The Illusion of the Agile Company
I’m writing a few articles on the theme of ‘employee experience’. In this article I’m sharing my thoughts on the illusive Agile Organization.
In the bustling corridors of modern business, ‘agility’ has become more than a methodology; it’s a banner under which companies claim to operate. But scratch beneath the surface, and you’ll find that this agility is often an illusion, a mere façade masking deeply ingrained traditional practices.
A glaring contradiction in many so-called agile companies is the adoption of an ‘agile waterfall’ approach. This oxymoron represents an attempt to blend agile methodologies with the traditional, sequential waterfall model. The result? Utter confusion. This hybrid model retains the rigid, linear progression of tasks akin to the waterfall method, while superficially adopting agile’s flexible and iterative approach. It’s like trying to unknowingly dance a tango and a waltz at the same time — the steps just don’t align.
This agile-waterfall approach fails to dismantle the traditional hierarchies and status quo that true agility seeks to overcome. It creates a confusing environment for employees, where the expectation is to be nimble and adaptive, yet the underlying processes and decision-making structures remain steeped in rigidity. This not only stunts innovation and agility but also perpetuates the very inefficiencies agile methodologies aim to eliminate.
The psychological climate within these organizations further complicates matters. Despite outward appearances, there’s often a deep-seated distrust between employees and the company. In my coaching sessions, when we peel back the layers, it’s not uncommon to uncover a profound sense of disillusionment. Employees, caught in a system that doesn’t genuinely care for their well-being, learn to ‘fawn’ or play along. They act in accordance with the agile script, not out of belief or commitment, but as a survival tactic in an environment that pays lip service to agility and innovation.
This lack of trust is a critical issue. When employees don’t trust their company, every initiative, no matter how well-intentioned, is met with skepticism. The supposed agility becomes another tool in the corporate arsenal, used to extract more work under the guise of innovation and adaptability. The sad reality is that in these environments, agility is not a means to empower employees but a mechanism to maintain control, dressed up in the language of modern business practices.
In conclusion, true agility is more than a set of practices; it’s a mindset that must permeate every level of an organization. It requires dismantling old hierarchies, genuinely empowering employees, and most importantly, establishing trust. Without these foundational changes, what we see in many companies today is not agility but a convoluted mimicry that stifles the very creativity and dynamism it claims to foster. As long as companies continue to walk this tightrope between traditional methods and half-hearted agile practices, the promise of true agility will remain unfulfilled.
