Be Agile in all levels

Have you seen Agile only on team levels and not on the organization level?

If your answer is ‘yes’, you’re not alone. Many organizations think that they have implemented Agile successfully if their IT teams are following some of the Agile Framework. But, it’s so much more than that, organizations get the best benefits of Agile when all levels participate.

If you are bold and can afford to do so, conduct this exercise with your team. Form three groups and let them work towards a goal for two-weeks.

• Group 1: Won’t follow any process
• Group 2: Follows waterfall method
• Group 3: Follows Agile methodology

At the end of two weeks, assess the outcome. But, don’t just assess the work, assess the engagement and how they are connecting with each other in their group. If possible, do this experiment for two more weeks and see the difference. 

Why are you implementing Agile? 

If you are the person who is making the decision to implement Agile in your organization, ask yourself why? Is this to:

1)    Attract more customers?

2)    To make your shareholders happy?

3)    Be the leader in that specific product market?

4)    To compete with startup companies that are already competing with your core business?

5)    Bring in more investments / Get ready for IPO?

Or is it just because

6)    It’s in fashion now and everyone else is doing it.

Make sure you know the answer, talk to others, collect feedback and then make an informed decision so that you get the best outcome for your endeavor.

Are you hiring the right person?

Once your goal is set, and you are looking for your potential guide/coach who is going to help your organization to transform, ask them how they are going to do that. Give them specific examples and see if they can help you to achieve your end goal.

I was fortunate enough to talk to a C-level person in a very decent size organization before I was given the opportunity to implement Agile at scale. But that may not always be the case, also circumstances could be different for you.

A Leader who really wants to coach and help your organization will not be afraid to say what’s wrong or what’s right. They will show a genuine interest. But you are the one who will need to be able to recognize the real talent and know someone who is not the right fit. It’s a key decision, a wrong choice could make or break your vision.

Are you placing them at the right spot?

Because Agile is still considerably new, a lot of organizations are still learning and are unclear about the roles and the hierarchy. For example, some are unclear about the role of Scrum Master and an Agile Coach. In comparison to traditional hierarchy I have seen enterprise Agile Coaches getting hired in place of Business Analyst, PM, Manager, Director, and at VP levels. Different organizations follow different protocols.

Make sure the person making those decisions are connecting the dots and knows the end goal. If the Coaches and the Scrum Masters are not at the right spots, by the time they move the sands and the pebbles it might be too late for them to move the big rocks; and as an organization you might just miss the opportunity to become the market leader of that product!

Not only that, some very renowned multi-billion dollar organizations in the recent past have lost their existence just by doing things the old way. They thought that they didn’t need to respond to the market trend. You don’t want your organization to become one of those companies!

The folks who will come in to help you, absolutely love what they do. They drank their Kool-aids. If you’re about to drink yours, make sure you know why you’re going for it?

Remember, a buy-in from all levels is key to your successful Agile Transformation, otherwise it will fail. Teams and management levels may be ready; but, if the C-suite is not ready then the fruits of the labor won’t be extraordinary. In the process you might lose more than you gain, think about that for a moment!