Change is often much slower than hoped for, and more painful than anticipated. In the end, you may be left with feelings of frustration and dismay rather than the benefits you hoped for. How can we make change–whether it’s adopting Scrum at the team level, or agile at the enterprise level–more successful, and more enlivening?
Through my work with many organizations, I’ve distilled principles for successful transformation into Six Rules for Change. These principles address both the complexity of the organization and the complexity of the human experience of change. They provide a set of touch-points to guide Change Artists as they support and enable change in their organizations.
* Center yourself, consider the context and your connection to the people who are being asked to change.
* Honor what is valuable about the past and what is working now. Honor the human experience of change.
* Assess what is possible from where you stand, and who will work with you.
* Assess the trust and advice networks in your organization. Weave intentional networks. Don’t rely only on the formal hierarchy.
* Guide the change, and consider what aspects can evolve locally and where global principles apply.
* Design experiments and evaluate results. Big changes scare people. Experiments help people practice and learn.
Following the principles in the Six Rules for Change can dramatically improve the chance the change you want will stick.
