“Lateral agility” might sound like a football drill—but it’s also what Bobbie LaPorte considers to be today’s #1 most important leadership skill. Watch her May 21 “Calling the Game” video to find out why lateral agility is so essential, and what it looks like in action.
Furthering the Broader Goals of the Enterprise While Focusing on Your Team’s Objectives
Hi, this is Bobbie LaPorte, back with another week of “Calling the Game,” where I share my own experience and insights while giving you valuable tools you can use to call your own game…and plan the best moves for you and your team.
In a recent vlog, I talked about the importance of leaders taking the enterprise view, i.e., how you connect your team’s value proposition to the broader and emerging goals of the company, thereby increasing your and your team’s impact.
Related to that, today I want to share what I see as the single most important leadership capability for today’s leaders – what’s called “lateral agility” – or how you further the broader goals of the enterprise while also focusing on your own team’s objectives.
Without a doubt, this is the dominant trend I see today in leadership readiness. It is a significant trend in today’s executive landscape and a major shift in what companies now expect of leaders in high-impact roles.
What Exactly Does Lateral Agility Look Like?
Let’s dig into what it is and what it is not.
Lateral agility is not just about building working relationships with your peers—it goes further. It’s relationship building in a different way, identifying other parts of your company that can benefit from your team’s skills and talents. This shows you are a leader who is committed to supporting the success of others.
It’s not about influencing company stakeholders to drive your agenda. It is about identifying and addressing the organization’s needs together.
It’s not about collaboration across silos in the organization.
It is about using collective wisdom to solve problems and innovate, mobilizing people around a shared purpose regardless of your own defined role.
It is – the most concrete and impactful way to put “taking the enterprise view” into action.
I’ll share more about the “how” of putting lateral agility into practice in my next vlog.
Okay, that’s it for this week’s “Calling the Game.” Hope this helps you gear up for a great week and navigate any curveballs that may come your way!