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AGILE HAS BEEN THE NEW BUZZ WORD FOR MANY ORGANISATIONS AND AT TIMES HEAR THAT ‘AGILE DOES NOT WORK FOR US OR WE HAVE FAILED AGILE ADOPTION’.
The core intent of organisation transformation is to deliver value and achieve the desired outcome. They start by running pilot projects using frameworks such as Scrum, Kanban, and various other DevOps methods. These projects turn out to be quite successful for a short duration.However, companies are failing to adopt these on a larger scale. In other words, run all their projects under the Agile umbrella, in the long run, starting from the team members to the managers and executives. They inevitably switch to the traditional model when the application of Agile fall apart.
Why have organisations failed agile adoption, you may ask? Where are they going wrong? Well, the reasons are two-fold.
Why do we need to change in the first place?
Instead of following a trend blindly and implementing changes, companies need to gauge whether or not their current processes need the conversion in delivery models.
Here are the market dynamics based on which companies can decide whether they need to take a second look at their strategies, and choose to take up the Agile journey:
Customer outcomes: Are the delivering value to the customers frequently and do they expect personalization in terms of products and services?
Rapid innovation cycle: Has the innovation cycle been accelerated due to the entry of new products? Have other companies been taking competitive advantage of this acceleration?
Disruption in technology: Are new and advanced products and services emerging due to technology disruption? Is it leading to quicker business decisions and cost reduction?
For instance, if the ongoing projects have come across automation via robotics, digital business models, more efficient services using Xaas and AI via cloud solutions, then it is an indication of adopting Agile.
Apart from the technology perspective, the business benefits that come with adopting Agile are cost reduction through productivity gains, increased employee engagement, better customer advocacy, higher speed to market, faster reaction time, and a work culture led by innovation.
Here are some points that could help in analyzing the need for the change in business processes:
Estimate the gain and benefits alignment with business or leadership areas on the expected outcome, using the success or failure data from the pilot projects.
Make sure that the aforementioned alignment, and buy-in, is crucial in sustaining the Agile transformation
What’s the Purpose and outcome we want to deliver?
After deciding whether a change is necessary for the business, the next logical question is where the change should begin. Organisations generally try to scale across every technology and business function without identifying the areas with specific needs.
Also, implementing Agile and scaling all areas in a uniform pace may not be the right way to go about it. A different approach such as a right-speed or multi-speed approach would be required.
To gain more clarity, let us look at an example. The front, middle, and back offices will require the changes to be done at different speeds. All sections in an organisation need not operate at the highest speed. In case the customer makes no profit from the delivery speed, the time and money spent on scaling Agile would go to waste.
Besides, the companies themselves need to re-evaluate their environment and overall architecture and gauge the requirement for Agile. The right pace in which Agile must be implemented should be determined by the business vision, customer aspirations, and operational constraints.
Different Speeds for Different Scenarios
Agile can be applied to various types of projects.
In a project with gaps in customer requirements, Agile can be utilised to deliver value increments that are smaller at the beginning and to adjust the subsequent iterations based on the feedback received from the customer.
In a project where the customer has already put forth the requirements, Agile can still be introduced to minimise the risks by providing a solution in increments.
The culture of the organisation. How do we address it?
Companies tend to focus on how and when they must adapt to the new manner of working across all functions involved in the company. Unfortunately, these factors are not enough to make the change.
Here is where the first issue arises—they start from making changes on the technology side alone. Scaling Agile methods successfully at the portfolio or organisational levels requires a structural shift across technology, processes, people, and culture. It is not enough if done from the technology and process level only. It has to be introduced to the people side as well.
The necessity of Agility?
This brings us to the second issue—insufficient knowledge on why the new method has to be adopted and starting from where. Companies lack information on the exact benefits of implementing Agile and in what areas the change is required.
How do we measure success?
Working with leaders we have heard this phrase ‘It is not as easy as we think it is, to measure success’. What if we measure what matters for the organisation. Here are some of the common one which might apply for you
ON-TIME DELIVERY
This is the most popular way of measuring initial success. On Time delivery is the goal for every team irrespective of which field. Meeting time to time commitments leads to a higher competitive advantage and higher confidence. Burn down charts play a major role here to illustrate how much work is left versus the time in hand to accomplish it.
PRODUCT QUALITY
Product quality can be a challenge to measure but many organisations opt to measure success through this mode. Some say that quality can be measured through an increase in revenue and customer feedback, but this might not always be the case. Relying on hard metrics like continuously testing and inspecting throughout the entire development cycle is a proven way to successfully measuring product quality.
