Agility – How do we do it?

Change changed. Remember those lazy hazy days of the ‘change programme’? In an intellect economy: your people are the change.

So, now we build a culture that is ‘agile’. Fit for constant – and fast – change. This involves every individual being able and willing to take effective, bold decisions and act – with no guarantee of success: uncertainty. We are not evolved, or trained, for this.

Can you make this leap in an exec team or across a global organisation? Yes. I’ve had the privilege of partnering with clients to do exactly that and I have learned that it takes a new approach.

You have to start with individual human beings in mind and ask the question:

 

“What do my people need to make rapid, high quality, bold decisions, without seeking permission?”

 

1. I need my ‘boss’ on my side

If you are command and controlling me (even unintentionally), I must second guess how to win your approval: I am not agile. As General Jim Mattis writes (read ‘Call Sign Chaos’ urgently if you are truly interested in building agile cultures that can deliver under extreme uncertainty)

“Operations occur at the speed of trust”

The flip side is, the people need to bring high accountability, serious thought and high professionalism to the table. Everybody asks for empowerment and trust: not everybody is willing to be trustworthy. This is a cultural shift that starts with the leader and the standards she walks past (accepts). People get the message fast. And, mostly, they like the shift.