Is OpenSpace Agility a Fit For Your Agile Transformation?

If you work at a company that's in the midst of a struggling or unusually painful Agile Transformation, I invite you to ask this courageous and provocative question to your organizational leadership this week:

Should an Agile transformation be *embraced* by the people or *forced* by the leaders?

Yes, I recognize that the question only offers two possible answers - it's phrased that way by design. I have found it to be a provocative, yet powerful question to pose to executive leaders, but be careful -- it has the potential to spark a heated and uncomfortable debate. How can you guide the conversation from debate to dialogue? Understanding the concept of urgency can help.

What is a sense of urgency?

I carry the belief that any organizational transformation must be fueled by a collective sense of urgency for change. This collective urgency is often rooted within meaningful business problems (or opportunities), like:

• Competitive threats in our industry are increasing
• Our company is losing revenue and market share
• Our organization's continued survival is at risk

These are pretty urgent reasons to change, yes? A great leader knows how to establish this sense of urgency in a way that helps people embrace the need for change, even in the face of heavy resistance. Let's face it - change is hard for many of us, so leadership must successfully inject the "why" behind an organizational transformation. This allows (most of) us to accept that change is coming, even if we don't like it.

If this is important to you, then consider learning about the principles behind OpenSpace Agility and if it's right for your organization.

What is OpenSpace Agility?

This emerging organizational-change approach is being led by one of the most influential and skilled Agile Coaches in our profession - Daniel Mezick.

Daniel and his Team recently published The OpenSpace Agility Handbook, which is a 130-page wisdom-packed reference for guiding organizational change with an OpenSpace Technology philosophy. Careful though - it's pretty deep stuff.

By the way, I'm not here to sell you on the approach. It's up to you to decide if further exploration carries benefit. What I can offer is a glimpse into my own experience with this approach to help guide your own thinking.

What do I think?

I see the wisdom within this approach as essential for those who seek to guide an urgent organizational transformation by listening to the people who will be directly affected by this change. Allowing anyone and everyone to co-create and embark on the journey is a powerful way to address an organization's sense of urgency for change.

Once again - it's pretty deep stuff and it won't be embraced by everyone, but perhaps learn more about it and decide if it's right for you.

So, what might this mean to an organizational executive? Just let "the employees" do whatever they want and see what happens? Isn't that a recipe for total chaos?

It's okay to be skeptical, because skepticism invites an opportunity to learn something new. This very skepticism drove me to dig deeper into the underlying principles and practices behind this approach. What a journey it has been.

As an Organizational Agility Coach by trade, I have found that the compassionate principles behind OpenSpace Agility create a powerful bond that fuels an organization's purpose in ways that leave me in awe. To that end, I am on a lifelong journey to fully anchor my own understanding and beliefs in this space, so I can (hopefully) bring a masterful facilitation and coaching stance for the full benefit of an organization's mission. If you're an Agile Coach like me, do you see it this way as well? 

"Buyer Beware"

It sounds simple on the surface; however, I assure you that if you choose to dive in further, it will open the door to a vast amount of learning & growth within yourself. It might change the way you think about ..... well ..... *everything*.

The biggest risk behind the OpenSpace Agility approach

OpenSpace Agility carries risks; the primary one being the authentic stance of senior executives in the organization. This approach will absolutely "surprise" these leaders with difficult realities about their organization and the changes needed to move in a true, engaged Agile direction. If executives are not prepared (and/or not influential enough) to enact the organizational changes desired by the people, then OpenSpace Agility will likely fail ... and could makes things even worse.

This doesn't mean the approach is flawed, however - it simply means that executive leadership must be willing to allow everyone in the organization (including them) to write the Agile Transformation story together. Trust me - this part is not easy, as it will challenge the existing beliefs within most executive leadership teams in the Fortune 500 space.

Does OpenSpace Agility actually happen in the real world?

Long before the publishing of this handbook, I had the opportunity to live through a 6-month Chapter of Learning in a Fortune 100 company as a member of an insanely-talented Agile Coaching Team (all of whom were better and more skillful than me - quite humbling to say the least).

This team was led by Daniel Mezick's skillful facilitation during a critical chapter in the company's growth. So yes, this actually happens in the real world in real companies with an urgent need to change.

For me, the experience was profound beyond measure. Not only did it help the company's pursuit, it literally changed my life. Note that this was within a huge company that was seeking to find its purpose and how best to let its people own the journey. It was a value-grounded endeavor that created breathtaking levels of energy that continue to guide this proud company's Agile transformation into present-day.

As you consider further exploration into this approach, I hope you find my perspective helpful.

Thank you to Daniel and his Team for making their wisdom available to all of us through this handbook. I am grateful for the chance to learn from you all.

In Closing

What have you learned about OpenSpace Agility, a well as other approaches for guiding organizational change?

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As an organizational coach, trainer and speaker, Dan Sloan is on a professional mission to help transform and elevate large enterprises into collaborative and sustainable ecosystems that are creative, focused and fun for everyone.

Through LinkedIn and Twitter, Dan makes his best attempt to offer 25 years of learnings and experience through provocative writings about real organizations and their pursuits toward lasting enterprise agility.