As Scrum Masters we are constantly facing a changing environment. Every Scrum Master needs to learn about change, change methods and tools that work in practice. In this episode we dive deep into the change approach that Mike Burrows developed based on his experience as a coach and leader in the software industry.
Mike introduced what he called a “values-model” for Kanban adoption in his blog post titled Introducing Kanban Through Its Values.
In that blog post he introduced some of the ideas that today compose Agenda Shift, a more extensive approach to introducing a change approach that focuses on outcomes.
Read on for the details on Agenda Shift and Outcome-Oriented Change.
What are Agenda Shift and Outcome-Oriented Change
Agile can be seen as too prescriptive. When Mike and his colleagues worked with clients to prioritize some of the “prompts” (more on that in the episode) they used during change they found the outcomes people were looking for. Based on that they used a “clean-language” approach to clarify the reasons for Agile adoption in several organizations.
From then on they used an Hypothesis-Driven Approach to change to help organizations focus on outcomes rather than the work they usually add to the various Backlogs they manage.
Why is Agenda Shift so important for organizations in transformation?
As we explore the reasons, and foundations behind Agenda Shift we also discuss the problems that Mike faced that led to him developing the ideas behind Agenda Shift. Mike, who is a consultant, found that his role in consulting engagements is to close the gap between the outcomes the organization wants and what is happening in reality. However, we often fall in love with the solution. In contrast, Agenda Shift helps the consultant (internal or external) to work with the key stakeholders in the change process to find a better way to promote a focus on outcomes. Agenda Shift acts as a framework for helping our organizations focus on the real results (outcomes), and as such it is also a framework for our work as change agents in our organizations.
About Mike Burrows
Champion and enabler of outcome-oriented transformation & strategy, Agendashift founder, 2-time author (Agendashift, Kanban from the Inside).
Consultant, coach, trainer, and international keynote speaker. Former Executive Director, interim CTO, global development manager. Interim delivery manager for two UK government digital ‘exemplar’ projects. Winner, Brickell Key award for community contribution.
You can link with Mike Burrows on LinkedIn and connect with Mike Burrows on Twitter.
A real champion. Thanks for charing your experience