Agile Culture: how to change Corporate Culture in an Agile way

Within an Agile organisation, corporate culture is an extremely important factor in ensuring that the right pace and motivation are achieved in order to deliver results that meet quality standards on time.
However, corporate culture can also prove to be a double-edged sword by becoming an obstacle rather than a lever in transformations. Dr. Stefanie Puckett theorised the TEC (Transparency, Empowerment, Collaboration) model to help organisations better define their corporate culture.

When does corporate culture become a roadblock to change?

Corporate culture becomes a roadblock to change in three cases:

1. When it is non-existent
2. When it is not perceived correctly by those who are part of it
3. When it is so heavy and burdensome that it becomes a cause of resistance to change

Corporate culture must never become an excuse to justify things that do not work within a company.

When does corporate culture become a facilitator of change?

Corporate culture is a tool that can improve and facilitate change if it is able to provide guidance; making people understand which direction the company should take and how to solve internal problems. When corporate culture is able to shape how employees think and act on priorities, decisions and collaborations, it can be defined as a facilitator of corporate transformation.

The TEC culture

The TEC Model, theorised by Dr. Puckett (2020), is based on three common denominators underlying the Agile culture: Transparency, Empowerment and Collaboration.

Transparency

Transparency ensures shared-knowledge during discussions and dialogues within a corporate environment, while also building a basis of trust. Both of these factors allow everyone to feel comfortable expressing themselves, presenting their ideas and making strategic decisions for the good of the organisation. Specifically, transparency concerns:

• Information: transparency of information and data

Each team member must work together to gather information and data on customer reactions, market trends and relevant factors. Above all, everyone must ensure that they share and have access to all data and information to develop a clear point of view. This will stimulate everyone to make strategic decisions and develop relevant ideas.

• Intentions: transparency of plans and intentions

All members must know about the organisation’s intentions, regarding long-term vision, short-term vision and strategy. Plans and strategies must be shared in real time in order to generate trust and motivate to achieve goals.

• Effect: transparency of results and impact

If all members of an organisation are aware of how their actions and strategies influence the success of the company, they can make more effective strategic decisions and achieve a higher level of self-organisation, that ensures quick reactions to market changes and customer needs.

Empowerment

The entrepreneurial spirit is prominent in every newly born enterprise, but tends to diminish as the organisation grows. One method to keep the entrepreneurial spirit alive through empowerment is to transfer front-line responsibilities directly to professionals: in this way, decisions can be made and implemented faster. In particular:

• Freedom: freedom to adapt and create

It is not only a matter of being able to creatively develop one’s own ideas and test various working methods that are effective and can be adapted to change, but it is also about allowing team members to develop their own ideas, test various working methods creatively and identify the most effective and suitable ones for change.

• Empowerment: taking charge

In order to achieve the company’s maximum potential, it is necessary for each team (and possibly each team member) to be able to implement strategic decisions autonomously and pursue goals on their own initiative and responsibility. This makes it possible to quickly adapt to changes, easily manage risks, and identify clear and defined objectives.

• Ownership: ownership with a bias towards action

Having the ability to take ownership of an initiative by assuming end-to-end responsibility encourages the individual professional to take initiative and overcome the ‘it is not my job’ mindset.

Collaboration

Professionals in an organisation must work to ensure that knowledge is shared and combined. Unconditional collaboration, flexibility and fluidity of roles make it possible for each member to focus on their own contribution and to understand where more value can be added, as to ensure quick and targeted reactions. Again, three core elements are identified:

• Exchange: collaboration through exchange and sharing

Knowledge must be shared and combined in new ways: overarching solutions need connected people. Stimulating synergies can be extremely effective for the good of the organisation. Applying this principle requires open tasks, flexible roles and an organisational structure that can change and be restructured as required.

• Contribution: collaboration through cooperation and flexibility

An Agile organisation has a flexible structure, even when it comes to job roles and profiles. When work is managed in a way that creates the greatest added value and no longer with the concept of “doing one’s job”, flexible teams can be formed for each new objective.

• Learning: collaboration through learning and growing together

Agile organisations are successful because they can adapt quickly to change: they continually reinvent themselves to be successful and to keep their position in the market. Their real strength, and starting point, are the teams that have the courage to take risks, make mistakes and learn so that the organisation can move forward through reflection and adaptation.

Conclusion

The basis of the Agile method of working lies in the way an organisation grows, responds to change and works. These characteristics are directly reflected in the corporate culture, which can be greatly improved by applying the TEC model: changes do not have to be immediate and radical, but being able to make gradual changes can lead to a systematic evolution of the organisation by improving the response to market changes and customer needs, and improving the quality of team work.

Do you want to learn more about Agile Culture? Also read “Why an Agile Organisation is based on Culture: interview with Richard Campbell” .
If you want to learn more about transparent Project Management, also read: “Transparency in Project Management”