It Takes Two

Dos, Deux, Dois, Twee, Zwei, Ni, Hai, etc.

One of the agile coaches in our Moose Herd lamented the other day his company’s lack of appetite for change. We’ll call him Quentin for this article.

Quentin was previously a consulting agile coach for many years and was quite successful. As many of us have been, he was affected by the current economic climate, and he’s taken a Scrum Master/Agile Coaching role at a mid-sized company.

As he navigates his new role, he’s seeing oodles of opportunity for efficiency change. Nearly everywhere he looks. So, his coach-omoter is running in overdrive because of it. However, his lament is that almost everyone he encounters has no appetite for his change ideas. And he’s struggling with his patience and with his feelings about adding value.

The discussion in the Herd primarily focused on how Quentin can strategize his change conversations and actions.

But I kept thinking that it takes two parties to change, and that no matter what he did, he would essentially be dancing by himself.

Epiphany

The other thought I had was around Agile Change Agents as a whole. I can’t tell you how many conversations like Quentin’s I’ve had with coaches over the years. They were brought in for Big Change, only to leave frustrated, disappointed, and feeling as if they had personally failed. In other words, I think they were taking over ownership for the change…or the lack thereof.

My most successful agile change initiatives over the years always included a partner. Usually, that partner was in a senior leadership position and was willing to push the change along with me. When I had this sort of senior leadership support, the change became something I could strategize and help with. I had an overwhelming feeling that we were in it together.

When I lacked this sort of partnership, well, the change if any, was like pushing soap up a rope—meaning it was incredibly challenging.

Now the epiphany is that I’m the same Bob in both situations. So the variables are stakeholder support, clarity, and partnership.

Wrapping Up

The key message I have for Quentin and other frustrated change agents is that you shouldn’t go it alone. If you are, then you'd better buckle up for a bumpy ride and tolerate the frustration.

And please learn to be kind to yourself.

Nobody, and I mean no Agile Change Agent, can inspire successful organizational change on their own. It simply isn’t possible.

Stay agile, my friends,

Bob.

---

Whatever your role or experience, life in the agile space can be challenging today. Having someone to serve as your coach, as a sounding board, a truthteller, and a trusted partner on tap to leverage during those tricky bits can be helpful. That’s precisely where Agile Moose can help you.

We’re not just an Agile Coach, but a business domain expert, a personal advisor, an organizational design and development consultant, and a leadership coach and partner.

The moose brings over 35 years of technical and product leadership experience across various contexts. If you’re stuck and know it, reach out, as I can help.