PROJECT VISIBILITY
Agile teams must be able to track and see exactly how the work is progressing, making relevant data visible. One of the best ways to bring visibility is by building trust and ensuring complete transparency with teams.
PRODUCTIVITY
Productivity in an Agile Environment is a measure of outcomes and not output. Looking at burnup charts that show visibility of stories and features over time is a great way to understand how much the teams are delivering.
CUSTOMER/ USER SATISFACTION
There are numerous ways to measure customer satisfaction. To have the clearest visibility, combining the Net Promoter scores with relevant usage statistics which display how customers are using the product, and how that usage has changed since the initiative was completed help.
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
The fundamental component of an Agile organisation is empowered, autonomous and competent teams. Having motivated employees is not the only factor. Research indicates that motivated employees go hand in hand with happy customers, greater productivity, profitability and great products.
If Agile is Mindset then how come Agile Transformation Fails?
To summarise, the pace at which Agile is implemented can never be uniform for every project. Hence, companies must utilize Agile based on a ‘why and where’ approach as opposed to the ‘how and when’, to be able to successfully adopt it across organisations.
Agile is about Mindset. It’s not about the way we start using some of those engineering practices to make things happen. Yes, the engineering practices are valuable and without the right purpose, we are just wasting time. To drive change, we need to understand the purpose of ‘why’ and ‘what does success mean to us’. At Leadership Tribe, we have been helping organisations, starting from individuals, teams, Leadership, business units as well as at the strategic level. What does it take to create better, faster, cheaper and happier customer & Employees? Reach out to us! We have worked with various sectors like financial organisations, Internal Auditing, Legal, Airlines, Engineering and Software industries. How can we be part of your journey to bring change in your organisation where you are successful?
Leadership traits are the personal qualities which help a person to shape himself or herself into effective leader. The traits help you to work efficiently in different fields. For example, leaders in IT must deal with rate of industrial change and different complexities like the cybersecurity threats, interation of modern legacy systems and applications and compliance issues. Leaders helps the employees to complete initiatives and meet business goals be it in business or government or education.Factors influencing Leadersip traits are:
Leader
Subordinates or followers
Situation
Other possible factors
Some Leadership Traits are:
A leader should be strong, responsible, respected and should have a soild base. Leaders should be trustworthy, genuine and honest. They should be kind towards their subordinates and should have ethical conduct.
Demonstrating respect for others requires developing and refining:
(1) Empathy. When a leader treats everyone in the organisation with consideration, shows genuine concern for others, listens with understanding and is respectful even if nothing is to be gained from the relationship, it helps the leader earn trust. Empathetic leaders create strong bonds and are seen as less political.
(2) Emotional Mastery. For those in positions of formal power, the most important aspect of emotional mastery may be controlling anger. Outbursts of anger have no spot in the workplace, and can quickly destroy a sense of organisational equity and partnership. A person with this quality says what he or she thinks, but never berates others, and stays calm even in crises. Anxiety is not allowed to interfere with public speaking or with other things that the leader needs to do. A leader with this quality thinks before reacting and can consciously choose an appropriate response.
(3) Lack of Blame. People who don’t blame others are not defensive; they can reflect honestly on their own behavior and are willing to admit mistakes. When things go wrong, they don’t spend time assigning blame; they spend time fixing the problem. An individual, who demonstrates this core quality, admits fault when appropriate, and does not look for a scapegoat in a crisis.
(4) Humility. Humility is a lack of pomposity and arrogance. It is the recognition that all people are fallible, that we are all combinations of strengths and weaknesses. Individuals who demonstrate humility, as someone has said, “don’t think less of themselves; they just think more of others.” Arrogance derails more leaders than any other factor. A person with the attribute of humility listens to others with an open mind; doesn’t brag or name drop; clearly sees and admits their limitations and failings, and is not afraid to be vulnerable.
Responsibility, at the other end of the integrity base, is the acceptance of full responsibility for personal success and the success of the project, team and organisation. To become responsible requires development and refinement of the following:
(1) Accountability. Leaders who are truly accountable expand their view of organisational responsibility and do what they can to get done what needs to get done, no matter where in the organisation they have to go. They NEVER say, “It’s not my job”. They also hold themselves accountable for making relationships work – they don’t say, “Well, I’ll go halfway if they will”. They take 100% responsibility for making any relationship work. An individual with this feature takes the initiative to get things done; is not afraid to hold others accountable; is willing to cross departmental boundaries to help with a meaningful project; and takes personal responsibility for organisational success.
