Presentation about how you can make effect in your organization.
Presented at Agile Tour Toronto, Agile Ottawa and PMI-SOC Professional Development Day.
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How To Be A Secret (change) Agent
1. How To Be A
Secret Agent
^
change
Chris Farrell
Shawn Button
2013
3. “We believe that change
can be instigated and led
by anyone.
Lack of power is no
excuse for inactivity or for
anticipating failure.
In healthy companies
people not only lead their
peers but also lead their
bosses, all without the
official sanction to do so”
4. Tools
•
We are going to introduce you to a lot
of tools that you can use to help
effect change.
•
We are not going to tell you what
changes you should make.
•
For more information on these tools
see the links section at the end of this
presentation or come speak to us.
5. Agenda
• Introduction (you are here)
• Fill in problem worksheets
• Working With Your Company
• Working With Others
• Working On Yourself
• References
6. Change Agent Worksheets
Think of three problems that you see in your
organization on a daily basis.
Examples:
Ineffective practices
Micromanaging boss
Introducing Scrum
Improving Collaboration
Making people aware of quality issues
•
•
•
•
•
9. Culture is HARD
to Change
•“What these
[business] needs
require are changes
in behavior. But
“changing culture” is
not going to produce
them. Culture … is
singularly persistent.”
– Peter Drucker 1991
10. You May Not See
The Effects
We are more influenced
by company culture
then we realize
"Cucumbers get more
pickled than brine gets
cucumbered.”
– Gerry Weinberg
11. Create a “Bubble”
of Positive Culture
• Protect those under and
around you from the
negative influences of
the larger company
culture
• Create adapters to the
rest of the company
• Teach/demonstrate to
those around you this
new way of working
13. Make Connections
Build bridges between
those who've accepted
the new idea and those
who have not
Use people who are
connectors. Those who
seem to have many
connections with many
others in the organization
14. Change is War?
“The innovator has
for enemies all
those who have
done well under the
old conditions, and
lukewarm defenders
in those who may
do well under the
new”
- Machiavelli
15. Change is War?
(It’s just a metaphor, but a
handy way of looking at it)
Be strategic.
Look for the highest value
targets to start. There are
lots of fronts. Pick one.
Figure out where to put
your limited time for best
benefit
19. Changing Others
Immediately get
nervous when you
hear people saying
that they want to
“change others.”
Change has to be a
collaboration
between you and
those changing
20. Understand
Others’ Context
There is always a reason
for a person’s behaviour
A resistor is often someone
who is misinformed or who
stands to lose with your
change.
Try to understand a
resistor’s context. You
have to figure out what
drives them in order to
help them see your side.
21. Adoption Profiles
•
Be aware of what type of person
you're talking to
•
You should focus on those types
of people who will accept your
message and use them to
spread the change
•
Take advantage of the
Innovators and Early Adopters
22. Finding Early
Adopters
How do you identify early
adopters? Run experiments!
Plant seeds and see what
grows.
•Study groups
•Lunch and learns
•Lean Coffees
•Coding Dojos
•Conferences
Those that come are
innovators or early
adopters!
23. Change Fatigue
People have different
tolerances for change. They
will resist your change if this
tolerance is exceeded. Give
them the space and time
they need.
Conserve your energy
and combat frustration.
People are better at
coping with change if they
have a hand in creating it.
24. Communication is Key
Most of what you will
be doing as a change
agent relies on good
communication skills.
•Powerful questions
•Learning to Listen
25. Powerful Questions
Open-ended, provocative
questions designed to invite
the other person to clarity,
action, and discovery.
Examples:
What is an example?
What is possible?
How do you feel about it?
What is missing?
•
•
•
•
26. Learn to Really Listen
“Listening is the willingness to
change” - Dave Pasquesi (via
Todd Charon)
•Truly listen
•Tune in to non-verbal
communication
Instead of “but” try saying “yes
and”
•
27. External Validation
• People want assurance
•
•
an idea has validity
outside the organization.
Send out links to blog
posts, presentations,
conferences, etc.
Arrange for people to
spend time with big jolt
visitors.
30. Model the
Behaviour
“If we could change
ourselves, the
tendencies in the world
would also change. As a
man changes his own
nature, so does the
attitude of the world
change towards him. …
We need not wait to see
what others do.”
– Ghandi
31. Building Trust
• In order to get people
to accept your
changes they need to
trust you.
• Two ways to build
trust:
o Show Vulnerability
o Create Connections
32. Show Vulnerability
•
•
•
•
Admit when you don’t know
something
Suppress your ego
Admit your weakness and
ignorance
Own your mistakes
This creates authenticity
and builds trust.
33. Create Connections
• Be empathetic
• Take a personal interest
•
•
in people
Give genuine recognition
and praise
Be a Mentor
34. Seek help
• Do not be afraid to
ask for help
o Boss, co-worker,
outside people
o Pair with others
whenever possible
• Get a mentor or
coach
36. Celebrate Success
Being a change agent
can be very very very
frustrating.
Celebrate even the
small things along the
way, instead of being
overwhelmed with all
the challenges.
37. Personal Effectiveness
Change is hard work.
Here are some tools
you can use to help.
• Step by step
• Personal kanban
• Pomodoro
Technique
38. Step-by-step
Do things in small
manageable increments
“Great things are not
done by impulse but by a
series of small things
brought together”
– Van Gogh
Helps with frustration.
Helps you quickly prove
to others it will work.
41. “Remember how
powerful you are. Never
forget the power of the
individual to make a
difference. Enroll people
in that possibility, and
change the world,
change a community,
change your family,
change yourself”
- Jimmy Carter
44. Learn Models
“All models are wrong, but
some are useful”
George E. P. Box
•Learn models: ADKAR,
Fogg Behaviour Model,
Kotter Change Model,
Schneider Culture Model,
BEGIN Empowerment
Model, Cynefin Complexity
Model, and others
50. How To Be A
Secret Agent
^
change
Chris Farrell
Shawn Button
2013
51. Links
Battlefield Maps: http://bit.ly/CA-BM
Lean Coffee: http://bit.ly/CA-LC
Coding Dojos: http://bit.ly/CA-CD
The Pomodoro Technique: http://bit.ly/CA-PT
Powerful Questions: http://bit.ly/CA-PQ
Active Listening: http://bit.ly/CA-AL
Personal Kanban: http://bit.ly/CA-PK
Rally: http://bit.ly/CA-RALLY
Leanintuit: http://bit.ly/leanintuit
Editor's Notes
“how many people can see changes that they would like to make at work?” followed by “How many people are empowered by their company to drive these changes?”
We completely agree with this. We believe that most improvements are driven by individuals….
The first thing you are going to run into when you try to make changes is existing company culture
At a company scale we are talking about working with the existing company culture.
Negotiate outside of your culture bubble for freedom
Adapters:
create documents for consumption by the rest of the company
Project plans in a specific format
Example, collaboration within your bubble, but create docs for outside
Use empathy
RIO
Give them something positive
-fresh perspective
chris
Inspiration for that popular saying “be the change you want to see”
Change your own nature to get the changes you want