Developmental Agile Leadership: Empowering Teams in a Changing World

Leadership doesn’t have to be heroic, especially in a changing world.

Developmental Agile Leadership offers a practical and human-centered approach to growing resilient, adaptive teams through trust, learning, and shared purpose. This book blends Agile, developmental, and servant leadership to help leaders support (rather than control) collaborative, self-managed teams and stakeholder relationships.

As work becomes more complex, uncertain, and fast-paced, project leaders must lead differently. This book equips readers to foster trust, promote learning agility, and inspire hope. It emphasizes leadership as a shared responsibility, something that can emerge at any level when the right conditions are in place.

Readers will gain tools to lead from behind, facilitate effective feedback loops, resolve conflict constructively, and support others in stepping into leadership roles. With learning goals, reflection prompts, and actionable practices, Developmental Agile Leadership turns big ideas into everyday leadership habits.

Written for project managers, sponsors, Scrum Masters, team leads, product owners, and stakeholder-facing consultants, this book is also valuable to educators and emerging leaders interested in developing their leadership capacity and that of others.

Timothy J. Kloppenborg is a Professor Emeritus from Xavier University. He has written 15 books--mostly on project management and leadership. Tim's early work after his MBA was on elevator installation and jet engine research projects. He holds a PhD in Operations Management from the University of Cincinnati. He is a Project Management Professional (PMP), an Agile Certified Professional (ACP), and a Disciplined Agile Senior Scrum Master (DASSM). He started the portfolio and project management book collection for Business Expert Press and edited 70 books in 10 years. Dr. Kloppenborg retired as a major in the US Air Force Reserve. He has trained, taught, and consulted on 6 continents, most recently serving as scrum master for the Heritage Arboretum in Cincinnati, OH.

Kam Jugdev is a full professor in the Faculty of Business at Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada. She holds a joint PhD in Project Management from Schulich School of Engineering and the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary and is a Project Management Professional (PMP). She had broad industry experience before her academic career. She teaches project management courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels and enjoys working with graduate research students and research friends. Her research program spans project management as a source of competitive advantage, lessons learned, tools and techniques, and project success/failure.