Flight Levels is a thinking tool used to understand and improve the way an organization operates. It’s based on the idea that, just like in aviation where a flight level describes the height at which an aircraft flies, in organizations, different planning and design horizons exist, and a comprehensive view of the organization’s performance can only be achieved when these horizons are aligned and coordinated.
The Flight Levels model distinguishes three levels of planning and design horizons: the strategic level (Flight Level 3), the coordination level (Flight Level 2), and the team level (Flight Level 1). These levels are not hierarchical and each level has its advantages and limitations.
The real driver of improvement in the organization is not the three levels themselves, but the five activities that are set in a continuous cycle between the levels. These activities help coordinate and improve the flow of initiatives within the organization.
The Flight Levels model is not an organizational model or a hierarchy, and it’s not necessary to restructure the company to use it. The goal is to find out where the levers for improvement lie within the organization and make improvements to optimize the entire value-creation process.
So, let’s get through the Flight Level Activities:
1. Visualize the situation
Visualizing work in an organization helps make the invisible work visible, making it easier to understand and coordinate between different departments and teams. In the agile world, this is usually done using boards, but any tool that can effectively represent the work can be used.
2. Create focus
It’s important to prioritize and focus on a limited amount of work at a time to get things done efficiently and effectively, instead of trying to work on too many ideas simultaneously. Finishing work is more valuable than starting work because it brings in money, while starting work costs money.
3. Establish agile interactions
Having regular and meaningful communication is important in a company to ensure coordination, decision-making, improvement, and overall success. It’s not about having many meetings, but about having quality interactions that lead to results and improvement. Having a clear understanding of communication formats and purpose through a shared definition can help improve the outcome of interactions.
4. Measuring progress
Measurements are a way to see if a company is getting closer to its goals and improving, but the meaning and importance of these measurements depend on the company’s context and what they consider as an improvement. It is important to have a shared understanding of what should be measured and why, through communication, rather than following a trend or hype.
5. Implement improvements
The Flight Levels Academy emphasizes the importance of actually making improvements and sees it as a continuous cycle that should be integrated into the work model and given the necessary resources. Simply talking about improvements is not enough, action must be taken to make real progress.
It is essential to apply these activities on all Flight Levels!
You could also watch 5 min introduction video:
From here, if you’d like to explore more about Flight Levels, I could suggest several options (sorted by required budget starting from free resources and going up):
- Read the short introduction book “Flight Levels” by Dr. Siegfried Kaltenecker and Dr. Klaus Leopold.
2. Subscribe to #FlightClub – Flight Academy YouTube channel, where you can find conversations with Flight Level practitioners sharing their experiences.
3. Read “Rethinking Agile: Why Agile Teams Have Nothing To Do With Business Agility” by Klaus Leopold
4. Get to one of the courses from the Flight Levels line-up!