(2) Self-Confidence. Self-confident folks feel that they are the equal of others, even when those others are in positions of much greater formal power. They also recognize the value of building the self-confidence of others and are not threatened by doing so. Self-confidence in everyone builds a sense of partnership and helps the organisation get maximum effort and ideas from everyone. A self-confident person has a self assured bearing; is flexible and willing to change; easily gives others credit; and isn’t afraid to tell the truth.
(3) Courage. Courageous persons are assertive and willing to take risks. They ask forgiveness rather than permission, and are willing to try even though they might fail. They are willing to risk conflict to have their ideas heard, balancing that with the respect that makes constructive conflict possible. These individuals often champion new or unpopular ideas. Further, they will talk to others, not about others, when there is a problem; accept feedback and really hear what others say, as well as take the ball and run with it, even when there are obstacles. Focus on the whole. People who focus on the whole think in terms of the good for the entire organisation, not in terms of what’s good for them or their team. Good leadership refers not only to competence but to ethics and transforming people as well. A leader is responsible for influencing followers to act, complete a task, or behave in a specific manner. Effective leaders influence process, stimulate change in attitudes and values of followers, enhance followers’ beliefs in their worth, and foster the leader’s vision by utilizing strategies of empowerment. Ethical leadership requires ethical leaders. If leaders are ethical, they can ensure that ethical practices are carried out throughout an organisation. Ethical leadership is leadership that is involved in leading in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of others. As leaders are by nature in a position of power, ethical leadership focuses on how leaders use their power in the decisions they make, actions they engage in, and ways they influence others. Ethical leaders demonstrate a level of integrity that is important for stimulating a sense of leader trustworthiness, which is important for followers to accept the vision of the leader. These are critical and direct components of leading ethically. The character and integrity of the leader provide the basis for personal characteristics that direct a leader’s ethical beliefs, values, and decisions. Individual values and beliefs impact the ethical decisions of a leader. Ethical leaders are people-oriented, aware of how their decisions impact others and use their power to serve the greater good instead of self-serving interests. In ethical leadership, the leader needs to consider how decisions impact others. Motivating followers to put the needs or interests of the group ahead of their own is another quality of ethical leaders. Motivating involves engaging others in an intellectual and emotional commitment between leaders and followers that makes both parties equally responsible in the pursuit of a common goal. Ethical leaders assist followers in gaining a sense of personal competence that allows them to be self-sufficient by encouraging and empowering them.
Many leaders are competent, but few qualify as remarkable. If you want to join the ranks of the best of the best, make sure you embody all these qualities all the time. It isn’t easy, but the rewards can be truly phenomenal.
1. Awareness There is a difference between management and employees, bosses and workers. Leaders understand the nature of this difference and accept it; it informs their image, their actions, and their communication. They conduct themselves in a way that sets them apart from their employees–not in a manner that suggests they are better than others, but in a way that permits them to retain an objective perspective on everything that’s going on in their organisation.
2. Decisiveness All leaders must make tough decisions. It goes with the job. They understand that in certain situations, difficult and timely decisions must be made in the best interests of the entire organisation, decisions that require a firmness, authority, and finality that will not please everyone. Extraordinary leaders don’t hesitate in such situations. They also know when not to act unilaterally but instead foster collaborative decision making.
3. Empathy Extraordinary leaders praise in public and address problems in private, with a genuine concern. The best leaders guide employees through challenges, always on the lookout for solutions to foster the long-term success of the organisation. Rather than making things personal when they encounter problems or assigning blame to individuals, leaders look for constructive solutions and focus on moving forward.
4. Accountability Extraordinary leaders take responsibility for everyone’s performance, including their own. They follow up on all outstanding issues, check in on employees, and monitor the effectiveness of company policies and procedures. When things are going well, they praise. When problems arise, they identify them quickly, seek solutions, and get things back on track.
5. Confidence Not only are the best leaders confident, but their confidence is contagious. Employees are naturally drawn to them, seek their advice, and feel more confident as a result. When challenged, they don’t give in too easily, because they know their ideas, opinions, and strategies are well-informed and the result of much hard work. But when proven wrong, they take responsibility and quickly act to improve the situations within their authority.
6. Optimism The very best leaders are a source of positive energy.They communicate easily. They are intrinsically helpful and genuinely concerned about other people’s welfare. They always seem to have a solution, and always know what to say to inspire and reassure. They avoid personal criticism and pessimistic thinking and look for ways to gain consensus and get people to work together efficiently and effectively as a team.
7. Honesty Strong leaders treat people the way they want to be treated. They are extremely ethical and believe that honesty, effort, and reliability form the foundation of success. They embody these values so overtly that no employee doubts their integrity for a minute. They share information openly and avoid spin control.
