way of working should no longer be thought of as a software-developer- only method. “Agility isn’t just about software. At its heart, it concerns setting up your organisation so that it responds to change. In fact, the word ‘agility’ was first mentioned not in software development, but at the beginning of the nineties with respect to manufacturing, which was trying to set up competitive businesses with very short cycles to introduce products to market that customers really wanted.” WHO MAKES THE CHANGES? It’s ultimately about people – those who must implement or adapt to it. “My experience says that if the management doesn’t support the change, then there is no change,”
asserts Nöthen. “We are brought in to help initiate the process – but the organisation itself needs to implement the idea.” When Qvest is brought in to consult on a technology adaptation, the process within the company is discussed at early stages. “Today, managers are more open for this discussion. Going back three, four years, they would say ‘our HR department is handling that.’ But an HR department can only do it from a certain angle,” explains Nöthen. Barth adds: “At the beginning of these projects, you have to check what the management really want to achieve. And what is the price they are able to pay? Do they see themselves as part of the reason change hasn’t happened? If they don’t accept that they are a part of the system – and in a way part of the problem – it is really hard to set up the process needed to be successful. Change is not a one-time project.” COACHING THE MANAGERS Getting management to adapt in order for the organisation to adapt requires coaching. People easily fall in love with the rightness of their own
vision, and can cling to it stubbornly, even in the face of contrary evidence. A consultancy like Qvest can start to interrogate the assumptions under which management has been operating by asking them how they communicate with their employees and what results those communications typically produce. Simple microhabits can be introduced into daily work, which not only transform the culture of the business, but more importantly how management operates. They may need to step back from moderating meetings and take an observer point of view. The general trend is toward handing more control to teams – and even pushing teams to make decisions rather than appealing to management as an arbiter. “When people come to you as a manager,” continues Barth, “you can just say: ‘Feel free to make the decision on your own. Whatever may happen, I will stand with you. If there is something wrong, we can discuss it then.’ This creates a new kind of leadership. Sometimes it works and other times it’s really difficult.” That isn’t to imply management is simply giving up responsibility. In actuality, this means management can now focus better on the bigger picture, rather than getting bogged down in microdecisions. A change-resilient business needs to abandon the myth of balance and stability. Balance is often trotted out as a universal virtue, but the truth is that balance doesn’t even really exists in business – or in nature. Technologies, markets, customers, finances and ideas are always growing or contracting, changing from one thing into another. “The challenge in an organisation that needs stability is that the people within it are often held back by a kind of fear,” says Nöthen. “They fear losing their role in the organisation, so they try to secure things in every direction. “But once you have reached an agile environment, people start to trust that the management team will involve them in every change. And if it’s going to affect them, they will know it immediately. There are no hidden agendas. As a result, the workforce is more self-confident and will begin to ask exactly what value they can deliver to the company – independent of their title.”
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