the future of organizations leading in an agile work culture · • agile work cultures do not...

The Future of OrganizationsLeading in an Agile Work Culture

Susan Eick, CEOThe Refinery Leadership Partners

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THE BEGINNING OF AGILE

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WHAT DO THESE COMPANIES HAVE IN COMMON?

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WHAT IS AGILE?

“A set of practices that allow organisations to establish an optimal workforce and provide the benefits of a greater match between the resources and the demand for services (demand and supply), increased productivity and improved talent attraction and retention.”—The Future Forum

Optimized Supply and DemandIncreased ProductivityImproved Talent Attraction and Retention

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BENEFITS OF AGILE WORK ENVIRONMENTS

• Greater Flexibility• Distribution of Responsibility• Faster Response Times• Greater Autonomy• Greater job satisfaction• Higher appeal for Millennials

and “gig” mentality7

• Limited formalities• Less bureaucratic

documentation and time-wasters• Better quality meetings• Less physical space

requirements• Happier customers

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CASE STUDY: COCA COLA

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CASE STUDY: COCA COLA

Three Lessons in Agility from Coca Cola:

1. Your Business is Designed in Two Ways: The Visible and the Invisible

2. You Need to Flex Between Flexible, to Stable (and Back to Flexible) with Ease

3. Let Customers Do Research and Development for You

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CASE STUDY: COCA COLA

“I am a disciple of Agile. I really believe it can, and will, drive better customer-centric results in a faster, less expensive and more iterative manner, enabling companies that do this well to ultimately lead in their industries and marketplace”

- Mark Eppert, VP for Global Transformation, Coca Cola

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THE RESULTS OF AGILE AT COCA COLA

• Saving of >$100,000 in Research and Development

• Shift to agile supply chain, allowing for greater flexibility in smaller markets

• Growth of >100 micro brands

• Growth of >$150 Billion in global beverage market

• Top 10 Biggest Jumps in Employee Happiness awards, Forbes 2017

• Product launch time cut in half 52 weeks to 26 weeks

GOING FROM TRADITIONAL TO AGILE MINDSET

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• Top-down communication• External policies, procedures and

regulations drive focus of work• Indirect communication dominates• Projects managed by the PMO or

other central internal governing body

• Success is based on following the rules vs. achieving new insight

• Daily informal stand-up meetings• Frequent retrospectives to improve

practices• Information flows in all directions to

communicate critical project information

• More “scary” questions, less fluff• No documentation overload

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PERFORMANCE VS PERFECTION

WHAT PREVENTS AGILITY?

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• CUSTOMS• LANGUAGE• BEHAVIOURS• TRADITIONS• VALUES• BELIEFS• STEREOTYPES• TABOOS

VISIBLE FORMAL SYSTEM

INVISIBLE INFORMAL

SYSTEM

• ORGANIZATIONAL CHART• ROLES• PROCESS• TOOLS

WHEN CULTURE EATS AGILE FOR LUNCH

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CASE STUDY: DELUXE FINANCIAL SERVICES

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WHAT HAPPENED?

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What was working in my Favour:• CEO Pushing for rapid change• Lean methodology• Approval to hand-pick team members• Ability to move away from my normal job

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ORGA

NIZA

TION

AL C

ULTU

RE

• CUSTOMS• LANGUAGE• BEHAVIOURS• TRADITIONS• VALUES• BELIEFS• STEREOTYPES• TABOOS

VISIBLE FORMAL SYSTEM

INVISIBLE INFORMAL

SYSTEM

• ORGANIZATIONAL CHART• ROLES• PROCESS• TOOLS

“Our clients don’t know what they need. We need to tell them.”

“We have to run every idea through the ranks”

“Our clients will never go for this”“We need to involve only the product team in this ”

“Who are you (a director) telling me (a VP) what to do?”

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ARE YOU READY TO LEAD IN AGILE?

ARE YOU READY TO LEAD IN AGILE?Are you ready (and is your management team ready) to:

• Let go of absolute control and move to a more balanced approach to decision making?

• Stop micromanaging? • Be inclusive rather than exclusive?• Lead with trust, not fear?• Not abandon agile even if you hit a bump in the

road?• Move from manager to leader?• Clearly lay out the goals and objectives for your

team?• Work out the process goals and metrics they need to

achieve to guarantee success?• Be open to nay-sayers and critics who don’t “get”

agile?

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HOW TO GET STARTED

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1. Start with a pilot project2. Develop leadership skills as well as

management skills3. Hold leaders accountable for

performance rather than perfection4. Allow teams to work in their best

environments5. Set the stage—titles don’t matter, give

resources, provide guidance without telling people what to do

6. STEP BACK7. Celebrate the wins, as well as the

failures

MANAGERS VS LEADERS

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SUMMARY • Agile work cultures do not

happen by accident, but it almost always happens by necessity.

• The visible changes needed tosupport Agile are only the tip of the iceberg. The more difficult changes that need to occur are the informal or invisible cultural changes.

• Performance vs perfection: Agile organizations move with speed and take risks.

• Letting go and letting teamssolve problems is difficult, but essential.

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QUESTION

What barriers would prevent you from implementing an agile work culture in your organization?

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THANK YOU

SUSAN@REFINERYLEADERSHIP.COM

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