I’m Sick of the Word “Transformation”

Boot stepping on a butterfly
Boot stepping on a butterfly

I’m sick of the word transformation.

There, I said it.  Organizational transformation, at least in the business world I’m in, implies this massive scrap everything, burn the fields, and start anew approach.  A gigantic change.  A different way forward.  And the term agile transformation?  Oh boy. 

Agile transformation, to me, implies product-delivery-at-all-cost and customers suddenly delighted by an IT department that they’ve despised for decades. It’s slamming everyone in small conference rooms for two week iterations, rewriting all the contracts, and rewiring the entire leadership team. Data lakes and value streams! Experimentation! Value trains! Etc., etc., etc. 

Here’s the thing: transformations don’t happen quickly.

Often, what happens is one team over here says, Hey!  Let’s try this agile thing! So, they give it a go. Then, agile processes start to creep across the organization. There’s no change to compliance methods or the way the program is funded, and leadership is on board only in theory.  Early adopters within an organization are simply finding ways to work around the system; the system has not changed. 

Similarly, (I’ve seen quite a bit of this lately) some of leadership–not all at the same time– decides, Hey! Let’s try this agile thing! So they hire some coaches and a Scrum Master or two and they do some assessments and the coaches give trainings and this department over here sort of starts to try agile and this department over here doesn’t give a crapola about agile and this other person in leadership is open to trying agile but wants all the same rules and regulations abided by.  And then there’s the multiple vendors foaming at the mouth to provide executive briefings and give training by PowerPoint, to scale frameworks and provide strategies on their own flavor of agile that the organization must adopt.

Transfor-what?!

Think about it, how many leadership and agile books have you seen with a butterfly on it?  Don’t get me wrong, I love butterflies as much as the next person.  However, organizations, programs, and individuals don’t get to crawl up into a cocoon, hiding from all outside pressures for 3 weeks, and come out the other end beautiful and fully transformed.

 

Comic about change
Cartoon by audiencestack.com

A Change in Vocabulary

So, let’s not use the word transformation anymore. Instead, let’s use reality based thinking. This is a journey of organizational evolution. Evolution by definition is a process of change in a certain direction.  It’s the process of working out or developing.  It’s chip, chip, chipping away at something.  It’s pivoting even the slightest bit every single day.  In other words, it’s making a difference for the better where we can.  It’s simply making today suck less than yesterday, everyday.

So, go to the willing.  Then again, make something a little better/easier for the unwilling. 

I know you’re thinking, But leadership is essential to an agile transformation! Scaled Agile says so!  I know, I know, I know. I’ve said the same thing numerous times myself.  Just go with me for a second.  Let’s assume this agile initiative is imperfect and messy, which, by the way, it usually- almost-pretty-damn-near-always is.  We’re not after a big bang! quick! transformation, remember?  We’re after evolution, making a real difference that will become part of the organization moving forward. 

I know the other thing you may be thinking, But I’m an Enterprise Agile Coach.  I work on the Ent-er-prise.  My question to you: do you care about the title or doing damn good work?  People make up the Enterprise.  So, help the people make damn good, if not small, changes.        

Just Make a Difference

In moving the needle everyday and evolving every step of the way, you will not see the transformation until it has already happened.  Bumps, bruises, failures, and successes will be along the journey of change.  Every step, every change, every black spot and beautiful shade of orange you will have earned on your way to becoming that butterfly you envisioned– all without a cocoon.

  • Do the roles that nobody else knows how to do until that capability is born.
  • Be the leader you want to see in your organization, and others will catch on.
  • Invite people into any and all conversations. If you believe everyone is needed and everyone has something to contribute, amazing things are possible.
  • A system functions exactly how the people of the system want it to. (Sit with that for a minute.) Until the people change what they want and how they want to achieve it, you’ll never achieve butterfly status.

So, go ahead, get sick of the word transformation, too. Walk the walk. Chin up, sleeves up. And, above all, keep your eye on the next step of evolution.

Darren Hoevel, President, Leadership & Agile Coach

By: Darren Hoevel

Reminder: Keep an Open Mind

Sky view of mountains and clouds
Birds on a wire against a blue sky

Homophily: Birds of a feather flock together.  A large number of network studies have shown we generally surround ourselves with people who are like us– those who enjoy the same things we enjoy, entertain similar ideas, have about the same level of education, hold the same values, etc.  It’s not a bad thing; we’re comfortable with familiarity.

