#86-Agile Culture

Agile transformation requires a shift in the culture of an organization if it can be expected to succeed.  This week we'll examine what culture is, and what it means to alter it in anticipation of embracing agile.

Transcript

Agile Culture 

Last week I mentioned Peter Drucker and his definition of a leader. There is a quote that is often attributed to Drucker (although many say he did not actually coin the phrase) which is “culture eats strategy for breakfast.” 

Whoever actually said it, the point is made. You can create all the detailed innovative plans you want, but if you do not address your corporate culture, then the chance of success is slim to none. This is certainly true with an organization that wishes to engage in an agile transformation. 

I cannot tell you the number of times that I have encountered an organization making such an attempt, having failed, and then asking in frustration why things went wrong.

“We rebranded our project managers as scrum masters, we paid for extensive training on scrum, we are using information radiators and holding daily stand-ups, and yet the process is clearly not working!” ...or words to that effect. 

In virtually every case it turns out that they have failed to address the culture of their organization as part of their effort. What do I mean by “culture”? Every organization has a set of beliefs, values, habits, and expectations that underlie every decision that is made, even though much of this is unspoken. 

The first step in addressing organizational culture is in making it visible to all concerned. Once we see it, we can change it. This requires openness, honesty, and a willingness to take risks. These things are only possible if everyone involved is made to feel safe and encouraged to speak frankly. 

Once you know what your culture is, then you can work on making critical changes that will enable any agile process. I'm going to give you some examples, but that's all they are, because every situation is different. 

First, if your organization is based on a command-and-control structure, then a shift needs to be made to one of trust and empowerment. Any degree of micromanagement by managers will destroy the creative environment that yields much of the value of an agile process. 

Second, it is very important that the fear of failure is thoroughly banished from the process. A great agile leader that I worked with once said to her staff “I will never punish anyone for trying something and failing. I would much rather you fail than try nothing.” Last week I mentioned that good leaders realize the value of the people they lead, and this is reflected in the psychological safety that they afford them to be innovative. 

Third, any notion of business units being isolated or siloed from each other must be banished entirely from the organization. Agile requires free and open collaboration from any part of the process to any other part of the process. 

Fourth, an emphasis needs to be made on a culture of learning, adaptation, and openness to new ideas that may speak against the well-thought-out plans provided by management.  Making a firm plan and expecting it to remain unchanged is simply being dishonest with yourself. That never happens because if the organization is healthy, we are constantly learning new things and generating innovative ideas. No up-front plan could ever take that into account. 

In general, an expectation needs to exist that agile transformations are not fast. Also, they are not consistent across every business sector. Progress from team to team will be uneven, so it's important to look for wins as they occur, celebrate them, and model them to other parts of the organization. Experience is the best teacher and part of that experience will always include failure. The transformative process must embrace this. 

The truth is that adopting an agile framework is relatively easy, while changing the corporate culture within which it operates is much harder. But failing to make those changes means that no framework will succeed, and what is maybe worse is that this may cause some people to believe that agile itself does not work.  It does. If you do it right. 

The good news is that successful agile transformation creates momentum, and the more you do it the easier it gets. 

Of course, we rarely start from a blank page.  What about the existing infrastructure that was not created with agile in mind?  Next week we will examine managing legacy debt in agile projects.