8. Focus Extraordinary leaders plan, and they are supremely organized. They think through multiple scenarios and the possible impacts of their decisions while considering viable alternatives and making plans and strategies–all targeted toward success. Once prepared, they establish strategies, processes, and routines so that high performance is tangible, easily defined, and monitored. They communicate their plans to key players and have contingency plans if last-minute changes require a new direction (which they often do).
Put it all together, and what emerges is a picture of the truly inspiring leader: someone who communicates, concisely, and often, and by doing so motivates everyone to give his or her best all the time. They challenge their people by setting high but attainable standards and expectations and then giving them the support, tools, training, and latitude to pursue those goals and become the best employees they can be.
Listening is probably one of the most important skills one can have and yet the most likely to be neglected simply because it is taken for granted as something that just happens. But is it really?
The answer is no, ‘listening’ is more than ‘hearing’. I have come across a very interesting interpretation of the traditional Chinese character ‘listen’ (see below) which gives a flavour of what it entails.
The Chinese character ‘listen’ is composed of several parts:
耳 Ear = What you use to listen
王 King = Pay attention as if the other person were king
十目 Ten and Eye = Be observant as if you had ten eyes
一 One = Listen with individual attention
心 Heart = Listen with your heart
(Source: Coaching for Performance)
Active Listening
The interpretation provides a peek at ‘active listening’, where one makes a conscious effort to hear not only the words of the speaker but more importantly to understand the complete message being communicated. It is a technique widely used in areas such as communication, coaching, conflict resolution, and particularly useful to business leaders.
Active listening is where the listener:
stays attentive and focused during the conversation;
pays attention to the speakers, be observant about their words, the tone of voice and body language, which reveals their views and emotions;
shows interest and acknowledges engagement in the conversation (with non-verbal signs and verbal enforcement);
summarises and reflects to ensure correct understanding and reassures they have been fully heard;
remains neutral and non-judgmental;
allows the speaker adequate time to finish and avoids interruption.
Active listening is a skill that takes time and effort to develop just like any other skills we acquire, and it takes practice, dedication, and empathy to sustain and master. How well we listen has great influence on the effectiveness of our communication and the quality of our relationships with others. Business leaders who listen to their employees and have their best interests at heart can nurture trustworthy relationships, inspire and support employees for professional development and improve effectiveness and overall performance at work.
Level of Listening
People’s listening competencies are typically defined in three stages, and moving towards a higher level of listening can help people to become more effective listeners and executives to become more compassionate leaders.
INTERNAL LISTENING
This is the lowest level of listening and most of us stay at this level unless we intentionally develop our listening skills. It occurs naturally where we listen to our voice internally rather than the others when they speak. For instance, you might be thinking about a particular question or what to say next when someone is talking. Internal listening can potentially lead to key information being lost or misunderstanding in communication, and enhancement on listening skills is required.
EXTERNAL LISTENING
At the second level of listening, we fully focus on the speakers and pay attention to every word they say. We listen attentively to understand their message conveyed accurately and completely and not distracted by our internal dialogue. It takes motivation and practice to reach this level given how easy it is for the mind to wander off from a conversation. External listening is often adopted in coaching conversations, where it is all about the coachees and understanding where they are ‘coming from’.
ENVIRONMENTAL LISTENING
The highest level of listening focuses on the speakers in the context of their entire surroundings, this is where we pay attention to not only what they say but also what they mean, by gauging information from all available signals from the speakers’ tone of voice, facial expression, body language, and emotion. Environmental listening allows us to understand the speakers’ thinking and feeling which also helps to validate what they say. It enables business leaders to establish trust and connection with their employees which in turn improves the transparency, innovation, and productivity of the organisation.
In summary, listening differs from hearing, it is an important skill and an essential leadership tool to develop effective communication, drive employee engagement and positive business outcomes. It requires concentration and practice. Understanding the techniques of active listening and level of listening helps people to develop their listening skills intentionally, and become a better listener and a mindful leader.
Leadership-Tribe is an accredited agency that is authorised by the renowned organisations (ICAgile, Scrum Alliance). Certificates provided by us hold a prestigious value across the globe and you can switch to any organization irrespective of the nations.
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young” – Henry Ford
Choosing an ideal institute/coach for Agile Training and mentoring in Bangalore can be one of the best decisions you can take for a flourishing career. These training courses are a must-have to nourish you with the right know-how and agile mindset, practices that can assist you in the long-run.
However, choosing the correct course and the best institute is something necessary.
