Leading Change? Shift Left.
It’s a strategic directive. Not a political one.
Because the struggle with change is real. And this advice holds the key.
Borrowed from the land of Product Development – “left” simply means “earlier” in the planning process.
It’s a mantra. Reminding the dreamers and designers of product to engage the builders and tinkerers earlier in the process. So all possibilities - and limitations - are factored into the design.
Change is the new product.
Leading change today has effectively become an exercise in Product Development. And the discipline has a lot to teach change leaders.
Fifty(ish) years ago, developers used the Waterfall Methodology. Linear and certain. And worked until it didn’t. Because, according to Isaac Sacolick, “Waterfall’s rigidity became its downfall as we entered the internet era, and speed and flexibility were more prized.”
Enter Agile circa 2001. And it changed everything. Turning instructions into dialog. Turning straight lines into circles of experimentation. Turning certainty into curiosity.
In the realm of change, we’re at a watershed moment.
What the internet did to product development, these past 5 years have done to change management.
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There are too many factors swirling at any given moment. And no one leader – no matter their experience or intelligence – knows everything about how to move forward in the face of GenAI, hybrid working, DEI, ESG, and on and on.
Change leaders of the future will be the ones embracing the principles of Agile.
Change, today is constant and pervasive. It no longer lives in a box. The path forward isn’t linear. And a new approach to leading change is deeply in demand.
Like designers and architects of product, designers and architects of change, too, should be bringing left the voices of builders and tinkerers.
This is how we’ll win at change. At least for now.
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??Scale Your Vision Not Your Hours? | I help scale-ups achieve operational discipline with teachable systems empowering teams to drive sustainable growth | Human Experience in Operations
11 个月Two mantras came from my training in Change Management 1) we're all self-sufficient adults and 2) everything you do, small and big, is an intervention. #1 is for another post?? What you describe as "circles of experiments" acknowledges a lot of what we do is experimentation and feedback loops. Rigidity in the face of dynamic change only leads you further down the wrong road. For companies, it's a slow burn towards potential failure. Leaders and companies alike need to embrace managing change. As you advocate, Agile brings so much transferable knowledge and application to make sense of change and manage it for the better.
Elevating Creative Visionaries in Leadership, Innovation, + the Arts I Executive Leadership Coach + Speaker I Inspiring Audiences to Choose Excellence and Joy I Catalyzing the Conscious Business Movement
11 个月I attended a conference today on #wellbeingatwork and there was a lot of emphasis on leading through change. Leaders who learn to successfully navigate the volatility of change with grace, humility, vision, and courage will be the ones whose companies prevail. ??
Empowering high-achieving women leaders with confidence, calm, and superpowers I Women's Leadership & Life Coach | ICF Certified | Organizational Systems Coach I Book an appointment to get the advantage
11 个月This is so true and this moment is a watershed one, in the same way there are thousands of books and movies on historic events, the past 5 years will be a study on adaptability and change. I love this sentence: "What the internet did to product development, these past 5 years have done to change management." Juicy stuff. Rachel Barrett Cooke
Helping C-Suite increase revenue and transform teams| Growth Strategist, Award Winning Revenue Generator & Elite Performance Coach
11 个月YES YES YES. I love that you mention "No one leader – no matter their experience or intelligence – knows everything about how to move forward in the face of GenAI, hybrid working, DEI, ESG, and on and on". Accepting this truth and embracing the principles of agile is spot on. It also requires a very high level of EQ. The more self awareness change leaders have the more successful they will be!
Pro Skydiver. Keynote speaker on Untapped Potential. Coach. Type 2 fun, my friends. Let's talk. MelanieCurtis.com
11 个月The last 5 years forced so much change on all of us, I can’t imagine anyone not benefiting more from thinking about it more intentionally. Nice, Rachel.