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Using the culture you have to get the results
Stealth Agility
Director, Business Agility Engagement Services
USAA Chief Administrative Services
Sarah Klarich

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OUR MISSION
The mission of the association is to facilitate
the financial security of its members,
associates and their families through provision
of a full range of highly competitive financial
products and services; in so doing, USAA
seeks to be the provider of choice for the
military community.
THE USAA STANDARD
• Keep our membership and mission first
• Live our core values: Service, Loyalty,
Honesty, Integrity
• Be compliant and manage risk
• Build trust and help each other succeed
• Embrace diversity and be purposefully
inclusive
• Innovate and build for the future

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History
USAA was
founded in
1922 by a group
of Army officers who
decided to self-insure
each other, forming the
United States Army
Automobile Association.
In 1923, the company
began to extend
eligibility, and was
renamed United
Services Automobile
Association (USAA)
the following year.
USAA staff in the Calcasieu Building office, Dec. 26, 1923

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Membership
12.8+ million
members
More than 97%
member retention
In 2018, returned more
than $1.8 billion to
members

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Who We Are
Nearly 34,000
employees
13 campuses in 7 cities
3 international offices
20% employees work
from home
1 in 4 employees are
veterans or
military spouses
No. 19 in 2018
FORTUNE 100
Best Companies
to Work For®
2018 World’s Most
Ethical Companies®
USAA employees work outside the Social Exchange at USAA headquarters in San Antonio

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About Me
• Coaching and consulting in agility space for
over a decade
• Working with USAA since 2016; employee
since 2018
• Volunteering in the agile community in various
capacities since 2012
• Enjoy traveling, live music and spending time
with family

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My Coaching Journey
• I learned and was mentored by the best
• I earned the certifications I thought I needed for credibility
• I continued to learn and broaden my areas of knowledge
• I made the usual mistakes
­ I started engagements with the solution in mind
­ I used the Agile vocabulary in all conversations
­ I expected people to see things through my point of view
­ It was about implementing Agile
­ It was about changing the culture and the people

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As I Looked Around USAA …
• We already have a culture that supports agility
• Listening to understand the problem is the first part of a solution
• I could connect with leaders using the tools they already have
• The WIIFM station for everyone may have different music playing
however the themes are similar
…and started to use what was available

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The Culture Shifts

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Training Opportunities
Courses offered that have agility values, principles and concepts inherent in
their content

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Other Resources that Resonate with our Leaders

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What I know now…
• Implementing Agile is not the end goal
• Listen to the problem, spend more time seeking to understand
• Meet people where they are and talk in a language that moves them
forward at their pace.
• Use the tools that you have available
• Shift your own mind map before asking someone else to shift their
• Be open, be brave

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