Have you been thinking about transforming to an Agile Operating Model but don't see how it will work in your organization? Are you a graduate of the command and control school of management and not sure how this team autonomy nonsense will lead to positive business outcomes?
In Swiss Re Corporate Solutions we recently transformed our North American IT team from waterfall to Agile over the course of 6 months and have the scars to show for it. Learn from our mistakes (and occasional triumphs) as you embark or continue on your agile transformation. I'll also share my personal journey of how I changed from a committed command and controllist to embracing autonomy.
You'll learn:
- What worked, and what did not work, in our transformation
- How to overcome years of training as a "classic" project manager
- How to engage in a transformation even if you don't do much internal development and rely heavily on external vendors
- How to implement agile in teams where no more than a handful of people sit together across the globe
- How to work with team members that have worked the same way for 20+ years
Agile Coach (and Recovering Project Manager) at Swiss Re
Kyle Webster is a Vice President in IT at Swiss Re where he recently underwent the journey from middle management to Agile Coach. He has applied agile principles to many diverse projects from SAP implementations to workflow solutions. Most recently he was involved in the transformation of the Corporate Solutions North America IT team from waterfall to full agility.
He has been involved in the Kansas City area agile community since 2010 and has marvelled at how this simple idea became a fundamental part of everyday business.
Professionally he is interested in finding ways to reduce unnecessary suffering at work. Personally, if he's not doing something outside, he enjoys working with his wife Crystal on her startup.