I was in a coaching conversation the other morning with another agile coach. They brought up a scenario at work where one of their key stakeholders (executives) had said something like—

I’m fully on board and bought into what you’re focusing on in the agile transformation…

And I stopped them.

As I thought about it, the thought that kept coming up was this—

  • Being supportive of;

  • Fully backing;

  • Having their buy-in;

  • Being on board with.

Isn’t good enough for leaders when you’re a coach in an organizational transformation. Sure, those words are nice and appreciated, but I was thinking they are just table stakes. That the coach needed MORE from their stakeholders.

That they needed their—

  • Full engagement;

  • Actively leading the change by example;

  • Sharing their vision every day, via storytelling;

  • Actively coaching their organization daily;

  • Having the hard, crucial conversations where necessary;

  • Partnership with the coach, shoulder-to-shoulder;

  • Self-evident that the transformation is THEIR top priority!

And when I asked the coach whether those actions were present, they said no. That they were mostly doing all of that.

Wrapping Up

I tried to land this point with the coach. That they wanted and needed MORE from their stakeholders. That they deserved MORE and that just saying “you have my full support”, isn’t good enough.

The stakeholders need to show it, bring it, and deliver it. Each and every day.

Now, fingers crossed, I hope the coach asks for and receives…MORE.

Stay agile my friends,

Bob. 

BTW: an alternative title for this article might be: Organizational Leaders—You Can’t Delegate Organizational Change Leadership.

 

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