Most ways of working still rely on functional hierarchy, where managers make decisions and workers do the work. Managers know they can't change this work structure, but they can transform its effectiveness without asking for permission and without needing a budget. Before exploring the changes that transform the way people work, we need to recognise […]

Today’s challenge is that traditional management approaches, where managers tell people what to do and how to do it, are not as effective as they once were. Agile transformation takes years, but changing management’s focus from people to tensions could be a better solution. It is simpler, faster, and considerably more cost-effective. Management is the […]

One of my favourite books on organisational change is ‘Who Moved my Cheese?’ It’s short, and mice looking for cheese to eat is an appealing analogy. It’s a model for managers because it covers four theoretical outcomes of change. Those outcomes are: what happens if I (or we) do, or don’t make this change, what […]

You see, I thought I was the first agilist to make the connection between agile transformation models and organizational ambidexterity. Certainly, it seemed original when it emerged in conversation with my supervisor. In fact, it was Dr Alireza Javanmardi Kashan’s idea (better make it 13 signs), but it came from our conversation so we said […]

Contextual ambidexterity is a culture that expects exceptional performance in both innovation and operation, overturning the illusion that it is either/or. Contextual ambidexterity is agile for managers.

Introduction The future of leadership is Agile There are many different types of leadership styles and not all work well in every situation. The most popular method, the "Command and Control" style which has been dominant for centuries, may be on its way out as research shows that this type of leadership does not foster […]

Business Agility Leadership Coaching (BALC) emerged as a consequence of asking leaders and managers across HSBC how they wanted to improve their agile leadership. Our proposed solution hit a sweet spot because we were 100% oversubscribed at the start and interest just kept growing during the three months of the structured learning events. The 'secret […]

We have some mid-tier consultants in at the moment who are "focussing on culture." Since we don't separate culture from delivering value to customers, I asked what that meant in practice. Apparently: "A generic scheme of manoeuvre could involve a diagnostic that looks at things like empowerment, psychological safety, collaboration, purpose, customer centricity… then based […]

In the standup, we had a (brief) team discussion about tracking progress. I reacted against Jira because a) I dislike the user interface as it's a collaboration killer, and b) we aren't a software development or IT support team. Standup game visualises progress Three weeks later, team members Sam Thomas and @HughHadfield demonstrated this way […]

Engagement Model for Digital Transformation / Agile Adoption Consultancy template for improvement and organisational development work A proven approach used by external consultancy firms. This engagement model is appropriate for internal improvement initiatives and Centres of Excellence. As an embedded coach or improvement lead, it’s important to realise you are effectively providing a consulting service […]

Achieving Agile Delivery is the toughest challenge of an executive career, no matter if it’s called digital transformation, adoption, or DevOps. The reality behind the highly-polished powerpoint decks and magazine stories is that despite fortunes being spent over many years, Agile is ‘out of reach’ to many leaders and managers. The evidence shows that challenges remain unresolved in many […]

What a priviledge to be the inaugral guest in Giles Lindsay's latest podcast adventure. We had great fun and it was a real blast! "Welcome to The Agile Confessional, a podcast that shares fun confessions from people who’ve spent a large part of their career working in the agile world. Hear the mistakes they made […]