Agile transformations tend to focus on the team and management level. A typical transformation is largely about creating teams, implementing team practices, and implementing management practices. We implement these practices and eliminate obsolete ones with the intent to maintain alignment with Agile values and principles, but also because we have the most access to these areas. It's easier to change something when we have the authority to change it. But what about transformation at the leadership and executive level? How do we transform leaders when our access is limited and there are few practices we can apply to guide their behavior?
An Agile transformation cannot exclude leadership. Executives and leaders need to be included as a specific element of a transformation, but they cannot be transformed simply by implementing a set of practices. Mindsets must be transformed. John Krewson, Agile Transformation Lead at MasterCard, identifies the required skills and characteristics of a successful change agent, then outlines an approach for changing mindsets at the leadership level, drawing from personal experience and several change models.
2. How confident are you…
In your ability to change team behaviors?
In your ability to change manager behaviors?
In your ability to change leadership behaviors?
How critical is leadership behavior to
transformation success?
Who’s in the room?
4. Give them the environment and support they
need, and trust them to get the job done.
Simplicity – the art of maximizing the amount of
work not done – is essential.
The manifesto is silent
5. What do they do?
Grow the business
Increase revenue, decrease expenses
Beat the competition
Optimize
Build a vision
Make decisions
8. Empirical vs. defined
Principles vs. practices
Products vs. projects
Outcome vs. output
Teams vs. pools
Learning vs. best practices
Discovering vs. bestowing
The Agile Leadership Mindset
9. Empirical vs. CONTROL
Principles vs. CONTROL
Products vs. CONTROL
Outcome vs. CONTROL
Teams vs. CONTROL
Learning vs. CONTROL
Discovering vs. CONTROL
The Agile Leadership Mindset
13. The greatest leader is
not necessarily the one
who does the greatest
things. He is the one that
gets the people to do the
greatest things.
Ronald Reagan
14. Leadership is
the art of
getting
someone else
to do
something
you want
done because
he wants to
do it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
15. Nelson Mandela
A leader...is like a
shepherd. He stays
behind the flock, letting
the most nimble go out
ahead, whereupon the
others follow, not
realizing that all along
they are being directed
from behind.
16. Ralph Nader
I start with the premise
that the function of
leadership is to produce
more leaders, not more
followers.
17. • Empirical vs. CONTROL
• Principles vs. CONTROL
• Products vs. CONTROL
• Outcome vs. CONTROL
• Teams vs. CONTROL
• Learning vs. CONTROL
• Discovering vs. CONTROL
Who’s the leader?
19. Where is trust?
Agile Scrum XP
Individuals and interactions Focus Simplicity
Working Software Courage Courage
Customer Collaboration Openness Communication
Responding to change Commitment Feedback
Respect Respect
31. The first time people look at any given ad, they don't even see it.
The second time, they don't notice it.
The third time, they are aware that it is there.
The fourth time, they have a fleeting sense that they've seen it somewhere before.
The fifth time, they actually read the ad.
The sixth time they thumb their nose at it.
The seventh time, they start to get a little irritated with it.
The eighth time, they start to think, "Here's that confounded ad again."
The ninth time, they start to wonder if they're missing out on something.
The tenth time, they ask their friends and neighbors if they've tried it.
Effective Frequency
Successful Advertising, Thomas Smith (1885)
32. The eleventh time, they wonder how the company is paying for all these ads.
The twelfth time, they start to think that it must be a good product.
The thirteenth time, they start to feel the product has value.
The fourteenth time, they start to remember wanting a product exactly like this for a long time.
The fifteenth time, they start to yearn for it because they can't afford to buy it.
The sixteenth time, they accept the fact that they will buy it sometime in the future.
The seventeenth time, they make a note to buy the product.
The eighteenth time, they curse their poverty for not allowing them to buy this terrific product.
The nineteenth time, they count their money very carefully.
The twentieth time prospects see the ad, they buy what is offering.
Effective Frequency
33. Switch, Heath
Influencer, Grenny
Leading Change, Kotter
Strengths Based Leadership, Rath
Leading Outside the Lines, Katzenbach
The Discipline of Market Leaders, Treacy
The Future of Management, Hamel
Management 3.0, Appello
Start with Why, Sinek
Mindset, Dweck
Suggested Reading
Chrissy thinks she nags the kids more
I said let’s run an experiment
Who’s a coach?
Okay, who is involved in a transformation of some kind?
Especially difficult when their behavior is control focused.
Fewer controls is perceived as a negative
We can learn from the leadership literature, not to understand the leaders, but to understand how we’re leading this transformation.
If you take the number of times that your words have had an impact on changing behavior and you compare that to the number of times your actions have had an impact on changing behavior, it winds up looking like this pie chart.
Mention success with this approach at ASI
Mention the V1 survey
Leading Outside the Lines – Sidney and who he listens to
Pairing with Jason