Leadership in a scaling agile environmentLeonoor Koomen
INTRODUCTION LEONOOR KOOMEN
ACTAGILE.COM & ING :• Trainer and coach of executive boards • Trainer and coach of (lead) Agile Coaches• Assistant in organizational design and obeya’s
Agile• Certified in roles: scrum master, product owner, agile coach• Certified in practices: Scrum, Kanban• Certified in frameworks: LeSS , SaFe• Certified in Coaching• Certified in Lean Six Sigma• Certified in Enterprise Coaching: ACI-ENT• Certified in Agile Leadership: CAL1 @agileonoor
SO I AM AN EXECUTIVE AGILE COACH
SOME OF THE WORLDS I HAVE LEARNED FROM
Why do companies chose a journey to agility?
• Reduce time to market/volume
• Break down silo’s
• Increase engagement
But most of all……
Because Agile is in Fashion and because of the
myth that agile will bring twice as much in half the
time!
And why do companies fail? source state of agile survey
Let’s say that again
38 % of agile initiatives
that fail do so because of
lack of management supportSource:State of agile survey
SO LEADERSHIP IS IMPORTANT!
LEADERS SHOULD BRING A COMPELLING WHY
Artwork: Thea Schukken
LEADERS SHOULD BRING FOCUS:CLARITY ON VISION, DIRECTION AND MEASURABLE GOALS
AND WHEN I SAY FOCUS I MEAN STRATEGIC FOCUS, NOT TACTICAL NITTY GRITTY MEDDLING
SO PLEASE STOP TELLING THE TEAMS HOW TO DO THEIR WORK
FEEDBACK IS CRUCIAL IN BECOMING A CONTINUOUS IMPROVING ORGANISATION ( LEADERS SHOULD GO FIRST!)
WE WANT LEADERS TO BE A TEAM WITH THEIR PEERS
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STOP CONSTANTLY SHUFFLING PEOPLE BETWEEN PRIORITIES/TEAMS
AND BREAK SILO’S, STARTING AT THE TOP
WE WANT LEADERS TO ACT AS HEAD OF IMPEDIMENTS
AND BEING ACCESIBLE IS KEY TOO
SO IS LEADERSHIP DIFFERENT IN A SCALINGENVIRONMENT?
I HATE TO BREAK IT TO YOU, BUT YOU ARE NOT..
YOU MAY HAVE A FEW MORE DEPENDANCIES
SO YOU NEED TO COME UP WITH A PLAN TO SCALE
TRANSPARENCY IS ESSENTIAL AND GETS MORE DIFFICULT WHENYOUR SHOP IS BIG
SO WHAT NOW?
WORKING PRODUCT IS THE PRIMARY MEASURE OF PROGRESS SO----
LEADERS SHOULD RESIST THE URGE TO ASK FOR PROGRESSREPORTS
AND CREATE AUTONOMY & ALIGNMENT – WITH OBEYA
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Henrik Kniberg: Spotify engineering culture
WHAT IS OBEYA大部屋
Based on Toyota Production System
1. 360 degree overview2. Cascading3. Continuous interaction4. Structural Problem solving
Obeyas provide dedicated space as well as time for coordination and problem-solving, and are designed to minimize organizational barriers1. 1 Sam MacPherson, Lean Leadership Academy
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OBEYA – 4 GUIDING PRINCIPLES
OBEYA @ ING
THE HOPEFUL NEWS FOR AGILE TRANSFORMATIONS
IT’S A CLICHÉ BUT IT IS INDEED A JOURNEY
YES, WE CAN STOP MOST MEETINGS!
FAILING FAST IS EASIER IN SOME WORLDS THAN OTHERS, BUT ITCAN BE DONE!
WE NEED METRICS AND INCENTIVES THAT MATTER TO STEER WELL
AND YES, CHANGE CAN MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY
AND PLEASE REMEMBEREVERY CHANGE, NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALLSTARTS WITH THE SAME WORD….
YOU!GOOD LUCK!
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