A meeting with a nervous CIO

Background

I very recently had an interview for a broad coaching role and I wasn’t happy with the answer I gave to one of the role playing scenarios. This post is me getting the jumbled up thoughts under control and structured in a more coherent form, so hopefully if the scenario happens again, I’ll be much clearer.

The Question

Discussion with the CIO of an organisation. They’re trying to transform their organisation (7000 people). Essentially, their strategy distils down into a conceptually three stages of “train everyone” – “change the way of working” – “see how it goes and evolve”. The exam question was “I’m nervous, am I missing something?”.

My refined Answer

Firstly I’ll define your organisation with a boundary containing two fundamentally different processes:

1. Organisational processes. These processes collectively define how your organisation behaves. Transformational change only occurs when these processes evolve. The key ones are
   1. interaction processes (communication)
   2. visioning processes (purpose)
   3. motivating processes (alignment)
   4. learning processes.
2. Operational processes. These processes collectively define what your organisation does and simplistically, all other processes belong here. Continuous and incremental improvements happen when these processes evolve.

Agile and Training

Next lets look at “agile”. There are two main parts that I want to cover. The mechanical elements such as practices, techniques – the “how to do agile”; and the behavioural elements such as mindset, principles, values – the “how to be agile”.

Training can provide awareness and skill. Skill in the mechanical elements, and awareness of the behavioural aspects. Learning and improving skills can be done in a training context. However, changing established behavioural patterns is an internal struggle and takes time and requires support.

This means that your training-based transformation strategy can potentially deliver incremental improvements (Scott Ambler, from Disciplined Agile Delivery has been running a long standing agile survey that has helped him determine that adopting the mechanical aspect of agile methods can realistically yield a 6-10% improvement in overall effectiveness these days). However, this strategy is unlikely to deliver transformational improvements.

From training to coaching

In order to make a lasting effect on the organisational processes, additional leadership coaching should be employed. As a leader, you have to set the example that you wish your organisation to follow, as your behaviour patterns will be emulated through your direct reports into your organisation. Like it or not, you are one of the coaches that influences your organisation’s leadership community.

The Servant-Leadership model has a natural fit with an agile culture and elements can be incorporated by your leaders into their leadership styles. The greater the adoption, the easier it is for their part of the organisation to evolve into a more agile culture.

Evolving your management

Any changes to your organisation’s leadership models will almost certainly require changes to your management methods and measurements.

Note: This might turn into another post.

Things I read to help me articulate this

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_Barnard
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Functions_of_the_Executive
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Parker_Follett
4. https://cvdl.ben.edu/blog/leadership_theories_part1/
5. https://cvdl.ben.edu/blog/leadership_theories_part2/
6. https://clearthinking.co/a-simple-model-of-culture-change/