When ‘Change’ Met ‘Agile’

To my fellow millennials and Gen Zs who didn’t get the subtle reference of the title and the picture, it is from a 1980’s movie ‘When Harry met Sally’. When two people meet, like my beautiful wife and I, we influence and impact each other in ways we never thought were possible. I started eating more spicy food than I was used to (tolerating the after effects) and she toned down the spice level in her cooking, I started watching ‘Jane the Virgin’ (reluctantly) and she tolerated (to put it nicely) my love for shows and books related to ancient/medieval history.

During my 9-year consulting career, I have been privileged to gain extensive experience with hands-on ‘Change Management’. In 2016, I came across ‘Agile’ and I didn’t realize till recently how I was subconsciously intertwining my background in ‘Change Management’ and my experience with ‘Agile’ in my work with different clients. That’s when I had this revelation- Implementing or adopting ‘Agile’ methods for organizations and individuals require a ‘Change Strategy’, and ‘Change Management’ deliverables can be achieved in a more efficient manner using Agile methods.

1.   Why ‘Agile’ adoption in organizations needs ‘Change Management’?

 i)       There is no ‘ON’ switch for Agile- We can’t just wake up one day and decide to go ‘Agile’ and expect everything to turn out fine. Like any other new system or business process implementation, being ‘Agile’ is a transformation journey that will shift our organization’s culture and way of working drastically. Hence, it is important to consider a strong ‘Change Management’ strategy or support, while our organizations adapt to ‘Agile’.

ii)     Take it one step at a time- It doesn’t mean we should wait for a lot of formal planning before adopting ‘Agile’. A good change strategy will start small and progressively expand through an organization. Start adopting ‘Agile’ methods within a team / department or a project. Take lessons learned from that and move ahead. Start early and fail early- that’s how we achieve results faster and march forward.

iii)    People aren’t machines – It is not easy for people who are used to working in a specific way to immediately re-program themselves to adopt agile practices. Establish a strong ‘Change Network’ within the organization, with individuals strategically placed in each team / project, to champion agile methods and model agile values.

iv)   Rome wasn’t built in a day- Let us not fall into the temptation of comparing ourselves to other organizations who are shining bright with their agile practices and culture. I like to use a quote from an author and teacher, ‘Joyce Meyer’ – “I am not where I need to be, but thank GOD I’m not where I used to be. I’m okay and I’m on my way”. We need to recognize where we are at in our journey and that there is no one size that fits all. Our adoption of ‘Agile’ might be entirely different from the other organization that we may be tempted to compare ourselves to, and that’s ok. It could be a 1 to 5-year (even more if it’s a larger organization) journey but it’s worth it, since we will be able to see results along the way during our ‘Agile’ transformation. Focus on getting the best results and not being ‘Agile’ for the sake of ‘Agile’.

v)     Leadership – Our Agile adoption can either fail or succeed based on the leaders’ mindset. The culture of any organization goes where the leadership goes, follows what the leadership does and is influenced by what the leadership believes. The change strategy should account for a plan to help leaders understand the benefits of adopting Agile and coach them to demonstrate Agile values in their everyday work. We need 'Agile Coaches' who understand the need to leverage change management techniques to get their organizations to the intended target, one step at a time.

vi)    So many more things need to change-For an effective ‘Agile’ transformation, everything from hiring practices, roles, performance evaluation, organizational structuring, policies, client contracting etc. needs a make-over. For example, if we are targeting to move towards an Agile culture, then we need to hire people who reflect those values and create an environment where such people can thrive.

2.   How ‘Agile’ impacted ‘Change Management’

In a recent client engagement, we needed to bring in a massive IT system change with multiple organizations and teams impacted, across different countries. I was placed in charge of leading the ‘Change Management’ effort for IBM stakeholders. It was a fast-paced project, with a short timeline and hence I found advocating and leveraging Agile techniques the most efficient way to get the project done in time and for completing my ‘Change Management’ deliverables. 

We adopted certain ‘Agile’ methods that people could quickly digest and encouraged the practice of Agile values, to get to where we needed to. It wasn’t perfect, but we made it to the finish line, in a shorter time, than if we had stuck with the traditional route of change or project management. We were willing to try something new, realizing our strengths and understanding our limitations. I can’t speak for everyone in the ‘Change Management’ field, but I can definitely say that ‘Agile’ has forever impacted the way I do ‘Change Management’ – we are able to visualize how we collaborate and how our work moves from start to finish. I hate to be prescriptive, and this is just one story and I am sure when some of you try implementing change in different environments, you might make more interesting discoveries when you adopt ‘Agile’ methods.

 I am not claiming to be the first person to realize or try this, but I am sharing with you my personal experience and journey with ‘Change’ and ‘Agile’.

Life is a sum of experiences and learning never ends. Try new things, think outside the established boundaries of ‘this-is-how-we-always-do-this’ and surprise yourself. All the best!

Author- Rejo Mathews, Senior Consultant / PeX Leader / Agile Coach, IBM Canada