You need to make a rewarding and fruitful decision of choosing the right partner who promises 100% satisfaction and is capable of delivering you with the right mix of theory and practicality.
Also choosing a renowned agency for Agile Training can act as the staircase to your way towards growing success and can embellish you with industrial skills to up-scale your potential.
Have a glimpse of the perks you will get with these top of the line courses:
Agile Transformation Journey
Every one of us dreams of optimising the product, processes, people and environment to a greater extent while we are increasing the revenue whilst we are decreasing the cost. Shouldn’t this be easy? In theory yes and in reality? Probably meh! Achieving this requires in-depth knowledge and a humongous set of proven principles that guide one to the purpose of the journey.
By enrolling and investing in your Agile development, one can quickly learn some of the best engineering practices like Scrum, Kanban, Lean, Design Thinking and various methods to render on-time and better business solutions. These professional courses can help you build the skills for Business Agility, Transformation Agility, Technical Agility, Agile Leadership, and much more.
These courses are specifically designed by industry experts who are Agile practitioners and coaches. They have seen it, done it and now are training the community on the best practices gained working globally. You will be able to easily experience and identify the difference in delivering the best value to your clients, customers and more importantly you as a human being.
WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOU?
BENEFITS OF ENROLLING INTO AGILE TRAINING:
A better understanding of why Agile is far better than conventional project development strategies.
Plunge into the know-how of why Agile is a topnotch approach and why Agile is not only suitable for dealing with SDP (Software Development Projects) as well as for your lifestyle.
Apply what you have learned in training on the live projects while terminating the complexities.
Certified Agile Coach Training and Certification (ICP-ACC)
If you believe that Agile Coaches tell people what to do when one needs to understand the roles, responsibilities, and mindset. This comprehensive training program in Bengaluru is focused on people who can build high-performance individual and organisations with the skills and abilities to build innovative organisations.
Future Agile Coaches enrolled in ICP – ACC Certified Agile coach for Agile teams program will help individuals to learn and adapt Agile coaching stance, tool sets, and exercises.
This course will also make you earn an Agile Coach Certificate that can open the doors to a flourishing and thriving career.
Benefits of enrolling into Certified Agile Coach Training and Certification (ICP-ACC)
The thorough difference between Teaching, Consulting, Mentoring, Coaching and the Coaching stance.
The responsibilities and accountabilities of an Agile Coach.
How to develop high performing and self-organising Agile Teams.
Also, the knowledge to become an agile enterprise coach.
Agile Team Facilitation
Projects have a start and end date. We have project managers, Scrum Masters and Leaders who work with teams to deliver better customer outcome. So it is not only imperative to identify the pattern of the team working but also create a facilitative environment where teams are empowered to drive better value to customers. One has to coordinate with internal and external stakeholder as well as facilitate the discussions to create a greater purpose and adhere to commitments.
To understand the mindset of a facilitator and tolls to drive complex conversations, one can enrich themselves by attending the ICP – ATF Agile Team Facilitator course. With this high-end course, you will be able to identify the potholes and you can avoid them for smooth and seamless teamwork. This state-of-the-art course will also help you in addressing the roles of every individual in a team.
Benefits of enrolling into Agile Team Facilitation
The knowledge to apply a plethora of techniques and tools.
A determination about the roles of facilitation skills in working environments.
The responsibilities of a Scrum Master towards a collaborative team.
Harness the Kanban values and the systems.
Understandability of startup philosophies and learn techniques.
Polarity Management.
Unique techniques to determine customer behaviour.
Benefits of enrolling in Coach for Business Agility – Foundations:
Coaching for Business Agility program in Bangalore is laced with tried and tested approaches that can help the individuals to bring in new perspectives to the organisational agility, which is needed. To work in a VUCA world, one needs to incorporate new abilities and skills which are only possible by indulging into this course.
Undeniably enterprises these days are growing at a rapid pace, and they need to cope up with the competitive markets and sustain & exceed in the volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments. This has created a massive gap for business agility. Every step taken should be able to surpass the expectations of customers and help organisations to be innovative.
Coach for Business Agility – Foundations
Design Thinking
In this world full of business complexities every enterprise needs someone who has decent problem-solving approaches and is capable of handling any situation. This has forced companies to look out for professionals who have brilliant innovation, great customer understanding, and topnotch collaborative skills in their blood.
Fortunately, the advanced design thinking courses in Bangalore are designed to help individuals to get a better grasp over these approaches. The learners participating in this course will be able to re-define their strategies while learning several new practices to cope up with similar situations.
The individuals enrolled will also have a better insight into the tools and techniques used in design thinking, which will fuel their business as well as personal growth.
