Agile – Finally!!

Our client, a software-led multi-modal digital presence company, that had embraced Agile a few years ago, faced significant challenges within their organization, including missed delivery timelines, a lack of product innovation, and stressed leadership.

As we observed how work flowed in the organization, we soon realized that a lot of the problems that manifested were from a lack of role clarity in the product management and engineering leadership teams. The lack of clarity led to confusion and shrinking space for people to perform their roles and to take accountability for outcomes – e.g. Product managers got into the weeds of delivery dates and planning and engineering leads and managers were reacting and getting into day-day inward-looking tasks that teams were fully capable of doing if only there was focus.

As part of our #ACE (Agile Culture for Enterprises) offering, we facilitated a series of collaborative workshops with all leaders in the organization. These sessions focused on exploring their roles within the context of their value streams. By encouraging open dialogue and sharing of information, we aimed to bring clarity to their accountabilities and reduce duplication of efforts.

Deploying practices around concepts such as #SharedDecisionMaking, #BreakingDownSilos, #ChoosingWhatToControl, #PeopleCanFixItThemselves and defining #ClearRolesAndResponsibilities, we emphasized the importance of transparency and collaboration across functional boundaries. Through exercises like collaboratively defining expectations in a social contract, we fostered open communication and increased trust among team members.

Over the following months, we supported leaders in adapting to their newly clarified roles. Initially challenging, this transition ultimately led to significant time savings. Leaders found themselves freed from day-to-day tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-order initiatives.

The teams now enjoyed more space for participation and owning up to their outcomes – as opposed to obsessing over daily tasks with no understanding of outcomes. Senior leadership was able to see the benefits of team leaders asking more questions and learning about the business that helped communicate the purpose of work – and not just the scope of work. All these resulted in significant improvements in the predictability and velocity of the Agile teams.

Importantly, the success of this transformation was not merely temporary. By establishing clear roles and fostering a culture of empowerment, the organization was able to maintain its newfound effectiveness and purpose-driven approach.

#ShapingTheFutureOfWork #DrivingBusinessResults #HumanCentric

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