What The Agile Mindset Is, Why It's Powerful And How To Adopt It

When it comes to digital and social media marketing, everyone knows that change is the one constant. 

Whether we’re discussing algorithms, best practices, or even client goals, they are always evolving which means being adaptable is critical to success. 

Being adaptable and having an agile mindset is similar; both require you to be able to think on your feet and make small changes as you go. 

To best understand the power of adopting an agile mindset, we invited our friend Dorien Morin-van Dam onto Magnet Marketers.

Dorien Morin-van Dam is a Community Manager, Social Media Strategist, International Keynote Speaker, Organic Specialist, and Certified Agile Marketer! Blogging is her creative outlet.

Dorien has worked in the marketing industry for over 10 years. She loves running, hiking, and skiing in her home state of Vermont, USA. You’ll recognize her on stage and online by her always-present orange glasses, a nod to her Dutch heritage.

Defining The Agile Mindset:

An agile mindset is an idea of constantly improving; at the heart of it, it’s about getting the work done. 

“Agile came from the software industry where it’s all about iterations; you make small changes and get big results.” @moreinmedia (click to tweet) 

While the concept of the agile mindset might be most popular in large companies, the beauty of it is that it's extremely powerful regardless of where it's implemented whether that be marketing, parenting, or hosting. 

Adopting an agile mindset is about thinking about projects and processes in a different way and being flexible so that we can move a project forward.

“The agile mindset means you’re going to break everything you have to do into smaller pieces.” @moreinmedia (click to tweet) 

It’s about taking the time to think about your processes with the goal of eventually being able to streamline them as best as possible. 

By taking a look at the processes in our workplace, we have the ability to spot bottlenecks, see where friction is created, identify where we can implement tools to save time and understand how we can better utilize our team’s skillsets. 

The major component of an agile methodology? >> A daily standup meeting. 

This daily practice is one of the key parts of adopting an agile mindset because it’s the process of going through these three questions: 

1. What do I want to accomplish today?
2. What did I do and accomplish yesterday?
3. What didn’t work yesterday? 

By asking ourselves these three questions, we become more tapped into what’s blocking us. It’s a way of promoting self-awareness, accountability, and honesty. 

“By doing this every day, I am honest with myself and I truly know what needs to be done and I know how long each piece takes.” @moreinmedia (click to tweet) 

Whether it’s used in teams of 100, 10, or just 1, there’s something about going through these three questions that's very powerful for transforming how you get work done on a daily basis because it promotes flexibility. 

The Benefits of Adopting An Agile Mindset: 

An agile methodology focuses on having a strong system of communication through daily check-ins that allow teams to work together and feel empowered. 

“The mindset truly comes in because it’s not about who is right but what is right. It’s all about the teamwork and getting it done; it doesn’t matter who does it.” @moreinmedia (click to tweet) 

An agile mindset, where you’re making iterative changes as you go, lets people feel empowered because they’re continually aware of what’s being worked on and where their skillset is most helpful in the context of the team. 

There are so many benefits of adopting an agile mindset such as: 

• Increased efficiency and dozens of hours saved
• Reduced stress
• Collaborative teams
• Increased employee buy-in, engagement, and overall happiness
• Increased accountability
• Improved organization
• More transparency
• Stronger internal and client communication

An agile mindset is truly what allows businesses to scale and grow. 

How To Get Started Adopting An Agile Mindset:

Adopting an agile mindset is what will take your team to the next level and allow your employees to work with more ease and happiness. 

There are a few crucial components to getting started.

Analyze Your Business Processes:

Start writing down what your business processes are by writing out every single step of the process. This is how you’ll be able to spot bottlenecks and see where you’re wasting time.

“For @NOWMG, we started to write out every single step of the process and looked at where we could remove friction and add delight.” @jessikaphillips (click to tweet) 

If possible, hire an Agile expert to help you set up the specific systems and workflows that you need in your business. 