Familiarity has its limits, though. If we generally surround ourselves with (and follow on social media) people who share our same views, we’re limiting our chances for thoughtful conversation. We restrict our perspectives and hinder opportunities to grow. The hard part to inviting in outside perspectives is keeping an open mind, listening–fully listening– with curiosity, and asking inquisitive questions. 

How often do we go into conversations with our personal bias in tow? A predetermined reaction/outcome/viewpoint in our minds. As hard as I try to remain curiously open, I’m often guilty of it!  I was reminded of my open-minded shortcomings when I sat in on the 2019 Mindful Leader Summit Debate last fall. 

In the spirit of healthy debate and to welcome outside voices and hear different perspectives, Mo Edjlali, President of Mindful Leader, orated a debate around two topics:

Topics of Open-mindedness

Mindfulness and Capitalism—  Is mindfulness changing capitalism or is capitalism changing mindfulness?

Mindfulness in Schools— Even with ample evidence of the benefits of mindfulness, is mindfulness religiously based and therefore cannot be introduced as a secular practice in schools?  

At the beginning of the debate I had a pretty good idea of how I felt about each of those topics, being a proponent of mindfulness and an entrepreneur. It would have been easy to skip the event and grab a cup of coffee. Instead, I sat back and listened with an open mind. What I heard were valid points from both sides of the issue.  What I came away with was a better understanding of the “other” side and empathy for their viewpoint.  My perspective was broadened. I grew as an individual.

Fast forward a month or so.  Fresh off the humbling realization that as much as I try, as much as I evangelize continuous improvement and growth mindset, keeping an open mind is something I have to continuously strive toward. I stumbled across this article from Fast Company:  4 Ways to Train Your Brian to be More Open-Minded. I’ll paraphrase for you (and me).

Warning: practicing may not be easy! Especially listening to someone else with an opposing viewpoint. Be prepared to sit with your emotions without shutting down. 

  1. Talk to a Neutral Party – Talk about your concerns or struggles with a new idea to someone who simply listens and repeats what they hear. The process helps you hear your own reasons for resistance, gaining some objectivity about the situation.
  2. Reframe Negative Thoughts – Sometimes hearing a new idea causes an automatic negative reaction, like “This will never work?”.  Instead, train your brain to reply to unhelpful thoughts with more realistic statements, reframing the situation. Look for evidence that your efforts may be a success.  “What are the good aspects of this plan?”
  3. Get Out of your Comfort Zone – Add more experiences and points of view to your schema.  Don’t read or watch one point of view. Make a point to expand your circle, sharing time with friends who are diverse racially, culturally, politically, and generationally.  Once a week, listen to a different genre of music or try a food you’ve never tried before.
  4. Practice Mindful Meditation – Mindfulness meditation is becoming well known for its ability to open our minds to new ideas, while letting go of old ones that no longer serve us. Practicing mindfulness meditation in which one sits in awareness of the breath literally trains the brain to become more open-minded.
Anyway you slice it, we’re much better leaders, team members, friends, parents, teachers, relatives, and people when we approach situations with a more open mind. So that’s my challenge for you this week.  Try something new. Pick up a new magazine. Change the radio station. Listen with an open mind to an opposing perspective.

Start by checking out the mindfulness debate below!

Mindfulness in Schools:

This debate features David Forbes, PhD, an emeritus in the Urban Education Doctoral Program at the CUNY Graduate Center where he teaches a course on critical mindfulness in education. He has written on and consults with K-12 educators about pivoting from neoliberal to transformative integral social mindfulness practices in schools and Rich Fernandez, PhD, CEO of the non-profit Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute (SIYLI), an organization developed at Google that offers mindfulness and emotional intelligence solutions to communities and organizations around the world. He is also the co-founder of the workplace wellness company Wisdom Labs.

 

Mindfulness In Capitalism:

This debate featured Candy Gunther Brown, PhD, Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University. Dr. Brown is the author of Debating Yoga and Mindfulness in Public Schools: Reforming Secular Education or Reestablishing Religion? and has served as an expert witness in four legal challenges to school meditation and yoga—testifying for both parents and school districts and Barnaby Spring who is currently spearheading the work in the largest education system in the world, striving to respond, mindfully, to the emergence of mindfulness in education in the New York City Department of Education. As Director of Mindfulness in Education in the Office of the First Deputy Chancellor, Mr. Spring is inspired to serve as a “glocal” – global and local – thought partner, champion, and connector around the cultivation of social mindfulness in these times.

Darren Hoevel, President, Leadership & Agile Coach

By: Darren Hoevel