As a leader, you and your team have pinpointed a pivotal event that has set your organization on the path of agile transformation. What implications does this hold for your organization and how will it necessitate adjustments from your employees? Most critically, have you identified the necessary steps to facilitate the organization’s success in this endeavor?
As someone who has worked for companies of all sizes, from a large Fortune 50 company with 30,000 employees to a startup with only five, we discovered that the best leaders did not behave like the business titans of the Industrial Revolution. Rather, the best leaders were forward-thinking regarding the direction of the company and exhibited key behaviors that helped the whole company through the changes needed to support the transformation.
Be Truly Transparent and Vulnerable With Your Employees
Recognize the significant impacts of transparency and vulnerability in leadership to your organization. When a leader embraces these qualities, they are willing to engage in difficult conversations openly. In our experience with different companies, the CEOs and leadership team not only celebrate achievements but also candidly acknowledge setbacks. Most crucially, everyone had a clear grasp of the company’s overarching strategy, and the necessary adaptations needed to sustain success.
Due to this transparency/vulnerability, we, as employees, were fully engaged and felt invested in the success of the company. According to Gallup’s employee engagement survey, employees’ connection between the mission and their jobs in the U.S. has decreased from 38% in 2021 to 33% in 2023. Employees who are not engaged at work cost employers approximately $8.8 trillion (Gallup) per year. Leaders who are open and honest about the company’s strategic goals have more employees who are engaged.
Communicate Clearly and Often
Leaders should be cautious about relying on trickle-down communication for important topics like agile transformation. When messages pass from one employee to the next throughout an organization, they can become distorted through mistakes, errors or misinterpretations, particularly while dealing with topics as critical as agile transformation. Leverage your voice’s influence — internally and externally — for a positive impact and do so consistently. The most effective communication is when executive leadership teams unwaveringly hold company meetings monthly to keep workers informed.
These company-wide meetings serve two key purposes: They keep employees informed about financial targets and update everyone on the progress made toward strategic goals for agile transformation. During these meetings, executives provide clear guidance on the company, the business unit and individual efforts required for success. The regularity in communication and the methods used will enable a successful agile transformation.
Build Trust and Be Authentic
Employees foster trust by openly sharing concerns and by demonstrating their commitment to their promises. During the recession in 2008, one organization had to make some tough choices to ensure the company survived. One of those choices was suspending the company match for 401k’s (retirement savings). The leadership team fully explained with a comprehensive rationale for the choice and promised that should the company weather this challenging period, they would reinstate the program. While this decision understandably upset some employees and generated frustration, the majority recognized that it was a sacrifice for the greater good and supported the leadership decision.
When organizational commitments and the prevailing culture are misaligned, it tends to lead to less than desirable outcomes, including increased employee turnover and diminished employee engagement, often referred to as ‘quiet quitting’. In the context of a successful agile transformation, encouraging a steadfast and engaged workforce is imperative.
Embrace and Foster Accountability
Trust and accountability are closely intertwined, and they operate in both directions. Leaders must set a practical example for their organization, demonstrating these principles through actions and not just in words. This requires committing to strategic goals and consistently fulfilling responsibilities. If mistakes are made, acknowledge it and offer an apology, not an excuse. As employees, we were often taken aback when leaders apologized for a mistake. However, we found in all cases most of our colleagues felt greater trust and increased respect for the leader. It was also a great motivator to enable accountability in employees for the commitments made to the organization.
Value the People
Highly engaged employees are individuals who invest both financially and personally in their organizations. Leaders should recognize that their fiduciary duty extends beyond shareholders and customers to encompass each employee within the organization. At various points in our careers, we have transitioned from organizations with 30,000+ employees to some with as little as 10. Each of these transitions brought significant cultural shifts in many aspects. While the culture in the larger organizations was not flawless, an individual employee did not feel like ‘just a number’ either.
Smaller organizations placed a far higher value on their employees, their contributions and their successes, in each case, the approach was set by the leadership. In one example, during their initial company meeting, the president of the organization welcomed all attendees and proceeded to introduce the newcomers since the last meeting. Over the following weeks and months, it became evident that their commitment to valuing and respecting every individual was more than just rhetorical.
Leadership is the Linchpin
The leadership team is the linchpin of any successful transformation. Through transparency, consistent and clear communication, development of trust, nurturing accountability and recognizing the value of all team members, leaders can more effectively navigate their organizations through change. It is crucial to understand and recognize that agile is not a static destination or end state to be achieved and forgotten about, but an ever-evolving journey, necessitating unwavering commitment from leaders to ensure sustainability and a transformative impact on the organization. When leaders align with agile principles, organizations are better equipped to adapt and thrive.