It’s easy to stick with what you know. It seems safe, to walk the same route, at the same pace you always do. But as most businesses are finding, in order to thrive and grow in today’s economic landscape, navigating the safe path isn’t enough. That’s why agility has become the decade’s buzzword.

It’s certainly been the driving force behind my business. I run the Inside Ideas Group, an independent marketing group of agencies; since founding the business in 2004, we’ve grown to employ over 900 staff in more than 70 on-site agencies across the world.

We’ve worked closely with brands like the Guardian, Britvic and BMW. And through this hands-on insight into sectors across the board, I’ve noticed that efficiency, and the agility required to achieve it, comes from the top.

It might sound clichéd, but for a business to be agile, it has to have leaders, not bosses. Agility is a key leadership skill today, which is why businesses are changing the profile of the leaders they employ.

"Agile is about being prepared to plant your flag in places you weren’t told to go"

Take UK retail as a case in point. Retailers are increasingly turning to leaders experienced with budgets and strategy, as opposed to merchandising or branding.

Likewise, a similar shift is transforming the role and influence of the chief financial officer. According to research from Robert Half, the finance sector is now favouring hybrid leaders that oversee financial responsibilities, corporate strategy and business change.

The upshot is that leaders today don’t just fit into one box anymore, because the business they’re conducting has become so multifaceted. They’ve had to adapt as the world becomes increasingly complex, putting greater focus on digital transformation and omnichannel communication to complement the shift in how we behave as people.

It’s an environment in which those who are comfortable in the grey areas thrive most. That’s not to say agile leadership is about jumping into murky waters – rather it’s about being prepared to plant your flag in places you weren’t told to go.

By moulding to this fluctuating marketplace and steering business away from the decaying, old model, leaders can prove to their colleagues and peers that they aren’t dinosaurs and are, in fact, keeping pace with the speed of business.

Archaic systems stifle agility

Clearly though, agility isn’t an easy skill to master.

Recent research from CA Technologies and conducted by Gatepoint Research found 64% of respondents citing a ‘complex environment’ as a barrier closing off the path to business agility.

A complex environment is preventing many businesses from adopting agile practices

The research, which canvassed senior decision makers in digital, threw light on one of the key components of agile leadership: the willingness – and wherewithal – to collaborate.

It’s effective collaboration that delivers sustainable growth. Every division needs to drive towards the same goal, rather than working to their own separate agendas. This applies to any organisation, but it’s a pertinent point for bigger operations; aligning all teams across a holding group is obviously a greater task than doing the same at a corner shop, but the results will be disproportionately positive.

Agility will forever improve workplace culture

The agility we’ve attained at OLIVER, through working directly with clients via our bespoke, in-house teams, ensures that everything happens in real time. Bureaucracy is reduced and, for the leaders in both our teams and those of our clients, it’s easier to streamline work and tackle any problems in the most efficient manner.

I’d also argue that this is true agility, which in turn breeds transparency. We collaborate with our clients and work alongside them, in their offices, in real time. We can test, adapt, test and adapt again without being hindered by geography or hierarchies.

And perhaps this is the least understood element of agility: the ability to continuously improve at the micro and macro level. To be unrestricted by industry frameworks, in a measured and intelligent way, shows real leadership.

A lesser category of obstacles

I mentioned, the multitalented W. Edwards Deming at the start of this, and it seems fitting to end with more of his insight. The American engineer, statistician, professor, author, lecturer, and management consultant was a man of superb capability and a key component in rebuilding Japan’s economy after the horror of WWII.

From Deming comes the following warning to leaders: “It’s wrong to place blame on workforces who are only responsible for 15% of mistakes, where the system designed by management is responsible for 85% of the unintended consequences.”

It’s the crux of what prevented business agility in the twentieth century. It’s what continues to stop it now.

Simon Martin is the founder of OLIVER and chief executive at Inside Ideas Group.