Edgar Schein (2004) defines organisational culture as “the pattern of shared basic assumptions – invented, discovered, or developed by a given group as it learns to cope with its problems of external adaptation and internal integration – that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems”.
One of the characteristics of culture is that it is rigid and any deviation from culture may have negative consequences.
However, in the modern business world there is need for organisational culture to be agile to enable organisations to be more adaptive, efficient, and effective in their operations as they respond to their business challenges.
Agility is defined as the ability to move quickly and easily.
Business agility is concerned with the adoption and evolution of values, behaviours and capabilities that enable business and individuals to be more adaptive, creative, and resilient when dealing with complexity, uncertainty, and change, leading to improved well-being and better outcomes.
For an organisation to be truly agile it needs to operate in different ways, with leadership, values and norms reinforcing that culture.
Agile Business consortium 2017 defines an agile culture as creating an environment that is supported by values, behaviours and practices which enable organisations, teams, and individuals to be more adaptive, flexible, innovative, and resilient when dealing with complexity, uncertainty, and change.
The characteristics of an agile culture are:
- Unleashed purpose and meaningful results – a clear, compelling, and inspiring purpose that focuses on results that matter to all stakeholders.
- Agile leadership is supportive leadership compared to directive, command, and control style which limits employee performance.
- Well-being and fulfilment – happy and positive environment which provides a deep sense and feeling of achievement to individuals.
- Collaborative communities and distributed authority – a network of collaborative teams with more autonomy for decision making as appropriate.
- Trust and transparency lead to loyal, integrity and commitment to transparency, openness, and honesty when performing day to day work.
- Adaptability to change is achieved by a strong core that provides stability with flexibility to adapt and change.
- Innovation, Learning and Personal mastery – psychological safety, thoughtful experimentation, learning, and reflective practice moving towards personal strengths and mastery.
Creating an agile culture at work is important for several reasons:
- Flexibility and adaptability- Agile practises promote an adaptive and flexible approach to work, which is crucial in today’s rapidly changing business environment, enabling organisations to respond quickly to changing market conditions and customer needs.
Adaptability occurs when organisations value responding to change over following a laid down plan.
This is achieved by breaking down the complexity and dependency in the way organisations work to allow for faster decision making.
- Improved collaboration is encouraged between teams, leading to increased communication, accountability, and transparency. This results in aligned teams and a cohesive working environment. Empowered employees are motivated to execute from an earned level of autonomy.
- Increased customer satisfaction is achieved by involving customers in the development of new products. Agile teams start with the understanding that satisfying customers is the highest priority.
Agility therefore helps organisations to prioritise delivering value to their customers.
- Improved quality- emphasis on testing and continuous improvement of products leads to higher quality products and services and the efficient use of resources.
This is evident in software engineering process where feature updates represent incremental updates to the core operating system leading to better quality.
- Increased employee engagement is achieved when employees are empowered to take ownership of their work and make decisions which leads to higher motivation, engagement, and job satisfaction.
It is evident that an Agile culture has many benefits to both the organisations and employees.
In this volatile environment it is critical for organisations to be agile to enable them to respond to market trends and customer needs and to remain competitive and relevant in the market.
Chiedza Kadare is an OD Practitioner. You can get in touch with her on WhatsApp/call +263 77 283 0986 or Email chiedza.kadare@gmail.com
Paul Nyausaru is an OD Practitioner and leadership coach. For all your OD interventions and leadership development training you can get in touch with him on WhatsApp/call +263774062756 or Email pnyausaru@gmail.com
