ACCOUNTABLE AGILITY SYSTEM

Source Agility exists to maximise the returns from an organisation's investment in agility. We work with organisations to design and deliver accountable agility enablement and coaching services.

To do this we've built a system, we call it our: ACCOUNTABLE AGILITY SYSTEM

Maximising the Return of your Agility Investment

Any accountable service starts with knowing what success looks like; when enabling agility, success results in delivery of change outcomes in the key focus areas that will support the organisation to adopt agility.

The Accountable Agility System™ contains five key focus areas for agility enablement teams to address in order to maximise the returns on invested effort.

Five Focus Areas

The FIVE focus areas are:
1. The Leader's Mindset
2. System Visibility
3. Value Delivery
4. Delivering Change
5. Enablement Team Responsiveness

Note: What is shown on this page is a simplified version of the full system we utilise when working with clients.

How the AAS works to improve outcomes

It is only through focusing (where it matters) that returns on your agility investment can be maximised. Our AAS suggests where you can focus effort and investment to enable the highest returns for your agility investment.

For each focus area there is a matching set of agile coaching services and specific agile practices that will enable change and deliver the most impact for every dollar invested.

The Accountable Agility System™ ensures the right relationships and interactions occur between:

- each of the focus areas
- agility enablement/coaching
- team competencies
- the enablement services provided
- agility practices
- quality of practice execution

When all these elements are aligned, what results is a high-performing agility enablement team with skills that are well-matched to the work they are being asked to do within each focus area. It is this alignment that enables a step-change in transformation outcomes.

Source Agility Accountable Agility System

1. THE LEADER'S MINDSET

Agile coaches have the job of enabling leaders to believe in and understand their role in the change. To be clear, the coach is not accountable to change the leader's mind; rather to make themselves available to advise, coach, educate or consult to the leader. To do this, the coach requires the right mix of coaching and consulting competencies.

2. SYSTEM VISIBILITY

The coach is accountable for providing a clear view of the system; this includes people, processes, data and where work is in the current operating model.

Additionally, the coach can provide a future state design of what the system could look like and a means to track progress towards this future state.

3. VALUE DELIVERY

The coach is accountable for providing expert advice on which the tools, data, processes and role/responsibilities need to be implemented to enable a reliable and predictable system of delivery.

Additionally, the coach is able to provide hands-on facilitation support in order to demonstrate how the system is to be managed; they then hand these responsibilities over to an accountable delivery specialist.

4. DELIVERING CHANGE

The coach is accountable for enabling a change in the goal of the system so that it focusses on flow of value, replacing the emphasis on output/activity.

Additionally, the coach is able to provide data to support recommendations on where and how to introduce change into the system to remove blockers to value flow (impediments slowing delivery).

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5. ENABLEMENT TEAM RESPONSIVENESS

This focus area ensures that the very people who are supposed to be enabling the transformation (agile coaches) do not become part of the problem; but instead learn and adapt to the needs of the organisation as it moves through the transformation. It is not uncommon for the agile coaching and enablement team to become fixed in how they see agile working within the organisation.

The Accountable Agility System™ aims to mitigate this risk through continuous alignment of coaching activities to the focus areas where change is required.

This is only the tip of the iceberg, if you want to use the Accountable Agility System in your organisation: