Resurrecting Agility: What It Means to 'Be Agile' Today

We’ve reached the final stop in this series, but the journey of agility is far from over.

If you've followed along through the first five articles, you've seen the case for agility as a philosophy, not a framework. You've heard why adaptability is central, why the values of the Agile Manifesto stretch beyond tech, and why the original document doesn’t need rewriting, just better rereading.

So what now?

It’s time to talk about what it really means to be agile in today’s world. Not in name. Not in ceremony. But in action.

Beyond the Brand

Agile has become a word that means everything and nothing. For some, it’s a way of working. For others, a job title. For many teams, it’s a set of boxes to check or meetings to endure.

But agility isn’t a label. It’s not a framework. And it’s not something you can implement in a three-step plan.

Agility is a capability. A cultural and operational commitment to responding to change with clarity, confidence, and purpose. It shows up in how teams learn, how leaders listen, how organizations deliver value, and how people adapt together.

The Markers of Real Agility

When agility is alive and well, you see it in the way people work:

• Teams reflect regularly and adapt without fear.

• Customers are invited in early and often.

• Change is not a disruption - it’s expected.

• Feedback loops aren’t a formality - they’re lifeblood.

• The focus is on outcomes, not just activities.

Real agility isn’t defined by speed. It’s defined by intention. It’s not about moving faster. It’s about moving smarter.

From Theater to Practice

Agile theater is easy to spot: when the form remains but the function is lost. Daily standups happen, but collaboration doesn't. Retrospectives occur, but nothing changes. The focus shifts to ceremonies defined by frameworks, rather than to serving the evolving needs of the customer and team.

Agility itself isn't to blame - it's what happens when frameworks are followed blindly and disconnected from their original purpose: to support flow, value, and adaptability.

Resurrecting agility means stripping away the performance and returning to the point. It’s about:

• Re-centering on people over process.

• Asking “What problem are we solving?” more than “Are we following the script?”

• Encouraging experimentation, not enforcing compliance.

It’s about giving agility back to the people doing the work.

Agility, Reclaimed

If Agile ≠ Dead, then we owe it to ourselves, and each other, to treat agility as more than jargon. To treat it as a lens, a capability, a posture. Something we build together, maintain together, and protect together.

Because agility isn’t something you install. It’s something you live.

Series Wrap-Up

Thank you for following along with the Agile ≠ Dead series - a conversation about returning to the roots of agility as a philosophy, not a process. I hope it’s challenged, encouraged, and maybe even re-inspired your thinking.

Now it’s your turn: How will you resurrect agility where you are?

References

• Agile Manifesto – agilemanifesto.org

• Gil Broza – The Human Side of Agile (book)

• John Cutler – Multiple posts on “being agile” vs “doing agile” (on Medium)

• Heidi Helfand – Dynamic Reteaming (book)