If you do not believe that being is harder than doing, then look no further than your local gym. How many people do you see doing workouts versus how many people do you see who are making decisions that lead to their being more healthy?
This distinction jumped out to me while reading the book Being Agile by Mario Moreira.
Specifically as it relates to Agile transformations within organizations, many do steps and activities associated with Agile software development practices, but a much smaller subset are carrying out the vision and process changes required to be more Agile.
Colleges and high schools are filled with young athletes who perform drills and sweat through grueling practices, but very few become NFL stars. It is often difficult to tell the difference between that larger group performing the drills, but the crucible of the moment on the playing field mercilessly separates the champions and the pretenders.
If the results are falling short of your expectations, it can often be traced to a situation where changes were more performance and show then cultural!
Consider:
- Where have you been more focused? Is it cultural shifts that are coherent with your goal or changing processes that look like it?
- Do you reward/recognize colleagues more for doing or being?
- What change would better focus you on becoming more aligned with your goal as opposed to performing tasks associated with it?
Make no mistake, a Desire for change (What-You-Want) is the first impetus to change. However, without Action and changes to behaviors, we will continue to get the results we have always gotten.
After the commitment to act is overcome, we must address the most challenging aspect of successful transformations. In our excitement to initiate change, we tend to start changing process. This is the organizational equivalent of Full Gyms after New Year’s Day.
Instead of focusing on process-change (the Things-You-Do) to guide your adoption of Agile practice, spend time identifying cultural elements that can be handled in a more Agile fashion. This is the difference in focusing on Who-You-Are!
Note: If you’d like some ideas on making change a consistent part of your lifestyle, check out this post.
