GAME OVER. A screen we’ve all seen when playing a vintage video game. The crushing disappointment of failing to reach your goal. If you wanted to continue, it meant starting over again. How frustrating, right?! Through older style video games we’ve all learned that the cost of failure rose with each new level. You’d invested time to get to that level. Getting just a bit further in a game was the true test of resilience and persistence. After a while, as a regular player, you not only knew the game like the back of your hand, but you also knew the consequence of each move.
Organizations increasing their agile maturity experience a similar phenomenon. As an organization is starting out, the desire for change usually develops at the executive levels first. Those at tactical levels are busy executing delivery and while they might want or need change, their day to day allows little time for it. Leadership has the ability and control to effect positive change and are often closest to the reason change is needed. If misused, that control can be devastating and work against the change they’re trying to make. Care must be taken to evaluate what’s best for the organization because the stakes are higher as the span of control increases.
Learning what works at another organization can be informative but doesn’t mean it has the answer. A winning strategy for one video game doesn’t translate to a winning strategy for another game, even when they’re similar. The only way to understand what’ll work for an organization is to invest the time into listening to the people at the operational level, and interacting between departments to coordinate it. Listening in this case isn’t passive, think employee surveys or online suggestion forums, it’s the conversations and meetings where people feel safe to discuss their obstacles and ideas, free of judgement. Leaders who want change in the short term will think this is a slow approach. Leaders may delegate this interaction, or enlist consultants to gather information for them. Unfortunately even this delegation is still passive listening.
There’s nothing wrong with getting help and expertise as long as the change is part of the leadership’s day to day as well – they can’t lose sight of it. The active listening approach won’t seem slow if it’s your focus to constantly engage with operational teams.
Time invested actively listening to your organization will pay off when it’s time to execute change. People will be ready, even excited about potential changes. Changes come in many varieties, including methods of working (perhaps agile methods), aligning organizational structures, implementation of technologies, or even training people to be comfortable with new skills. As positive results start to manifest, it can be an exciting time, like the time you got to the boss level in your favorite video game – finally! The rush of excitement and accomplishment leads you to believe it’s time to press on and accelerate more changes. That approach might be exactly what you need but there’s also a need for caution. First, don’t forget the approach that got you there in the first place, active listening and engagement with the operational level people. Second, it’s crucial to remember that the pace of implementing positive change can only slightly outpace the organization’s ability to digest and absorb it.
Change should challenge and excite, not confuse and overwhelm. As humans, we don’t deal well with rapid change, we need time to adjust. As a leader it’s easier to think about how a positive change will look; it’s far more difficult for people to execute it. Frequent changes sponsored by executive levels, even well-meaning ones, cripple an organization by sowing disarray. Leaders demonstrate they value people over process when they consider not only their changes, but also the pace at which it’s implemented. Strong leaders are bold, innovative, and decisive. They bring passion to their vision, but truly great leaders balance these qualities with patience, informed insight, and an insatiable curiosity about every single person that it impacts.
The Moral: The higher the level the more the impact of change. The higher the impact the more patience and skill needed before each move.