Will you change your culture here?
Most investors in “agile transformations” dramatically underestimate the extent to which cultural change is necessary to achieve the outcomes they imagine. Culture change is the greatest limiting factor of agility. Agile communities and practices lift the rug under which organizations sweep their workflows, behaviors, and beliefs, point to challenges and ask: “Will you change your culture here?” Let’s look at some examples…
There are 1,000 people in Department A. It fits the “command and control” stereotype perfectly. Its leader has established a strong chain of command, and its culture works hard to maintain and reinforce the structural integrity of the chain. The leader has chosen agility as a strategy for generating more innovation. Agilists quickly lift the rug, point to the conduit of ideas which flow through 1 person at the top, and ask: “Will you change your culture here? If you enable 1,000 people to innovate, the result is more innovation.” The leader acknowledges there may be a bottleneck and establishes an Innovation Committee of 12 people. Agilists quickly lift the rug, point to the conduit of ideas which flow through 12 people, and ask: “Will you change your culture here? If you enable 1,000 people to innovate, the result is more innovation.”
There are 1,000 people in Department B. It has a much flatter structure and more democratic culture than Department A. Its leader has chosen agility as a strategy for faster delivery. Agilists quickly lift the rug, point to the constant flow of new work being started, and ask: “Will you change your culture here? If you enable teams to finish what they start, the result is faster delivery.” The leader acknowledges there may be prioritization and attention issues and encourages the use of WSJF to prioritize work. Agilists quickly lift the rug, point to the constant flow of new work being started, and ask: “Will you change your culture here? If you enable teams to finish what they start, the result is faster delivery?”
Agile’s simple values and principles, regardless of framework, persist. The recommendations from those values and principles are consistent. The values and principles and their applications are there, waiting. It’s often our willingness to change - to see the cultural and systemic obstacles that prevent us from realizing the benefits of agility - that hold us back from bringing a form of better to our teammates, our customers, and our communities.
Going through the motions of agility is easy. Running the course and traversing the obstacles takes effort. Removing obstacles from the course means admitting our part in the process and making a conscious decision to evolve. Anthony de Mello said, “When the eye is unobstructed, the result is sight. When the ear is unobstructed, the result is hearing. When the mind is unobstructed the result is truth. When the heart is unobstructed, the result is joy and love.” What are the obstructions in your organization’s culture that, when removed, the result is agility?