Benefits of enrolling into Design Thinking
Refine your skills to deal with business complexities in a sophisticated and convenient way.
Gain excellent knowledge about the tools and techniques that can assist you in the long run.
In-depth understanding of the variations of multifarious business issues and the reason behind them.
We are affordable:
Why is Leadership Tribe the most preferred choice among people of Bengaluru and across the world?
We are not just a traditional course provider whose duty is only to educate you about these courses. But we are the right partner who knows how to nourish you with the right skills.
We are affordable:
We have managed to design our courses in the most economical and affordable ways. You do not need to shell out huge bucks for getting high-quality training.
We are an accredited agency:
Leadership-Tribe is an accredited agency that is authorised by the renowned organisations (ICAgile, Scrum Alliance). Certificates provided by us hold a prestigious value across the globe and you can switch to any organization irrespective of the nations.
Our courses are easily learnable:
The courses crafted by us are easy to learn and experiential. All of these sessions are based on practicality and can deliver you the best industrial skills and knowledge.
There is nothing better than upgrading your skills with in-house or onsite training programs to uplift your career, support your teams to build high-performance teams as well as build innovative organisations with Leadership Tribe.
Many individuals in the present are striving to be entrepreneurs. They wish to create a company of their own and do their bit in serving the company with their unique ideologies. As such, most of them give more importance to being unique and standing out amongst competitors. While doing so is vital as far as marketing is concerned, many enterprises forget what matters the most in the long haul, say in 10-20 years after the establishment of the business. Over a long time, innovation, and culture and leadership promoting it, is what matters for a company, for it makes them an Agile enterprise.
Importance of an Agile enterprise, we are sure, is not lost on anyone with a mind for business. There are numerous cases where the inability to adapt to situations and time has led to the downfall of companies. For instance, Kodak, the famous technology company that produces photography paraphernalia, filed for bankruptcy in 2012 because it took too much time to change its business model to suit the digital camera and technology. Another great example would be former movie rental giant, Blockbuster. The Texas-based company refused to acknowledge the rise of demand for online streaming of movies and series, which ultimately led to the enterprise ceasing operations in 2013.
As observed from the examples above, whenever an enterprise refuses to go with the flow of time, it has signed the warranty of its downfall. As such, a company is likely to last longer when it is Agile, as innovation and strong leadership is its backbone and foundation stone. It should be a long-term goal for businesses to create an innovative culture that can lead it to be Agile. For all its positives, many companies do not know how to utilize leadership skills to be Agile and innovative. Let us, now, see how to achieve the same, effectively.
The way to innovative organizations
Innovation does not happen in a day, week, or even several months. Akin to a tree or a plant, it requires constant nurture; and above all, a seed. An effective way to ensure an organization’s survival, in the long run, is by inculcating an innovative culture from day one. As such, the process of bringing in innovation and creativity to be an Agile company includes two essential components. They are employees and their leaders. These elements need to work in harmony, and in such a way that they complement one another’s goals.
Let us, now see these two components in detail to understand how to bring about the culture of innovation in a company:
Giving and Sharing is the key
As a CEO or an executive or a leader, many expect effective and fast results from subordinates. However, the world runs on a barter system, and one cannot get anything without offering something in return. The same goes when it comes to creating a culture that promotes innovation. Enterprises, therefore, have to give the following to its employees to ensure creativity and productivity:
Trust
As a company with many employees, it is implausible to micro-manage everything. Which is why delegation and group leaders are essential. For a leader to do his job well, the management should have a level of trust in him or her. Similarly, a manager should entrust his or her subordinates to complete their respective tasks. Moreover, nitpicking on the work done by the staff can have negative impacts on their productivity. Additionally, setting restrictions can adversely affect their creativity.
As such, leaders should keep in mind to give subordinates their creative freedom while, also, educating them on the consequences of their actions.
Freedom
One of the best ways to ensure innovation and creativity is to give employees the liberty to break through the hierarchy and open up about their ideas. An established chain of command often intimidates the staff when they need to express their opinion. More often than not, the intermediaries discourage the employees from voicing out their ideas for fear of losing face. However, if as a leader, one establishes an open network and a conducive environment where staffs can share their thoughts with one another and with the management, the levels of creativity will go off charts.
Therefore, enterprises vying to be Agile should be ready to bend a few rules to let creativity and innovation flow through the cracks.
Encouragement
Many companies, in the past, failed to run longer because they refused to think out of the box. They limited themselves and discouraged their employees from breaking the limits they set; letting conventionality kill their organization. However, to be an Agile company, one needs to encourage not just the unconventional, but also the far-fetched ideas and proposals that may seem implausible. Such concepts may, virtually, be impossible; however, it makes one stretch their minds and think about things they might not have, otherwise.
