10 signs that your Transformation has failed before it started

"Agile transformation" is a popular buzzword these days, and the promises improved efficiency, better collaboration, and increased customer satisfaction are too hard for any enterprise to ignore. However, the transformation journey is not without its pitfalls. Let's take a tongue-in-cheeck snipe at some of the common causes of transformation failure.

You Know That Your Agile Transformation Has Failed Before It Started, If you...

Brought in consultants to prescribe the details of what everyone must do, when and how.

An Agile transformation doesn't come with a one-size-fits-all approach. When consultants define roles and processes without considering the unique challenges and context, we'll get a "square peg, round hole" solution. Successful transformations rely on collaboratively progressing on the Agile journey, letting teams experiment and adapt based on their own understanding and experience with a continuous interplay of opportunity, ideas, execution and feedback.

Spend more time documenting the Future Mode than experimenting or talking to people.

Agile transformation is about establising a habit of growth and learning based on iteration and continuous improvement. An overreliance on assumption-driven documentation without enough actual interactions and experiments achieves the opposite.

Already know the perfect solution, before having made a single change.

Agility is only required because we have to deal with uncertainty. An agile approach needs to acknowledge that perfect solutions rarely exist. Assuming that a "perfect" solution can be found without experimentation, learning or adaptivity will lead to missed opportunities for improvement and won't make the future organizational system any more flexible.

Can show the future on a slide deck, but not in a team.

Agile transformation is built on "individuals and interactions," not on a top-down declaration by some smart folks who know it all. A vision that exists only on a slide deck without any backing of teams who can tell "war stories from the trenches" doesn't instill much trust.

Have defined the correct process that everyone just needs to follow.

Rigidly following predefined processes is what got us into the mess that agility tries to address by fostering adaptability and flexibility. Imposing a "correct" process without degrees of freedom undermines autonomy and the opportunity to take advantage of domain specific benefits, leading to decreased motivation and ultimately, failure to realize any significant improvement potential.

Declare a mandatory universal "Agile Standard" for all teams.

Each team and organization has its own unique challenges, needs and potential. A one-size-fits-all Agile standard that disregards context stops teams from effectively practicing Continuous Improvement. Successful agile organizations treat the diversity of teams as an advantage.

Consider teams deciding their own ways of working to be a problem.

Empowering teams to self-organize and make decisions that impact their work is the means by which organizations reduce risk of failure and coordination overhead. Treating team autonomy as a liability annuls this advantage.

Apply so much rigor that Team Retrospectives don't let people change, experiment, or learn to do it better.

If the rigor and formality tells team members that their ideas aren't welcome, they'll quickly stop highlighting opportunities for improvement. When teams can't figure out how to improve in their context, "Agile" will merely become a new status quo without any sustainable benefits.

Believe that "people are doing it wrong," without giving them any leeway to do it better.

Agile transformations often involve a shift in thinking and culture, not just the mechanics of Agile practices. Blaming individuals without understanding the systemic barriers causes demotivation and resistance. A successful transformation acknowledges that there is no single "one right" approach, and focuses on enabling teams to find what works best - for them.

Your Coaches can recite the doctrine by heart, but don't understand the psychology of change.

Coaches play a crucial role in guiding teams on their transformation journey. Reciting Agile frameworks, values or principles without understanding the human aspect of change and the psychology of team dynamics alienates people and deprives them of the meaningful support and guidance they require. Successful coaches empathize with teams, create a safe space for learning, and tailor their approach to the needs of the individuals and teams they work with.

Closing remarks

Although this list might be slightly humorous, it highlights some serious pitfalls that can seriously derail transformations. Understanding these reasons for failure will help you become more successful on your Agile Journey. Being agile, fostering collaboration, and living agile values and principles is as essential for the teams doing the work as it is for the change towards Agility itself.