Celebrating Victory Too Early
Celebrating “We’re Agile” after some of the workforce has adopted sprints is similar to how George Bush celebrated “MISSION ACCOMPLISHED” in Iraq a little early in the conflict (U.S. troops fought in Iraq for eight more years).
Transitioning to adopt Agile change
In Obstacle 4 of the Executive Whitepaper, we discuss how transitioning an organisation (or part of one) to adopt Agile as a way to work requires some early work to mobilise people into the new processes and practices over 3-12 months but then a much more extended period (1-3 years) to optimise and embed the new way into the organisational culture.
When the change process approaches the lower end of the change curve, executives may mistakenly believe that the mission has been accomplished. However, it is at this point where the real, challenging work truly begins.
The potential predicament lies in prematurely withdrawing enablement support, which presents the risk of change rejection. This can result in people reverting to their old behaviours and mindsets and the resurgence of the previous processes that were intended to be eliminated. Ultimately, this lack of sustained transition can lead to the failure of the change initiative.
The upcoming blog post explores Obstacle 5, "The Shadow Cast by Team 1". It examines the perspective within the coaching and change management community that executives should be the first to embrace change in the Agile transition.