Enterprises, therefore, let ideas run wild and encourage questioning their existing practices to ensure innovation and creativity.
Help
Many enterprises fail due to lack of innovation and agility. However, there are many whose downfall comes due to lack of support of staff. If one takes a careful look at the Research and Development (R&D) area of a company, one will see a scientist is either overworked or bored. Many a time, they do not get the support staff they desperately need. And other times, the researchers have too much time on their hands.
Therefore, leaders should delegate works in a manner that no one of their subordinates is overworked or idle. Assigning multiple tasks to each will ensure increased productivity and innovative culture.
Diversity
There is a reason behind clubbing of people from different backgrounds, and it is diversity. When minds that think differently meet, they can push each others’ boundaries, leading to innovative thinking. However, many companies fail to realize this and inhibit inter-departmental communications and discussions with other companies. They fear that their trade secrets will leak and cause them losses. Nonetheless, communication and sharing of ideas with staffs of other enterprises can lead to a collaboration of ideas. Which, can lead to the innovation of technologies that can change the world.
Therefore, companies that wish to be Agile need to encourage diversity within the organization, and encourage communications with third-parties that can lead to co-innovation.
Leadership that can inspire
Creating an innovative organization starts with a leader. It is his or her Agile mindset and leadership that inspire subordinates and staffs to follow the lead and be more creative and productive. From Agile Business Consortiums’ previous paper on Agile Leadership, one must glean how an able leader can change the face of a company. As such, there are some factors that good leadership can influence, leading to the formation of an innovative culture within the organization. Here are some ways leaders can achieve this:
Appreciate the efforts
One of the best ways to promote and encourage employees and subordinates to be creative and productive, thereby, innovative, is to appreciate their efforts in the past and present. This principle has been in use for decades, now. We see this in schools and colleges in the form of marks. Constantly rewarding staffs for their work and dedication will instil in them a positive image of the company. Which, will make them want to work hard to get praise in the future. Additionally, they will also think about the company’s growth and be inspired to be creative and innovative. Therefore, leaders should make it a point to acknowledge the efforts and ideas of the staffs.
Start at the bottom
Innovation may happen during a brainstorming session most times. However, it can happen elsewhere too; there are no limitations. Innovative ideas can stem out of the challenges and limitations of existing technologies. Moreover, the process of utilizing the new ideas need not be as complicated and time-consuming as one thinks. They can be tackled by dividing them into factors like profit models, processes, products, and policies. Therefore, it is essential for a leader and a company to focus on the basic, once in a while to become an agile organization. For, they will provide breathing space to handle things, while also giving a new perspective on everything.
Empower
Limitations and powerlessness can kill the creativity of an individual. It is the case in many organizations with strict hierarchy and chain of command. However, if a leader can empower his subordinates by giving them independence and a certain level of autonomy, creativity is bound to rise within the organization. It is so because the employees will feel a sense of responsibility for the freedom given to them. Moreover, leaders should also mentor them in making smart decisions in the future to maximize innovative thinking.
Accept failures
Many companies fail to innovate and survive in the cut-throat world of business because the leaders were afraid of failure and risks. However, risks are the cornerstone of business and failure an inevitable reality of innovation. Therefore, a leader must learn to accept that hurdles and crashes are part of the path leading to an Agile organization. As such, they shouldn’t crucify subordinates and staffs for failing. Instead, they should analyze the mistakes and encourage the employees to give it another shot.
Be decisive
There are instances where companies had to shut down because the executives and leaders were not Agile enough to come make pivotal business decision. Hence, decisiveness and an Agile mindset becomes essential characteristics of successful leadership and leader. When it comes to innovation, a head should make sure to take action instead of constant discussions on the same topics over and over again. Otherwise, it won’t take too long before a rival comes up with the same idea. However, this doesn’t mean that every proposal should be accepted. A leader should make an informed and Agile decision after considering the ideas without taking up too much time.
Learn from the past
Mistakes in the past can teach an organization a lot, that is, if they choose to learn from it. Many organizations look outside for innovative ideas without considering to improve the existing discrepancies within. A leader should, therefore, always choose to look at the mistakes that an organization made in the past to ensure innovation takes place. Moreover, they should fix the errors in the past before moving forward to anything new ideas or plans, for it will make an organization Agile.
