Remember our previous blog on why agile transformation sometimes fails? By now you may already know that the reason behind the problem often lies in the approach or assumption itself. People tend to forget that agile transformation is not about a plannable transition from one destination to another, but a transition from a known state to a constantly adapting and improving state. For agile initiatives to thrive, strategic cultural change is required. Let’s take a look at how to achieve that!

Self-reflection

Information gathering plays a big role in the process of agile transformation. Before moving on to the next action, it is good to have a self-reflection and ask yourself why you want to become agile and how you can ensure that your employees are involved in the process. Your reason for becoming agile should always focus on the needs of your customers. Take a public transportation company as an example. As a passenger, you often experience a completely overcrowded and overheated bus or train with long delays or sometimes you don’t even get the right information about your connection in the app or hotline. Is the customer REALLY the focus here? It’s not about meeting blind growth or revenue targets. It’s about understanding the “why,” working for it and creating value.

Building an agile culture

Once the information is gathered, the next step is to form hypotheses – to make suggestions, agreements and later take concrete action. However, when a company relies heavily on legacy systems and processes and is driven by control, it can be difficult to embrace agile transformation. Therefore, a strategic culture change is needed for the agile initiative to thrive so that the company can survive and grow. The question is, how can companies successfully build an agile culture? Here are some factors to consider:

Is your organization ready for it?

Most organizations cannot become “all agile” overnight. Therefore, it is crucial to understand what phase the organization is currently in and define transition steps based on the maturity and readiness of the organization.

Business and IT leadership engagement

Building a culture must start at the top, otherwise agile initiatives will not survive if there is no support at the C-level. It must involve both business and technology operations, as most operational areas must change before Agile can take root. Close collaboration between business and IT leadership is therefore crucial.

Teamwork

Is each target audience addressed and dealt with appropriately? Agile requires flexibility and close collaboration with teams focused on the successful outcome of the initiative, regardless of function. It is important that everyone realizes that agile transformation is here to stay and that they are part of something positive.

The right vision

Building the right agile transition vision requires bringing people, processes and technologies together and identifying where it makes sense to implement agile. Again, agile transformation is about transitioning from a known state to a continuously adapting and improving state. Therefore, a well-defined transition approach is needed.

Agile partner

Culture change is a huge undertaking! We mentioned at the beginning how important it is to gather information about current culture and communication. Who reports to whom? Who talks to whom, when and how? How is information shared? Are there topics that are not talked about? Imagine gathering all this information on your own! Therefore, it is advisable to seek external support in this regard. An external person is not “preloaded” with info and can always step out of the system and ask different questions.

Conclusion

One of the key benefits of agile is the high level of innovation it enables. Despite the benefits, many organizations struggle with the successful transition to agile, leading to an unnecessarily high failure rate of agile projects. Building an agile culture is the key to successfully transitioning to agile and experiencing all the competitive advantages it offers. Are you looking for a partner to help you with this? Our experts are always ready to help you.

You might also want to check out our other agile-related blogs:

This blog is written in collaboration with Dirk Börnert – Agile Coach and Senior Consultant at Mediaan Conclusion.