Understanding the truth behind digital business transformation is not just about applying technology, debates Carol May, Head of Agility at Altimetrik, but realising a business’s true people power is the key to success.
In today’s business landscape, the role of the traditional management structure is quickly becoming obsolete. Businesses looking to digitalize their services or product suites will soon realize the number of challenges they face. What tools are needed to implement the transformation? What innovations should be onboarded? The one corner that is often overlooked in any form of digital business transformation is its people.
Yet businesses need not fear. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, but it takes a certain mindset to guarantee success. Being agile, of course, is much more than just incorporating new and innovative technology. The first step is to adopt a holistic approach; understanding what the business wants to achieve and including a clear vision of that goal is critical to unwrapping a robust strategy.
Leaders know that agile working means delivering products and services faster, more efficiently, and realizing better value. Up to this point, the initial actions are primarily outsourcing to a private cloud, implementing better ways of engineering, and finding new ways to modernize products and services. They know that to take a firm grasp of agile practices, they need to not only adopt a strategic mindset but encourage a collaborative culture.
However, the challenge is how does a business organize its teams to drive value and, at the same time, align with business goals? The key to this, whether it is to enhance customer experience, streamline operations, or penetrate new markets, is to look at how it is currently structured from a leadership perspective. Is it traditional? Does it consist of a hierarchy? These questions need to be asked to gather the right insight into where the business is right now.
How Large-Scale Agile Transformations Evolve
Agile transformation is not merely a change in operational business processes that can be implemented overnight. It is a paradigm shift that should permeate through every level of an organization from the top down, and leaders play a critical role in its success. Agile leaders embody agile principles. They lead by example and foster a culture that embraces change rather than fearing it.
Therefore, overcoming resistance is a common challenge, not only in those leading but in their teams. Any change on this scale is often met with apprehension and misunderstanding, which can filter through a business’s current culture structure. Leaders must clearly communicate any new agile vision and articulate benefits over a long period so that teams feel supported and heard throughout the transition.
Yet, how can this be done swiftly and remain permanent? The key here is the empowerment that trickles through each team from the C-Suite to the shop floor. It is the backbone of agile leadership. Where high-performing agile teams develop the skills to become self-organized and embrace the shift away from traditional command-and-control management styles, business leaders can ensure that a culture of trust and autonomy often results from creating this new environment.
Understanding the Importance of People in Agile Transformation
If a business fails to recognize the importance of an agile workforce, it will struggle to succeed in its objectives. Understanding team dynamics is critical for any future success, and that means being aware of where a workforce’s focus is and how it is connected to their behaviors. Each team is unique, not only in its functions but because of its individuals. What works for one person, let alone one team, may not work for another.
A business needs to ensure that teams can be cross-functional, which means not only the company’s technical experts but also representatives from every angle of the business, including marketing, customer service, sales, productivity, and so on. Yet the essential item here is that each team needs to be autonomous in its productivity and capable of making in-house decisions so that they can execute tasks without excessive oversight from management.
Any digital business transformation requires a 360 approach that includes testing in high-level automation, a transparent infrastructure to support code development as well as cloud access for digital enablement. Yet, if a business requires these elements, it will require a methodology, essentially a road map that prioritizes work into short, manageable iterations or sprints, allowing for regular team feedback.
Strategic Leadership: Shaping the Agile Workforce
Strategic leadership is integral to the successful transition of the workforce towards agile practices. Remember, the goal here is to encourage a workforce to ‘work smarter, not harder,’ aligning its efforts with new processes but also being present in the project. Leaders tend to look at the latest tools and technologies they need while forgetting the workforce and hoping to adapt to new technologies in time.
Therefore, shifting the workforce’s behavior requires a clear strategy. It begins with equipping team members with the necessary skills and knowledge, followed by promoting a mindset of continuous learning and improvement. It also involves encouraging cross-functional collaboration, breaking down cemented silos, and promoting a brighter way of knowledge sharing.
Understanding Culture Change and Fostering an Agile Culture
If business leaders encourage open communication in the new agile culture, they can, in turn, promote a safe environment where team members feel comfortable sharing ideas, asking questions, and expressing concerns. During this process, strengths will become visible within a team, especially where feedback is encouraged, and successes are celebrated.
Encouraging teams to experiment, evaluate, take calculated risks, and learn from failures is essential for adapting key strategies and adapting to the winds of change. Providing teams with the opportunities to learn, grow and develop will help people recognize their efforts and allow them the space to innovate, enhancing their capability to deliver value to customers, improve operational efficiency, and drive business growth.
In short, agile leadership is a journey, not a destination. So long as leaders understand that it requires ongoing learning, adaptation, and improvement, they can lead a highly successful agile transformation across the business at every corner, thus creating high-performing teams ready and willing to embrace the future.
Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.