Interact
It is often the case that leaders get swamped by their responsibilities and forget that sharing of ideas is the backbone of innovation. When that happens, an organization begins to shrivel and perish. However, when executives and staffs sit and discuss, the formation of new ideas takes place. That is why you will see many startups with fewer employees have a higher rate of creativity and innovation. However, a big company can achieve the same level. Leaders can make it happen by interacting more with the subordinates and employees, encouraging dialogue and sharing of ideas.
Be open
Similar to a lack of interaction, judgment and criticism can hinder the innovation within a company leading it to fail. Constant nitpicking can lead to decreased morale of the staff and discourage them from voicing their ideas. However, if leaders make a conscious effort to not shoot down an idea the instant it was proposed, and instead keep an open mind, and guide them, employees would be encouraged to be innovative.
Business is akin to a bicycle. Without constant peddling, it will cease to move after a point. Similarly, companies without steady growth and innovation leading to it, can stagnate in terms of profits and cease operations in no time. However, being Agile through strong leadership and work culture that promotes innovation can make the difference between loss and profit. Like a bicycle, one needs to constantly peddle in creativity and new ideas to ensure the continued survival of the enterprise amongst the competition.
Business Agility, however, helps achieve the same with an Agile mindset and approach to commerce and trading. Therefore, organizations should cultivate an Agile leadership and work culture with the help of institutions like Leadership-Tribe (LT), that provides training to organizations, so they can become Agile through their Business Agility Program. LT, moreover, offers ICP BAF courses that enable enterprises to be more innovative in its approach to business, increasing innovation within a company and leading to overall growth.
Agile Enterprise Transformation: The complete 360-degree change in the working of an organisation, evident in the change of entire business style or change in the target market.
This approach impacts the operational activities of a business related to its people, process and technology to be in sync with its business strategy and vision. The long-term objectives will be achieved through a process of fundamental change. An often-repeated question asked about the process of enterprise transformation is, “How can it be achieved? Do we have to first start transforming the business or is it the IT?” The answer to this is simple. Business and IT are two sides of the same coin. We cannot do changes in one without thinking about the impact on the other. Hence, enterprise transformation should take place for both, the business and IT, at the operational and strategical level. This is the so-called ‘two-level’ alignment:
Alignment at strategic/planning level ensuring IT plans and business plans are fit and synchronised.
Alignment at the operational level ensuring the planned activities are prioritised and executed, desired objectives achieved, and business benefits realised. It is also worth pointing out that, ‘strategic alignment’ is not merely an event or activity but a process of continuous change and adaptation.
An Agile Enterprise strategy is iterative, within phases, between phases and throughout the process. The breadth of coverage of the enterprise to be defined and the level of detail to be defined should be freshly decided for each iteration before starting on it. Hence, the main aim of these iterations is a positive business outcome. Developing the future business architecture state derived from the current baseline of the business architecture is documented at this stage. You can easily move to the next phase of the iteration without completing the target business architecture in this model. It is interesting to note that you can move between parallel phases of transformation by shifting from one phase to another simultaneously working on them even without completing each one of them. A completed target business architecture might be a good thing but it is not compulsory as you will have whatever you need already defined to understand the transformation path. With the required information of the transformation path clearly defined, you may move on to working on the information system and/or the technology architecture phases.
The methodology of ‘Target First’ and ‘Baseline First’ has to be considered. This gives us a clear picture of exactly where we have to start. Being sure of the final state that we want, we can always adopt a ‘Target First’ approach and work backwards to reach the baseline. If we are not sure of the target or final state, then we need to follow the path of ‘Baseline First’ working our way towards the target. Irrespective of the path you choose, the final call is to have a clearly and effectively defined baseline and target. The main thing to consider is the gap between what we have and what we need. By shaping and getting defined within this gap, the enterprise transformation evolves with new vigour. While the baseline provides the information on the current state, target informs us of what state we want to achieve at the end of the transformation. By consolidating all such information, we can define an accurate transformation roadmap and it will help us in measuring the progress/success in reaching the target state.
Enterprise transformations can be realised by using some frameworks available in the market. Some of the widely used frameworks are the Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF), Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Dev-Ops and Large Scale Scrum (LeSS), to name a few.
Leadership Tribe specialises in identifying the baseline for the organisations and helps them in creating a target state with the assistance of executives and market leaders and will coach them throughout the journey until completion.
Based on your circumstances, we will help you to select, tailor, define and implement the best Lean and Agile approach. Solutions that suit one organisation or project will never work well for another. Different organisations face similar kinds of challenges while implementing Agile, but with each organisation being unique, the solutions to these challenges are also distinctive. With organisations and circumstances changing continuously, the solution that may work well today may not work effectively tomorrow; creating stability in this realm is what we are experts in.
