Why These 3 Agile Transformations Failed - And What You Can do to Succeed

Change happens in many ways. Let’s look at three different Agile transformation scenarios today:

Scenario 1: A mid-level manager goes to a C-level executive. She explains that while the company stated that it would use Scrum for its product development, the teams seem to be struggling. The C-level executive shows mild interest and at the end says “Well if you want to get everyone some training, I would be OK with that.”

Scenario 2: A mid-level manager independently starts transforming their teams to work differently. Some are using Scrum, some are using Kanban, and others are using self-organizing to find their own path. None of these teams interact with each other as they are building completely independent products, and have self-contained skills. One day a C-level executive asks for an explanation of what is going on, and the mid-level manager explains. The C-level says that since it’s working, the whole company should give it a try. But then the executive starts putting exceptions on that statement, and also continually side-steps the changes.

Scenario 3: A client wants a better return on investment, and wants products delivered in a more timely manner so that they can impress their leadership. The Agile coach asks, “What about the departments with which we have to interface?” And then, “Shouldn’t we have a meeting with them to loop them into what we are doing, and ensure they can participate at the same pace?” The client says “No, they will loop people in when the time is right.” The coach explains that the product will likely be ready in 6 months, so the time is now. The client hedges his bets. The product team, including the product owner, change how they do work. And in six months, they have a product ready to go. Twelve months after that, the product is still not with the customer - because the associated departments are not ready for it.

WHAT GIVES?

What do all of these scenarios have in common? In all three cases, the higher level executives, who comprised all or part of the leadership team, were happy to let the mid-level manager make changes. But they did not commit to being part of the solution. In fact, they didn’t participate in it at all; and there was no communication to the workforce that there was a corporate-wide change happening. 

There was neither buy-in nor commitment to these changes, and as a result, their success was limited. How would you feel if you created a product in 6 months, and then it sat on the shelf not being able to be delivered? Or if you went to your leadership and said there was a team morale problem, and that the prescribed technique was not working; and the answer was to get everyone training?

COMMITMENT TO CHANGE

Change cannot happen in a vacuum. It creates a bubble structure, and everyone knows what happens to bubbles - whether literally or figuratively. They break. Instead, as leaders, we need to work with our teams, create a culture that embraces change, and then be part of the change and the solution. We should definitely not sit in our cloud-like castles looking down on what happens around us. 

When a manager identifies the need for a change, listen. In fact, create a culture where ideas for change and innovation are encouraged and fostered. People need to feel safe to challenge the status quo, and they need to know that they will be heard - even if their idea is not accepted. Only then will you have meaningful change that creates success for your organization.

Learn more about the work that we do and the programs that we offer. Set up a call to start planning how you want to change the culture of your organization.

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About the Author:

INDRA A. BOOKS

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