By taking a look at every single step of your business processes, you can find where you have friction, need help, and/or feel overwhelmed.

This enables you to understand what tools you can use to be more efficient and effective. 

The best part about this is that you can do this anywhere - whether it’s work or home. 

“Write out the process on sticky notes and when someone asks you how they can help, tell them to grab a sticky note! It allows people to take responsibility and it makes that project theirs!” @moreinmedia (click to tweet) 

Think about how powerful this process is when applied as a parent or the host of a dinner party! 

Utilize Tools:

Utilize tools that are updated in real-time that allow for collaboration among teams AND time-saving.

For instance, we love using tools like ClickUp, Sanebox, Google Drive, and GroupMe.

“There’s no one tool that can do every single thing that you want, but it’s about investing the time to get the systems set up.” @jessikaphillips (click to tweet) 

Dorien loves using Planable and Notion; but way more important than the tool is how it’s used.

It’s more important to focus on communication within the team to create confidence among everyone's responsibilities.

Not to mention, you want to spend time ensuring that you have your systems detailed out enough to be able to divvy up tasks with clarity. 

“You can use all of the right tools but if you don’t talk to your team, it isn’t going to matter.” @moreinmedia (click to tweet) 

Daily Standup Meetings:

Start having daily stand-up/check-in meetings for everyone to touch base, and set limits on what everyone can handle so that you’re not creating stress.

At the heart of the agile methodology is open and transparent communication about both the processes and each individuals’ workload. 

“If I kept what I was working on to myself, my team couldn’t weigh in on how they can repurpose it. It’s the mindset of being collaborative and everyone working together for the greater good.” @moreinmedia (click to tweet) 

Most people can handle about 3 things a day; giving them ownership over their tasks is hugely helpful in creating excitement and empowerment.

Collaboration gives people ownership in projects which makes them more excited to work on them! This is how we create more confident teams; everyone is clear on their tasks AND how they can help each other. 

Feedback Loops:

Strong communication is critical for an agile mindset to work within teams, regardless of whether they are marketing, design, and/or construction. 

These daily check-in meetings are what allow you to make iterations to your work as you go; this way, you don’t get too far into the process without getting feedback. 

“Think about the time, money, and human resources wasted when you go too far into the process. By adopting an agile process and having a daily check-in...it speeds up the process and delivers a great product.” @moreinmedia (click to tweet) 

Think of the agile mindset as a check-in system composed of small, iterative touches. 

Putting It All Together:

Adopting an agile mindset starts from the inside out, as the culture has to be in place for the mindset to be implemented.

“You have to have the right people on the bus if you’re going to adopt an agile mindset on your team.” @mike_gingerich (click to tweet) 

By inside out, we mean focusing on your culture and employees first. 

When you focus on having the right people, you can have confidence in adopting the agile mindset because you know that you’re working with like-minded people who truly want the best for everyone.

“The goal has to be to have the best deliverable possible, no matter who is doing it.” @jessikaphillips (click to tweet) 

What does it look like in practice? >> Brands that give their employees a voice and empower them to learn as they go, make mistakes, and make improvements along the way.

This is the kind of culture where you see employees stepping up and offering to help rather than being told what to do. 

Brands with agile mindsets are brands with a lot of trust within their teams; teams that work together and always have each other’s backs. 

“Everyone has to be tapped in. If the care isn’t there and people aren’t looking out for their teammates and the end product, then it doesn’t work!” @jessikaphillips (click to tweet) 

Everyone wins when operating with an agile mindset because it’s inclusive, supportive, and focused on creating value while doing things the right way. 

“The best part, once you adopt the agile mindset, you can apply it to anything - whether it’s packing for a trip or planning for a family dinner.” @moreinmedia (click to tweet) 

To learn more about how to adopt the agile mindset to marketing, follow the Agile Marketing Network and join the Facebook group! 

What do you think about the agile mindset? Does your brand utilize agile methodology? What steps will you take to implement this powerful mindset into your business? 

We’d love to hear from you!