The traditional enterprise may be deemed hierarchical, sluggish and outdated in the post-pandemic era, but moving to an agile operating model is tough, especially for established large companies. Can organisations really do strategy and execution differently?
Adaptability is fast becoming one of the most important and valuable corporate assets. So it may be no surprise that companies are moving towards agile operating models to more easily adapt to the uncertain environment.
There is a difference between agile organisations and Agile methods:
An agile operating model has the ability “to quickly and efficiently reconfigure its strategy, structure, processes, people and technology toward value-creating and value-protecting opportunities” (McKinsey, 2019). This type of adaptability is becoming a critical source of competitive advantage, particularly in our current volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) environment.
Based on global trends, there are a few commonly referenced roles that are being called out as Change Agents; however, a Change Agent can be any individual in a business with the courage and creativity to create a culture that embraces agility and adaptability.
The four groups expected to be Change Agents are professionals in:
An agile transformation will touch all areas of a business, including strategy, people, processes, systems and technology.
Below is an example of what each Change Agent could do to create an agile organisation.
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The agile organisation can support all working models, whether in person, hybrid or fully dispersed. All models require cutting-edge technology, transparency, trust, collaboration and a very clear vision or “north star” to follow.
One thing to call out is that as teams shift frequently in an agile setting, a practiced or proven approach to establishing a new team in a dispersed or hybrid organisation would be very beneficial to making the operating model effective. That may cover onboarding, building relationships and trust, having clear roles and responsibilities, and very capable leadership.
Navigating a business to an agile operating model is not easy. It’s a substantial transformation process and requires investment and support of the new culture and subsequent change. It’s also a mindset shift as well as a fundamentally different strategic approach to running a business. That said, the benefit cannot be understated especially in a world where adaptability, speed and agility mean competitive advantage.