"It's not enough to just introduce new buzzwords and stay on the surface with change. Successful transformation requires much more. Change approaches need to be adapted to the context and complexity of the circumstances they face. Feedback mechanisms and transparency are essential in order to create and maintain a culture of trust."
Organizations are complex systems and their structure is less static than it might appear at first glance. This is because organizations live and develop with the people who work in them and the challenges they face.
Agility not only promises to make room for the individual use of each person’s potential, but also for a flexible response to the volatile challenges of our time. Agile scaling models such as the Spotify model beckon with a template-like structure – simple to implement and promising rapid success. However, our experience shows that agile transformation processes are less about applying an agile blueprint and more about identifying individually suitable principles and practices based on a company’s specific challenges – and then establishing these in the spirit of agility in such a way that they create sustainable added value for individual collaboration and goal achievement.
As part of a “future operating model”, around 30% of the entire organization should be transferred to agile forms of organization and collaboration. Agile skills were to be communicated and anchored throughout the entire organization in such a way that the company’s own resources could also be deployed as agile coaches and scrum masters in the future. In this context, consistency was commissioned to support the agile transformation and emerging challenges. Our consulting and coaching approach is based on the sustainable anchoring of skills in order to enable those involved to live the changes in the long term even after our support.
The target image of the agile process organization was implemented step by step in a wave-based transformation process: For this purpose, initial tribes were designed, which form the merger of several agile teams into a larger organizational unit. From this, small autonomous teams, so-called “squads”, were formed, representing the core of the organizational form, which work independently within the framework of the previously defined purpose and long-term goals, as well as the agile values and principles. In addition, a professional association of colleagues from the same profession was formed via “chapters” to ensure professional development and the development of uniform standards.
The core of our support service was the communication and establishment of agile principles through methodological and technical consulting, coaching and training. In order to be able to establish the agile target structure, taking into account the current organizational characteristics, a team was formed together with representatives of the organization to accompany the agile transformation. As part of this team, an in-depth examination of the existing organizational culture took place at the beginning and continuously over the course of the project. To this end, the intensive question was asked as to how the desired changes should be interpreted and perceived within the existing organizational structure. In addition to the methodical implementation of the transformation, the following technical questions were continuously asked
Furthermore, emphasis was also placed on taking the organization’s own management culture into account and involving it. To this end, participating managers were involved and activated via a specially developed program (FiA – Leadership in Agility). Further demand-specific formats, such as agile coach training and other networking activities (guilds, community of practice, etc.), were used to create space for the individual topics and needs that arose during the transformation so that the necessary skills could be established in the long term.
Agile transformation is possible. The core idea is to develop an optimally functioning organization based on well-positioned and strengthened teams. Along the way, frameworks such as the Spotify model provide a good basis and valuable inspiration. However, they are no substitute for in-depth analysis of existing structures. Only if these are understood in depth and the people who work in them are supported in their existing structure will agile transformation continue to exist in the long term and bear the hoped-for fruit.
Arrange a personal consultation now and let our experts advise you. We will be happy to give you an insight into current projects and talk about your specific ideas and needs.
Our core competency lies in the combination of agile methods and stable solutions for challenging management, organisational and transformation tasks. With this experience-based advantage and our very special cohesion, we achieve effective results and sustainable changes.