Hi Claus,

It is for a long discussion to respond to you than a short comment. I will try.

• when an organization starts onboarding an army of “agile coaches” it is already late for the manager to start doing something about it. Because the roles overlap and if the change will be successful, the coach will become a new manager.
• it is nonsense to apply an agile transformation to the organization. It is good for large consultancies that provide those coaches, but rarely good for the organization. Not to mention the cost. It is better, that the organization adapts fluently by short term plans (up to 3 months) and starts with an update of vision and values rather than processes. I see it as a definition of HOW we want to do business. It has much implication on the engagement of people, retention, knowledge management and other important elements. So don’t do Agile Transformation.
• servant leadership — well, it is a nice idea but I met only a few people who can embrace it fully. I can also see, that in Agile it is the leadership aspect of the managerial role that is important. A person with a drive on achievement who can define and support direction and encourage people to join in. I prefer that people stay themselves. It is not a command-and-control autocratic style opposite to servant leadership. There are a plethora of styles there. Create your style based on your personality and objectives.
• you sent managers to ask around. Well, this is very tricky. The ideal would be if they visit a truly agile organization. I spent 10 years to search for them, and I saw only very few. Attending meetups is often problematic. They attract agile hippies that focus on happiness, not at business results. They often lack a holistic view.
• I would advise managers to treat management as a profession. It requires formation (it is very rare to see), it requires practice in a safe environment (if available, but can be created with trusted external coaches for senior execs), and creating own managerial style. All aka Shu-Ha-Ri principle. I am missing this part when talking with senior execs.
• the problem may be “mindset change”. If I use the Laloux color code or spiral theory for description, I can see that most organizations that are doing Agile Transformation are in the orange paradigm and plan to stay there. We need to change toward the green. And it requires changing goals. It is the most difficult element of mindset change. There are not many examples yet, not to mention good ones.

I hope it is more understandable now.

Michal