Microlearning Programme Soft Skills: Gift or Guff
What's your soft skills strategy? Chances are your programme doesn't have one and it will likely be to the detriment of your value objectives. Check...
Does your business or programme need to adapt faster? Join us for this week's Tackling Transformation series exploring the concept of Agile Change and see how to make it work for you.
As the old saying goes ‘give a child a hammer and everything becomes a nail’. Well, in the world of transformation never has there been a tool enter the toolbox that’s seemingly so perfectly designed to hit any problem. From cybersecurity, software engineering, product and service development and now of course…change. It’s seemingly unique ability to be applied to any situation or context where the merest whiff of uncertainty exists, coupled with the need for benefits yesterday, and you’ll hear the leadership pronounce this programme as AGILE.
And for good reason. Change is life and life is change. Businesses, if they’re serious about hanging around, have to find ways to carry more speed into the corners of strategy execution. Being able to create an organisation that can look at the potential of new thinking or technology, grab it by the conkers and turn it into value faster than anyone else gets proclaimed the winner – eventually. Whether it is flexibility, adaptability or nimbleness you need then be sure to have the agile hammer conveniently located on your tool belt.
So that’s how the boardroom see it. Now think of the Programme Director who is told in no uncertain terms to see this project home on time and on budget. No scope creep, complete mitigation of risks and of course no slippage in the benefits case please... But be agile. Delivering all this, and unlocking the promised value that underpinned the release of resources of course, requires not only successful development of the solution but also effective adoption. It stands to reason if I’m thinking, building, releasing and iterating every couple of
weeks then surely my ‘adopting’ and ‘scaling’ need to be in the flow too.
Enter the change manager into the proceedings. A stuffy, hierarchical, siloed, risk averse, power-based culture on the one hand. Limited change budget (that got culled to get it through the board approval), no reliable data, no change tech, and a need to hire freelancers (can’t afford consultancies) on the other and you can see why the notion of ‘Agile Change’ is an endangered species already. No amount of adapted processes or methodologies alone will result in faster change.
The Programme Director is actually set up for failure before they even begin. Or are they? Could the latest approaches in Agile Change provide an answer?
Since 2001 and it’s appearance in the Agile Manifesto, this lightweight, flexible approach has become the go-to method for many programmes. In reality, it often gets watered down, pick ‘n’ mixed between variations in methods and even blended with the good old waterfall. However, in the world of change management the ability to lift and shift what happens in software or digital development to a world of unpredictable,
emotional, biased, inflexible and time starved humans is not without its challenges. So, let’s explore, using a simple framework on how the concept of Agile Change is interpreted, how it is applied and does it deliver what it promises to. Let’s kick off then and see where we land.
Firstly then, what is it? Agile Change, is predicated on the ability of teams to apply a shift in thinking towards the design, set up and run of projects. This means using agile change to realise the benefits of a programme as early as possible by making sure that teams go after landing the required changes in ways that reflect their value to this business. The name of the game here is speed and adaptability.
So let’s now look at the evidence to support the effectiveness of this approach. What do you really get back from agile change relative to what you have to put in?
And then there is the aspect of how easy human-centric transformation is to embrace. Can I read an Ikea style set of instructions or is it some abstract philosophy that will be a journey in lifelong learning?
If you’re wondering how far to go down the road of agile change management adoption or capability build, then get in touch with us for our free guidebook to building the exponential enterprise. It is a simple follow overview of the main components, what to look out for and how to assess your priority areas. Contact us for guidebook to building exponential enterprise.
Agile change management can be highly effective when used properly. In the hands of the right teams, in the right culture and on the right challenge it is certainly a gift. Its emphasis on adaptability and collaboration can change the way you think about transformation. It is the enabler to a world of continuous transformation. To get there though make no mistake that if your culture is hierarchical, power oriented, risk averse and siloed you’ll need to make significant investments in structures, leadership and processes before you see any returns. Take a step back and ask yourself…
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