When I meet with executives to pitch the agile value proposition, I am two hundred percent certain that they will eat it up! I have yet to see a senior leader whose eyes didn’t light up when hearing promises of faster time to market, better quality, better customer/employee engagement, more flexibility and many other dramatic benefits from adopting an agile methodology. They leave the meeting feeling invigorated and ready to go all in with this “agile” thing. But three things happen to spoil the party.
First, their enthusiasm starts to wane when we lay out the cultural, technological, and organizational changes needed to achieve enterprise-wide agility. These changes are deep, broad, complex and daunting to leaders.
Often executives quickly delegate decisions around these changes to their middle management who, because of self-preservation and/or their inability to champion true change, implement the changes they are most comfortable with. This level is typically far less than needed to fully realize the benefits of adopting agile.
Beyond the initial challenges around change, leaders too often view, manage and lead significant transformations as a finite effort. They expect to someday reach total agility at which point the organization can relax.
When transformation is managed like a project or program, leaders focus on the superficial change metrics that are measured on arbitrary schedules. Ironically, focusing on the success of a program over organizational transformation is exactly the type of short sighted dysfunction they should be trying to transform.
Finally, leaders can misuse (or not use) external transformation experts. The challenges described above are not unique. There is value to working with a partner who can help navigate these pitfalls based on those who have come before you. There is also inherent value in having someone NOT ingrained with your current company culture acting as your guide to organizational agility.
Put another way, choosing to forego professional help would be like asking an addict to devise their own recovery plan. There might be the occasional success story, but that does not make it a good idea.
Agile transformation experts don’t know your business like you do, but that is actually the point. They are there to show you how your business could be.
In light of the challenges above, leaders can take two significant actions that will have a profound impact on the course and overall success of your journey to organizational agility.
- Executive leadership must change themselves first and then propagate that change through the rest of the organization through active leadership at ALL levels.
- Leaders should seek out experienced transformation experts who can illuminate the path to agility and be there to help you and your organization make the journey.
Parting thoughts for agile executives everywhere…
- “Be the change”, as Gandhi would say, that you want to see in your organization
- Actively lead with every resource at your disposal
- Redefine success at all levels and change how you incentivize people
- Engage your organization at ALL levels. Go, see and talk to teams
- Lastly give your transformation the attention and priority it deserves. Organizational Agility is not just another initiative.
