Agile transformation, undoubtedly two words that strike fear into the heart of any product organization. It should be an exciting time, with tough conversations, compromises, and hopefully good progress. But even if you successfully form a single team, there’s another problem… the rest of the organization has no idea how to deal with you.
There are not more than five musical notes, yet the combinations of these five give rise to more melodies than can ever be heard.There are not more than five primary colors, yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.There are not more than five cardinal tastes, yet combinations of them yield more flavors than can ever be tasted.
We often see that people are scared when an agile transformation starts in any organization. There is a fear of losing job, there is a fear of losing power, there is a fear of losing control. All these fears lead to a panic in the people working in the organization.
Remember one thing, the people who have been working in the organization for long have good knowledge about the whole organization than any outsider. The same knowledge can be very well utilized in the agile transformation. Be it the business knowledge or technical skills.
Investing in the talents of your people
For many traditional organizations, talent strategy is an afterthought of an agile transformation. In the process, some crucial questions that merit careful consideration, such as the following, remain unanswered:
- What are the intrinsic skills required to be successful in the agile organization?
- Where will talented individuals with these intrinsics be sourced from?
- How will these employees be supported as they transition to an agile way of working?
- How will career paths change to a more expertise-based model?
- How will performance be managed in the new organization?
- What will happen to individuals who might not be required in the new agile organization?
The result: lack of excitement about taking on the new agile roles or joining agile teams due to lack of clarity on the career path, leading to teams that still require senior leadership to be deeply involved in decision making. It is very important that the organization starts investing in the people who have been there and speed up the whole transformation with the help of its own people.
Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.
When you start the transformation journey, you don’t need to fire people who have been with you for so long. These people, with some help and support from the organization, can be the torch bearers for the organization in the long run.
You can always win the war without firing a single shot!
When you stop expecting people to be perfect, you can like them for who they are.
