed. This means creating a culture of trust and respect, and empowering team members to take responsibility for their work.
   
   
3. Continuous improvement is a core principle in Agile. So regularly evaluate processes and practices, identify areas for improvement and implement changes that will lead to better results. This means using data and feedback to drive decisions, and being willing to change and adapt as needed.