Exploring Agile Coaching and Change Management with Pia Wendelbo

Nov 18, 2023

Show Notes for Podcast Episode: Agile Coaching and Change Management with Pia

Episode Title: Exploring Agile Coaching and Change Management in Europe

Guest: Pia Wendelbo, CEO at Scandinavian Change Agents Company

Hosts: Matt and Jeff

Key Topics & Highlights:

1. Pia's Background and Journey:

   • More than 20 years of experience in innovation, product development strategy.
   • Started in software, among the first in Denmark to build content management solutions for websites in the late 1980s.
   • Early adoption of the internet for dynamic content and database integration.

2. Evolution of Agile Coaching:

   • Discusses the nuances of agile coaching in Europe, particularly in Scandinavia.
   • Emphasizes the human aspect of digital transformations, focusing on individual and organizational levels.
   • Highlights the need for empathy, understanding human decision-making, and accommodating change at a personal level.

3. Obstacles in Organizational Change:

   • Challenges of implementing change in organizations where people are resistant or not given enough space to adapt.
   • Importance of creating an environment conducive to change, giving individuals the necessary space and removing obstacles.
   • Discusses the misconceptions about people's resistance to change.

4. Management and Leadership in Change:

   • The role of management in facilitating change, especially in providing room for employees to adapt.
   • The necessity of reevaluating organizational priorities and projects to accommodate new changes.
   • Discusses the paradox of needing to slow down initially to achieve faster results in the long term.

5. Agility and Flexibility in Organizations:

   • The importance of agility and flexibility in adapting to changes and unexpected challenges.
   • The concept of "smooth is slow and slow is fast" in managing change.
   • How organizations often plan agile transformations in a rigid, predictive manner, missing the essence of agility.

6. Employee Involvement and Empowerment:

   • Advocates for high employee involvement in change initiatives.
   • The importance of giving teams autonomy and encouraging team dynamics for effective change.
   • Discusses how leaders can foster a culture of openness, trust, and psychological safety.

7. Techniques for Change Management:

   • Strategies for helping leaders understand the need for a slower, more deliberate approach to change.
   • Use of scientific and strategic approaches to explain resistance and adaptation to change.

8. The Human Aspect of Decision Making:

   • Discusses the dual-process theory of the human brain (System 1 and System 2) in the context of organizational change.
   • How understanding human behavior and decision-making can aid in managing change effectively.

9. Leadership and Vulnerability:

   • The role of leadership in acknowledging uncertainty and being open to learning.
   • Encourages leaders to be curious and open-minded, involving themselves directly in team dynamics.

10. Incentives and Organizational Culture:

    • Discusses how traditional incentives may not always align with desired outcomes in change management.
    • The shifting priorities and values of the workforce, especially among younger generations.

Call to Action:

• Visit Pia's website: Scandinavian Change Agents Company
• Connect with Pia on LinkedIn for further insights on agile coaching and change management.