In order to succeed in today’s fast-moving business environment, we need to build our organisations into engines of possibility. This relies on attaining high levels of alignment AND autonomy so that everybody in the organisation knows what they need to achieve and why, can decide how best to do it, and genuinely cares that it gets done. I call ‘the agility challenge’. Rising to this challenge calls for new type of leadership characterised by 4 Cs: Curiosity, Communication, Confidence & Commitment.
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Rising to the Agility Challenge
1. Rising to the Agility Challenge
Agile on the Beach 2016
Dragan Jojic
part of BeLiminal network
Dragan@Capagility.com
Dragan@BeLiminal.com
@DrJojic
2. 2
“Build your organization into an engine of possibility“
Dave Gray, “Experimentation Is The New Planning” (FastCompany.com, 2012)
3. 3
Where did this talk come from?
• My article published in InfoQ in February 2016
• That often referenced Swedish streaming service
• Following a link from a tweet to a blog to a book
• A chance meeting with a popular public speaker
at an event many years ago
4. 4
Balancing alignment with autonomy
Spotify:
“Loosely coupled,
tightly aligned”
Autonomy
(what to do & how)
Alignment
(what to achieve & why)
6. 6
The Agility Challenge
Everybody in the ‘agile enterprise’:
• Knows what they need to achieve and why
• Can decide by themselves how best to do it
• Genuinely cares that it gets done
Source: htpps://www.infoq.com/articles/agility-challenge (InfoQ, February 2016)
8. 8
What else holds us back?
“...structural inertia, with layers
and layers of management, and
cultural inertia, which is the
‘this is how things are done here’ attitude”
Prof. Costas Andriopoulos, Cass Business School
Source: “Wake up call to big business as tech-savvy newbies set the pace” (The Times, 8 September 2015)
9. 9
If the rate of change on the outside
exceeds the rate of change on the inside,
the end is near
Jack Welch
10. 10
Three gaps that cause ‘friction’
Knowledge gapEffects gap
Alignment gap
Actions
Outcome
s
Plans
Source: Stephen Bungay, “The Art of Action” (2010)
11. 11
Actions
Usual approach: more detail & control
Outcome
s
Knowledge gap
more detailed info
Effects gap
more detailed
controls
Alignment gap
more detailed instructions
Plans
Source: Stephen Bungay, “The Art of Action” (2010)
12. 12
Actions
‘Directed opportunism’
Outcome
s
Knowledge gap
limit direction to
defining intent
Effects gap
give freedom to
adjust actions in
line with intent
Alignment gap
communicate intent & allow ‘each level’
to define how they will achieve it
Plans
Source: Stephen Bungay, “The Art of Action” (2010)
13. 13
Wise words of a public speaker
Three Cs of success in life
• Commitment
• Confidence
• Communication
Tony Ball MBE
14. 14
The Agility Challenge & 3 Cs of success
Everybody in the ‘agile
enterprise’:
• Knows what they need to achieve
and why
• Can decide by themselves how best
to do it
• Genuinely cares that it gets done
Communication
Confidence
Commitment
15. 15
The Agility Challenge & 4 Cs of success
Everybody in the ‘agile
enterprise’:
• Understands external environment,
and organisation’s delivery capability
• Knows what they need to achieve
and why
• Can decide by themselves how best
to do it
• Genuinely cares that it gets done
Curiosity
Communication
Confidence
Commitment
16. 16
Actions
Three gaps of friction & 4 Cs of success
Outcome
s CuriosityConfidence
Commitment
Communication
Plans
18. 18
But what kind of leadership?
Leadership at all levels in the organisation
In a truly agile enterprise, everybody has
the right and responsibility to lead
“Leadership is about taking initiative
and influencing those around you”
John Kotter
“…being a leader from the position you are in”
David Marquet
19. 19
4 Cs of success = 4 Cs of leadership
Everybody in the ‘agile
enterprise’:
• Understands external environment,
and own delivery capability
• Knows what they need to achieve
and why
• Can decide by themselves how best
to do it
• Genuinely cares that it gets done
Curiosity
Communication
Confidence
Commitment
20. 20
ctions
Outcome
s
Plans
Curiosity
“In an agile organization the mantra should be ‘Do Less’”
Jim Highsmith
• Look, listen and learn
• Develop strategic options, run
experiments & measure impact
• Keep everything visible
• Convert ‘push’ to ‘pull’: what is
possible with the means we have
at our disposal?
21. 21
Communication
Actions
Outcome
s
Plans
“Knowing why we’re doing something
is the key to making good decisions”
Gojko Adzic
• Communicate the ‘ends’
• Leave the ‘means’ to those closest to the customer
• Identify useful metrics that show we are/aren’t successful
22. 22
Actions
Outcome
s
Plans
Confidence
“It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission”
Grace Murray Hopper
• Articulate norms / delineate authority
• Keep each other honest
• Take initiative (OODA loop):
– Observe: look for risks & opportunities
– Orientate: check alignment,
communicate intent, gather input
– Decide (hypothesis) & Act (test)
• Seek and provide input
• Ask for and offer help
Sources: John Boyd’s OODA loop; David Marquet, “Turn the Ship Around”; Chris Collison & Geoff Parcell, “Learning to Fly”
23. 23
“When you’re surrounded
by people who share a
passionate purpose,
anything is possible”
Howard Schultz
Commitment
• Tell stories (SUCCESs*)
• Agree, model and evolve
desired behaviours
• Recognise contribution
• Show respect
* Source: Chip Heath & Dan Heath, “Made to Stick” (2008)
25. Rising to the Agility Challenge
Questions / Comments?
Dragan@Capagility.com
Dragan@BeLiminal.com
@DrJojic
Hinweis der Redaktion
“Let’s be honest: you have no idea what’s going to happen to your industry. That’s why you build your organisation into an engine of possibility.”
Customer needs / market realities: difficult to figure out and changing fast & in an unpredictable way
Henry Mintzberg: “Deliberate strategy is goal-oriented. It asks: “What do we want to achieve?” Emergent strategy is means-oriented. It asks: “What is possible, with the means we have at our disposal?”
‘Ends’ = desired outcomes (what do we want to achieve / can achieve with the means available) and why these are important
‘Means’ = what needs to be done to achieve outcomes and how to do it
Useful metrics
Support decision making
Highlight the need for intervention
Encourage desired behaviours
Brian Robertson of Holacracy One
In an agile organisation, everybody has the right and the responsibility to lead
Howard Schultz is the CEO of Starbucks and the former owner of Seattle SuperSonics
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
StorieS