To make an organization agile is a lot like expecting a pack of wolves to behave like a flock of starlings. This is a heavy-duty culture change and goes much deeper than a lick of paint on a crumbling facade. Screaming out loud that agility is needed to survive won’t do the trick.

SkyAmbit accompanies you in your agile transformation by concentrating on involving your employees in the “new ways of working” and successfully moderating the change process.

In addition, we can help people understand how to deal effectively with the challenges of the VUCA world.

Agility at the enterprise level involves a comprehensive transformation of the organization, including its strategy, structure, processes, people, and technology. This requires building a network of self-steering, high-performing teams supported by a stable backbone, and adopting agile practices and tools such as agile methodologies, and agile tools.

However, culture is often the most difficult aspect of this transformation to get right. Culture change is a complex and challenging process that requires a shift in mindset and behavior, and it can be difficult to achieve without the support and commitment of leadership and all employees. In fact, research has shown that the challenges of culture change are more than twice as common as the average of other top challenges in agile transformations.

Source: Doing vs being: Practical lessons on building an agile culture, McKinsey Article Aug4, 2020 Exhibit 1

To successfully transform the culture of an organization, it is important to set clear and aspirational goals, involve employees in the process, and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement. It is also important to provide the support and resources necessary to enable employees to embrace agile values and principles in their everyday work. By focusing on culture as an integral part of the agile transformation, organizations can better navigate the challenges of culture change and achieve lasting success. Each organization is unique and will have its own specific needs and goals when it comes to building an agile culture. It is important to start by setting aspirational goals and understanding the current culture, including any behavioral pain points that may need to be addressed. This can help organizations identify the mindset and behavior shifts that will have the greatest impact on achieving their business objectives.

To build an agile culture, organizations should consider the following steps:

​By following these steps, organizations can build an successful agile culture and dealing with the VUCA world of today.

Doing Agile…

…means that an organization has adopted agile processes and practices in some way. Agile is a framework that promotes adaptability, collaboration, and continuous improvement in the way that work is done. It involves breaking projects down into smaller, incremental steps and using iterative approaches to continuously reassess and adapt goals and processes.
An organization that is “doing Agile” will have adopted an agile team structure, with small, cross-functional, and collaborative teams. These teams will use agile estimation techniques and tools, to plan their projects and divide their workload into themes, epics, user stories, and tasks.

Being Agile…

…involves more than just adopting agile processes and tools. It requires a shift in mindset and a commitment to the values and principles of agile. This means that everyone in the organization, from leadership to individual contributors, must embrace an agile mindset and apply it to all areas of the business. An Agile transformation involves a comprehensive change in the way that work is done, with a focus on adaptability, collaboration, and continuous improvement. It requires all employees to embrace the teachings of the Agile Manifesto and to fully commit to incorporating its values and principles into their everyday practices. This may involve making changes to the company structure, procedures, and processes, as well as to the way that leadership is exercised.To be fully Agile, an organization must not only adopt agile processes and tools, but also create a culture that supports agility. This requires a willingness to change and adapt, as well as a focus on continuous learning and improvement. With the right mindset and support, it is possible for organizations to become fully Agile and better able to meet the challenges of an ever-changing business environment.

Being Agile requires a deeper level of commitment and effort than simply “doing Agile.” While “doing Agile” involves adopting agile processes and tools, such as Scrum or Kanban, being Agile involves a shift in mindset and a commitment to the values and principles of agile. This means embracing an approach that is adaptable, collaborative, and continuously improving, and applying it to all areas of the business.

Adopting an Agile mindset can be challenging, especially for organizations that are used to traditional, top-down approaches to project management such as Waterfall. It requires a willingness to change and adapt, as well as a focus on continuous learning and improvement. It is not a quick or easy process, and it may take years for an organization to fully become Agile.

It is important to note that simply “doing Agile” without embracing an Agile mindset is not sufficient. This is often referred to as “fake Agile” or “Agile in name only.” To truly benefit from the principles of Agile, it is necessary to fully embrace an Agile mindset and apply it to all aspects of the organization.