Change is hard...

I'm not going to lie - I woke up this morning feeling a little depressed and worn thin. 

North Carolina is on day 23 of our "Stay at Home" order - with other places being "cooped up" even longer.   While like everyone, my family has been making the best out of the situation.  Unlike untold other people, we've been blessed to be healthy, safe and relatively comfortable.  Others have it much worse than my family and friends.  All that said, I'll be honest... my nerves are wearing a bit thin. 

Being used to doing things one way, and then suddenly being forced (or at the very least - strongly encouraged) to do things differently - well we're getting through it, but it's not without road bumps along the way.  The girls have adjusted to online schooling (although not without drama.)  We've adjusted to putting in a grocery order 5 days in advance rather than just running out and grabbing what we want on a whim.  We've all gotten really good at "pausing" briefly before walking behind someone to ensure they aren't on a video call.  Our family has slipped into a routine of daily chores, work and school from home, online grocery ordering and taking some walks to try and get some fresh air.  We've talked as a family about what our "new normal" may be as talk turns to easing shelter in place orders and how we can take steps toward interacting with others in public again.  It's hard to envision what it will be like, but we know that if we don't change our habits, well there could be very serious consequences - and while we may have been comfortable with the way things were - things need to change going forward.

As a Coach - I often get to work with teams and organizations that are on the cusp of changing.  As someone who truly embraces our shared agile values and principles, I believe that embracing change and challenging the status quo are important, because nothing about our customer, our market or our world stays the same forever.  I know that no plan is ever perfect, and if we wait until we have ALL the answers, we'll miss out on opportunities while we swirl around trying to figure everything out.  Taking small steps forward and learning is far superior! 

So when I woke up this morning feeling the equivalent of how Charli, The Spoiled

Labradoodle looks in the picture to the right (and yes- that's legit a picture I just snapped before writing this) - it got me to thinking... why is accepting this change so hard?  I mean I'm a transformation coach!  Change is my job!  Why am I having such a hard time embracing this change and the ambiguity that swirls around it?  Why do I feel depressed and unsettled.

The conclusion I came to...

(...after some coffee and reflection) is that I'm feeling this way because...

change is hard!

(I know - your reaction here is "Seriously Coach Dan? That's your grand insight?")  Bear with me!  It doesn't matter who you are, or what you believe - change is incredibly hard.  

When I say "change"  - I don't mean using a different checklist, or updating a process with some new steps (although those kinds of changes have their challenges as well.)  I mean "fundamental to the way we think and act" change.  The kind of change that results in a cultural shift.  A change in mindset and behaviors that are required to move away from a highly structured, siloed, command and control, assembly line, waterfall environment to an environment where the agile mindset is unlocked with truly empowered, cross-functional, customer focused teams.  Changes that impact the way we interact with coworkers, partners and team members.  Changes that really challenge the status quo.  Change that requires curiosity and trust and courage.  Change that requires everyone to take steps forward together along a path because it's the right direction to go.  Even if all of the steps forward.  Even if some of the steps farther down the path are still unclear.  That kind of change is hard for everyone - team members, leaders, even coaches.

So how do we know it's the right thing to do - to change?  We know it because the old way of doing it won't work anymore.  I can't shake the hand of an acquaintance I run into in a store anymore because it dramatically increases the chances of me getting sick.  I can't head down to the local dive bar for a quick beer after work for the same reasons.  We have to adjust because the old way of doing things (that use to work just fine, thank you very much!) aren't working now because things around us have changed.

The same thing can be said about our agile transformation. 

We've spent years doing it the way we use to do it.  It's comfortable.  We know what to expect.  It can be challenging to think that the way we're going about things today aren't the best way to do it.  I mean, come on!  We built it this way in the first place!  How can it not be the best way to do it?  It's hard to think that what was so important to consider yesterday may not necessarily be so important today.  It's hard to change.  

So what's important now?

• Keeping our customers front and center in all that we do
• Being more nimble and responsive to an ever evolving market place (i.e. customer needs)
• Being able to swiftly adjust our priorities and to focus on what's most important (again to our customer)
• Reducing complexity and dependencies and handoffs between teams / departments / LOBs / whatever
• Delivering value more frequently and with higher quality

It's not a stretch to say that the plans and commitments that we put together in January and February of this year absolutely need to be revisited.  There are very few teams, if any that haven't been impacted by a pivot or a reprioritization.  The roadmaps that were laid out last year need to be adjusted and improved because the world has changed. Do we need to know all of the answers before we can take a step forward together?  The old way of thinking would say "absolutely".  An agile mindset says no - we need to have a shared understanding on where we are headed, and the next steps we're taking together.  We need  a willingness to learn and pivot based on what we learn on these next steps.  We need a commitment that we all win together, and that we will let what we learn together guide our next steps. 

None of this takes away from the fact that change is hard, but knowing it's hard for everyone can help us all take meaningful steps together!

Giving myself permission.

I will fully admit that as I wrote this post, I started to feel better.  Am I still anxious about what's next with the Coronavirus and Covid-19?  Of course! 

Am I still on my wife's last nerve because we've been cooped up in the house together for almost a month.  You'll have to ask her, but I'd guess yes!  

Did I realize that I'm feeling unsettled, depressed and anxious because change is hard and right now there is a lot of fundamental change going on?  Yep!

Do I give myself permission to feel this way, as long as I keep in mind that it's hard for everyone and I shouldn't let it stop me from taking steps forward?  Absolutely!

Just like our teams - I don't have to be perfect.  I can test and learn my way through these changes.  I don't have to have the full plan - I have to know where we're headed, and what steps I'm taking next.  I'm not in this alone.  

Thanks to all of you, as you support our customers and each other.  Thanks to all of you as you embrace and move forward with a very big change.  Thank you for showing up and living your agile values and principles - regardless if you're on an agile team, "agiling in place" or simply bringing your agile mindset to the teams you're working with today.  Thank you for being open minded, curious and courageous.  We all need to be that way to transform - at work AND in our personal lives.

We all win together.