I’ve been married for almost 24 years, and although I am very happily married it would be dishonest to say that there haven’t been difficult times throughout the years. This, of course, is true for most marriages. Speaking for mine, those difficult times didn’t simply resolve themselves on their own. In fact – quite the opposite. My husband and I have had to deliberately choose to address disequilibrium that has, at times, threatened our marriage.

A marriage, whether formalised or not is really just another system, and a system always seeks to balance itself. If one part (or individual) of the system becomes underactive, the other part (or individual) tends to become overactive in an attempt to reach some level of homeostasis. The problem is that this often results in an unhealthy system.

The marriage system also exists within a macro environment with external influence which can act as a disruptor to the system resulting in it being stressed or unhealthy.

Let’s briefly apply this analogy to organisations. An organisation is also a system seeking to balance itself while also trying to adapt to internal and external catalysts for change. It constantly works to keep the system in a state of healthy equilibrium. With the dawn of technology and innovation rapid change is the reality of the modern organisation. The organisation that wishes to remain ahead of its competitor simply has to adapt or die!

Although the term Agile refers to an iterative approach to project management, in recent years the term is also used to describe organisations that embrace a rapid change culture. The change occurs too quickly for the linear approach since the landscape changes faster than the plan is able to deliver.

The Agile Software Development Manifesto indicates four key, values, two of which state;

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Responding to change over following a plan

These two values immediately highlight the necessity for change management within an organisation. Helping people remain in step with this rapid change, according to the values, becomes a key focus of the Agile approach. If an organisation is agile, in other words, a system responding to surrounding change, then change management becomes even more necessary than in a traditional linear approach to introducing strategic change. It is change management that promotes homeostasis and keeps the people and the organisation dancing in step with one another.

An Agile approach to change and Organisational Change Management, are therefore, the symbiotic partners in the Agile organisation system. This can be likened to the two partners in a marriage, deliberately working to maintain a healthy equilibrium. When one part of the system is on the rise the other part needs to meet it head on to keep it from being overactive i.e. when change is on the rise, change management needs to work even harder at keeping the people in pace with the change or things simply get out of hand leaving people behind and resulting in a lack of adoption.

So how does one approach organisational change management within an Agile organisation?

It is important to first note that organisational change, unlike project change management, is a system change usually requiring a culture change. Change management therefore focuses on a few different layers.

The first layer of change enablement is at the enterprise or organisation level where an understanding of the need to change must be clearly defined for all members of the organisation. When change management can clearly identify that which pulls people towards the new (the desired state), while at the same time articulating the need for people to move away from a potentially painful or destructive condition (a push), both awareness of the need for change, and a desire to want to change begins to permeate the system. This, in turn, begins to mobilise the people towards the inevitable change. CIO Tim Creasey, at The Intersection of Agile and Change Management with Agile Amped at ACMP2016 calls this “priming the system”.

The second layer of change enablement is at the interpersonal level. This is the level where people are assimilated into the change journey through being equipped and through interpersonal support. The prime has been pumped and people are mobilised, they now need to be shown how to get to this end state within community, how to behave, and what to do when they get there. In other words, they need to see how they have a place in this new state where they can add value. This layer therefore relies on engagement, knowledge and skills building. It is at this layer that people are equipped for the change. However, it does not necessarily happen in a linear fashion, but rather as the need arises and as the desire within people develops. This level instils confidence to change and leads to the third layer.

At the third layer change management sees people safely into their new roles where they settle and grow in the new situation. This is the adoption layer where people learn to live with the change in a mutually beneficial relationship with the organisation.

In an Agile organisation, these three layers are constantly being revisited, or addressed to ensure that the marriage, or system, remains healthy and in sync. When people are expected to navigate their own way through the endless changes, certain parts of the system become over active while other parts become underactive. Like a stressed marriage, this requires deliberate, focused energy to bring the organisational change and its people back into some level of equilibrium.

Instead, through organisational change management an Agile organisation finds itself prepared to embrace the inevitable change.