Agile transformations tend to focus on the team and management level. A typical transformation is largely about creating teams, implementing team practices, and implementing management practices. We implement these practices and eliminate obsolete ones with the intent to maintain alignment with Agile values and principles, but also because we have the most access to these areas. It's easier to change something when we have the authority to change it. But what about transformation at the leadership and executive level? How do we transform leaders when our access is limited and there are few practices we can apply to guide their behavior?
An Agile transformation cannot exclude leadership. Executives and leaders need to be included as a specific element of a transformation, but they cannot be transformed simply by implementing a set of practices. Mindsets must be transformed. In this talk, John Krewson, Agile Transformation Lead at MasterCard, will identify the required skills and characteristics of a successful change agent, then outline an approach for changing mindsets at the leadership level, drawing from personal experience and several change models.
