Introduction: What is Agile Transformation?
Agile Transformation in simple words means creating effectiveness in teamwork through Agile Mindset that impacts behaviors and culture and organizes people into effective teams (as opposed to working groups) to deliver high value to users and customers.
A wise Agile implementation will have these 3 characteristics:
- Agile Values and Principles are visible in behaviors and interactions of employees and teams
- Both teams and leaders are part of the Agile transformation. In other words, Agile mindset and behaviors are visible both bottom-up and top-down. Such an Agile Transformation is organic in nature and is one for the people, done by the people and supported by the leaders who walk the talk and are coachable.
This is in contrast to bitwise, piecemeal or superficial transformations where teams and employees are expected to follow Agile but leadership behavior is unintentionally disruptive to the new ways of working. As a result, the larger unresolved cultural or environmental issues eventually contaminate or pollute the new Agile Teams.
- Strong, caring Servant Leadership is visible in the teams and people engaged in Agile ways of working. This presence enables and sustains Agile Teams and agility while itself staying low-key like a layer of cement that supports bricks on a wall.
As a result people will be happier, healthier and wiser in their day-day work and interactions. Agile transformation is a continuous journey of cultural shift, where individuals, teams, and organizations evolve to become more adaptive, collaborative, and responsive.
Why are Agile Transformations important?
Enabling teams and individuals to operate at their best potential while delivering high value to the business is a desired goal of any organization. Agile principles in action help teams improve their responsiveness to customer needs, negotiate market shifts better, and expedite the delivery of high-quality products and services.
Wise Agile transformations cultivate safety, trust, and sustained growth among team members, while also promoting continuous improvement, empowerment for iterative processes, and a culture of learning and evolution.
The modern business landscape is complex and dynamic. Organizations must adopt Agile mindset and behaviors to remain competitive, flexible, innovative, and achieve faster time-to-market.
Why do many Agile Transformations fail?
Successful and effective Agile Transformation involves:
- Identifying challenges and pain points to current ways of working.
- Brainstorming the outcomes desired from new ways of working.
- Finding a process that will work best for the people, teams and department involved.
- Collaborating with people, identifying roles and events, inspecting, adapting, customizing process without overlooking Agile values and principles, measuring value and performance through data is key
- Above all, acknowledging that people (humans) are sensitive and working with each individual and team by reaching out to where they are and bringing them in a collaborative and fun way to the new state is the way to go.
As you can see, an effective Agile Transformation involves the whole village – individuals, teams, managers, leaders and executives. Everyone needs to show up and do their part to positively impact the mindsets, behaviors, culture and results! With this approach the Agile Transformation will not only be effective, but also long lasting and reflect in end-end behaviors (bottom-up and top-down).
While all of the above is desirable and may seem easy on paper, it is very hard to achieve. The change agent Agile Coaches often lack necessary skills and fail to grapple with the demands of a holistic end-end Agile transformation. This highlights the importance of selecting Agile coaches who are solid in their foundations and exemplify strong purpose and core values.
My Agile Journey: From Frustration to Discovery
In my journey as the CEO and Co-Founder of Agilonomics, I’ve experienced the transformative power of Agile time and again. My journey started with a sense of frustration at a large enterprise where I found myself leading a group of people focused on waterfall practices.
I vividly remember the days when we met as a team, usually once a week but hardly anyone spoke. Our manager would facilitate, share a few artifacts, ask for status updates and that was it. This was a routine mandatory gathering rather than a meaningful team collaboration session. Something was missing. I realized that we are just a working group and not a cohesive ‘team’. This realization made me research better ways of working.
I had an open and honest conversation with my boss, where I expressed my concerns about the team lacking engagement and happiness. His initial response was surprising as he thought salary, bonuses and stocks alone made employees happy!? It took me a few sessions of hard but respectful conversations to help him realize that happiness for humans stems from meaningful connections and shared happiness.
The result was permission to attend an Agile Developers Conference and bringing in Agile and Scrum to my team as an experiment to see if it helps boost collaboration, engagement, customer value and team happiness.
My Experiment with Scrum
I failed miserably at the beginning as team members grappled with new processes and practices. Interference from management dictating how to do Scrum was not helping either. I had to coach my boss to step aside and trust me to work with the team in establishing the process. He then partnered with me supporting and championing our team.
Building a Successful Agile Team
Through perseverance, commitment and dedication, we transformed into a high-performing Agile team. The team behaviors reflected Agile values and principles. There was camaraderie, bonding, enthusiasm, warmth and collaboration among team members. The focus shifted from creating outputs to customer value. We committed to Sprint goals as “one team”, took accountability for all work and continuously improved our process through feedback and retrospection.
Lessons Learned with Insights
Organic Agile transformation begins with a focus on people. Engaging leaders, encouraging transparency and leading by example are important ingredients of a successful transformation. Embracing Agile values and principles, patience and striving for continuous improvement are some factors that contribute to successful transformation. Authenticity and purpose are foundational to effective Agile Leadership. Staying true to core values, striving to grow employees and genuinely caring for people can drive meaningful change. Establishing an Agile Practice Group and supporting a culture of continuous improvement are key to sustaining Agile transformation. By promoting human values and prioritizing transparency, accountability, and learning, organizations can navigate change with confidence and resilience.
A final note on what kind of coaching is effective for Agile Transformations
When selecting Agile Coaches, look out for the ones that standout with strong core values and purpose. An effective Agile Coach will go beyond just fixing processes to serve as a role model, bringing up greatness in individuals and teams. Coaches must remember that true transformations come from within and cannot be imposed from outside. Effective coaching includes leaders to be part of the transformation. No transformation can be complete by excluding leaders and managers who serve the teams undergoing Agile transformation.At Agilonomics, we offer a proven “Agile Transformation Blueprint” refined over two decades, facilitating impactful transformations across various organizations led by renowned servant leader coaches.
