Reblogged with permission from Jem D'jelal, the original author of this content, as a contributor to blogagility.com. Originally published on LinkedIn November 20, 2016.
“You hired me to drive the agile transformation right?
I’m here to push through the changes we need to make this work.
To make this happen we’ll need to change the culture.
Simply focusing on process & tools is not enough, we’re either doing the agile thing properly or not.
We all know that we need to “be” agile & not “do” agile, otherwise it’s not a transformation.
Yeah sure you’ve got the story cards & daily scrums but what about the agile principles & values?
It’s the intangible stuff which truly makes the difference.
Why tell people we’re going to be “agile” when we’re not taking the radical action to make that happen?
You hired me as an agile coach, isn’t there a hint in the title of my role?
What do you mean you ain’t ready for the change?
*6 months passes*
I’m fed of this place.
Bye “.
Yours sincerely,
A well intended agile ….
___________________________
Is this you?
A frustrated, well intended agile coach who ends up causing havoc & “leaving”?
I can bet money on it, if it is you – you’re not alone.
War stories are everywhere with frustrated agile coaches, ScrumMasters & change agents venting their frustration about a boss, board members < add person with gravitas here>…who only like the idea of transformation.
It’s the “why the hell did they bother hiring me if they didn’t want change” statement which I hear sooo often – especially in my own head.
And is it because us experienced agile coaches/scrummaster/changeagents lack knowledge in agile?
No, I don’t think that’s the reason.
“We don’t know, what we don’t know”
It is NOT because of a lack of knowledge in “agile”.
So many well intended <ahem> folks watch the Spotify video or talk about Toyota’s philosophy to create great companies – but have little understanding of how to make this stuff come to life.
They innocently think that empowering the teams to make decisions, a white board with stickies & a community of practice means there on their way to transformation.
It’s cute, but it’s way off.
We’re using a declaration by software developers to do things better – and although it brought huge value to one part of the organisation, it is limited to go further.
“agile is this beautiful thing for teams, but for transformation we need to go beyond” – Michael Sahota
I did it myself.
I’d be using agile to try transform organisations – which is well intended but short sighted.
In some cases I’d see a level of success, but there was a depth, a deeper level of change which I couldn’t quite penetrate.
Agile does not give us the insight we need to make significant lasting change at the organisational level.
Now I won’t be getting into the debate on whether change happens through the individual or the system (I personally believe all change happens at the individual level which can be effected by a system – that’s another blog soon).
But for those of us who are brought in to help with a transformation aka an”agile leader” – I’d say that there is an experience out there which you’d benefit from.
Oh no, not another certificate!
Hold your horses.
I’m as skeptical about stacking up on veneer certifications as much as you are – ask around, I’ve never aimed to have the most popular opinion on the matter.
But I felt compelled.
Compelled to fly to Chicago to spend time with Michael Sahota.
It had nothing to do with the DEEP pan pizza – not one bit. (Ahem)
If you’ve ever followed his work you’ll see the huge amount of effort he has put into surfacing his experiences with creating transformational change.
Stop looking at the pizza.
Michael’s stuff is far from classroom theory, instead a being with deep (mmm pizza) field experience with the scars, stories & empirical wisdom to share.
What I learned from his work – BEFORE – the course, was how Michael thought further than agile.
Way, way, way further.
He explored with different culture models, patterns & ideas on the approach to inspiring change which were insightful & balanced.
BUT.
This was where I got something special.
Actually spending time with this guy.
Doing the Certified Agile Leadership Certificate (CAL) – wasn’t about the certification.
Each teacher has their own approach in this certificate.
Michael’s view was why I was there.
One of my peers asked me, “what was it about the course that has you buzzing like this Jem”? I gave him headlines which sorta looked like this:
Here’s the best parts:
-We killed agile in the first 10 minutes
-There was no claim to a silver bullet when creating a transformational change
-There was no extremist view on what works & what doesn’t
-Again. No agile dogma, free of attachment
-There were beautiful articulations on how to be explicitly clear on what level of change leadership would like to explore
-Powerful questions for leadership to understand their urgency for change & making use of what appetite they had with the appropriate options
-No theoretical BS, case studies explored & given real juicy meaning for change agents to walk out with ideas
-A real tangible playbook that someone who has the ear of a manager could use to create an approach into creating transformational change
-Not to mention: GETTING ALIGNED with leadership on what the level of change is intended to be, BEFORE you set off with mislead passion!
I could go on and on.
Don’t even get me started on the intangible stuff I experienced on this course. Honestly, the energy in that room was wonderful.
The Penny Dropped
There is such a glaring knowledge gap in our community when it comes to creating transformational change.
So many of us are fed up of battling & fighting with leadership teams who liked the idea of change only to butt heads with us later when our expectations didn’t align.
It’s because we need more than agile – our thinking should consider the work of people who are outside of our agile realm.
But even more than this – there needs to be the knowledge & skill to help people understand their own disruption budget. How much change can you afford? What is it you want to change? Oh you want to get the culture stuff- well it’s going to take x, y & z. Still like the sound of it?
You catch my drift.
It’s all well intended but lacks revealing a gradient of change which is available to leaders, where we clearly identify the pros & cons.
I hear people talking about lean principles, the TPS & so many other great approaches to management yet there are no play books or ideas which have been made malleable for your agile coach to take it & skilfully apply it.
So much of what is out there is so binary, so black and white – and in many ways far too simplistic to handle complex adaptive systems which are incredibly messy & difficult to change.
Maybe I’m just too simple minded, but sometimes that’s a talent in a complex world like ours!
The time spent with Michael created a new awareness which has helped me realise why the well intended agile *ssh*le is so prevalent (speaking for myself :).
It is the crystalising & articulation of nuance & subtle ideas (that play such an important part in change) that I felt this session did so well.
The work of Laloux, Schneider, Schein, Kotter …and more all surfaced & made into something I can understand & use. A playbook: full of patterns with a sense making mentality that I believe will change the way I approach change, forever.
If you’re able to get a seat on his CAL course, go & experience Michael Sahota & see for yourself.
It’s essential stuff for anyone who’s involved in trying to guide a transformation.
Dare I say it, but he’s actually got me thinking about a more “elegant” approach.
Just kidding.
There’s only such much one man can do!