I am frequently asked where I think a successful transformation should start. I believe a it has to begin with the leadership team. Great changes can happen at the team level and you can definitely grow and learn efficiencies. However, there is a plateau on the changes a team can make without leadership support. This is true because leaders ultimately own both the monetary resources and the roadmap of work to be completed. Management can destroy best practices and inject new or meaningless work on teams without any recourse. This is where the thought that leadership is the foundation of a transformation comes from. If we can train the management team to learn and grow as “agile leaders,” then they will be the ones guiding the transformation and ultimately will be the key to success.
Since leadership owns the financial resources, they make the decision that a transformation is necessary. They define timelines, logistics, and even who will be a part of any transformation teams. In addition, managers measure and define success. They even hire consultants to come into their organizations and support or guide the transformation. Common symptoms from a management viewpoint are: “Our teams never finish anything,” “Our quality is horrible,” and “The teams are not agile.”
When I join an organization the first thing I attempt to do is meet with the leadership team that has direct impact on delivery. This usually includes a Chief Information Officer, Director of PMO, Director of Quality, Director of Architecture, or any other leader whose title starts with a “C or D”. My script is always the same: What is the greatest opportunity that you would like this transformation to address? Once I know what a leader(s) feels is broken, I then can understand their mindset and speak the same language. Next, I want to know what they think of my role, so I ask something like: How can I help this organization? What would make you feel as though my time here was a successful investment? This is usually a tricky question for a leader due to the fact that the answer probably combines both quantitative and qualitative thinking. Ultimately, my goal is to get them to take ownership in the transformation by defining what it means. I ask for them to partner with me and help me work on the right items. I ask them if we can create a roadmap and transformation backlog that we fact check ourselves against to ensure that we are making progress.
To circle back to the original statement, I think that transformation has to start with leadership. Many great advances can happen at the team level, but leaders have to allow the teams to grow and create the environment for the change. In addition, many great efforts are stopped due to team members not believing management will support the changes. If the managers promote the transformation, it has a higher chance of success. Far too often consultants, coaches, and transformation leads fail to engage customers/leaders as partners in the transformation. I believe it to be my responsibility to push executive leadership to define and understand the transformation roadmap. They must know the current challenges in order for me to help them define the future opportunities. Transformation requires active participation by leaders. They must lead the transformation and provide a safe environment for the teams to continuously improve.
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