This talk will unpack key pitfalls of resistance during an agile transformation of an enterprise, reasons behind, their impact and how an Agile Coach can navigate companies towards growth.

Imagine an enthusiastic Agile Coach previously having worked with IT start-ups for over 5 years joining a leading financial enterprise (3000+ personnel) that embarked on a journey of agile transformation and digitalization to stay ahead of competition and develop cutting-edge technology. Business needs assessment, transformation roadmap, education around core agile principles, linking team and individual SMART KPIs to strategic objectives, developing digital metrics, running bootcamps for key personnel on proposed agile frameworks, hands-on support to management and teams in agile adoption. Sounds like a plan, right? As much as it does, this does not guarantee a result unless we understand the triggering mechanism of change behind. No transformation or change comes without tackling pain and resistance. Where does resistance come from? Human Brain! The only one “guilty”! It will do everything to keep the system away from change, cozy in its comfort zone. First, the brain will resist the change strongly fearing that the change challenges and de-values whatever was done before, thus opening up the first pitfall of resistance called “threat”.

It is important here to apply the right techniques to open up the brain for new knowledge and experiences with the stakeholders you are working with, e.g. take a coach position : “Everything done before is just fine: listen and honour”. When skillfully dealt with, the brain opens up for new knowledge, experiences and gets accustomed to small rituals. You can imagine it, for example, via education of individuals and teams around agile events and their further practice. People are learning, business processes are up and running and all goes pretty well until the moment when there is an external condition, be it within the system or outside, that turns on an alarm and, trust me, there always is such. Imagine, e.g. a change in top-management that brings in new demands and dissatisfaction with the current state of things or a new regulation that impacts the way the system works inside. This leads to the second pitfall of resistance called: “pressure”. Habits stop working under pressure. I could observe top-bottom pressure in enterprises where structures tend to be hierarchic rather than flat. Hence, decreasing pressure and re-thinking the existing way of running things becomes a priority. Here 1:1s with those directly affected by pressure and strategy sessions with key stakeholders aimed at re-shaping and adapting the vision to the new reality are a perfect match. So, imagine, threats and pressure are gone, people are already accustomed to the new values and behaviors and first short-term wins are in place, e.g. profits grow, time-to-market decreases, users are satisfied: looks like a paradise? Wait. The third and one of the most dangerous pitfalls of resistance is around the corner and it is called: “boredom”. Here the Agile Coach uses of the most powerful weapons in arsenal and applies coaching techniques that stimulate those parts of the brain that are charged with emotions, creativity and future-oriented solutioning, e.g. (Disney strategy, “3 Hats, 3 Chairs”) and many others. They are able to stimulate rich alternatives, keeping transformation alive and reinforcing changes even further. It is at that moment when our brain transitions from its “guilty” state to its “miraculous” state and expands to its nearest growth zone where most of the miraculous solutions and decisions lie! Creativity and Motivation take over!
The Coach acts as a catalyzer of change throughout the journey, which is non-linear, rather iterative, helping the company adapt and grow in harmony with human brainwork and heartbeat. In that, it is also important that the Coach is aware of how to protect him/herself from negative waves of resistance in this journey, e.g. having clear boundaries between the role of a Coach and him/herself as a Person.