The 3 E's of agile change management

Change management is a common challenge among organizations both big and small. Many insights leaders want to digitally transform their insights functions, for example, but you need more than the right tools to do that. You have to get people on board with new ways of working. In other words, you need a clear approach to change management.   

To discuss the matter, Tony Costella, Global Consumer and Market Insights Director at Heineken, joined us for an Inside Insights podcast episode where he shared his experience leading and driving change on a global scale.

In this article, we’ll break down the 3 E model for agile change management that he’s found great success with.  

The first “E” in Tony’s agile change management model is Envision. 

He emphasizes the importance of fully building out your vision before bringing it to stakeholders or those who will be directly affected by it.  

Once you are ready, presenting your fully-formed vision will allow them to see what the change could look like and how it will shape the future.   

First you've got to build the vision and help people see what the change can look like.

— Tony Costella, Global Consumer and Market Insights Director at Heineken

It’s like a recipe where the order of the ingredients is just as important as the ingredients themselves. You have to make sure your vision is fully baked before you move forward with all the toppings.

Once your vision has set and cooled, the second “E” you should focus on is how to empower people to be part of the change your organization needs. 

There will often be a lot of local challenges at this stage. People will talk about budget issues, they'll talk about time restraints, they'll talk about capability, etc. — all of which are definite and very real barriers. But the biggest barrier of all that needs to be addressed is fear.

It may be a fear of change in general, but most of the time it’s also a fear of becoming less valuable. For example, those directly affected by the changes you're trying to put in place may think: “Well, I know how to do my job and I do it very well. If I start outsourcing or automating the work my business partners really appreciate me for doing, or if I mark some of my responsibilities as lower priority, then I’ll become less valuable.”

The biggest barrier of all is fear.

— Tony Costella, Global Consumer and Market Insights Director at Heineken

So it's all in how you address those fears. How do you make it easy for people to make that first leap? How do you get them to trust you? How can you make them realize that by freeing up their time, they’ll have room for projects that will make them even more valued? 

The answer is simple: You have to get buy-in from a handful of brave peers who are willing to take the first leap with you and make them advocates. 

By getting testimony from their own peers, chances are you will find more people are going to become more comfortable with taking that leap as well. 

Think of it this way: If one of your peers is saying, "Hey, so I ended up doing this. I was hesitant at first too, but in the end, my business partners loved me for it. And now I don’t feel as bogged down by what were really menial tasks." It's a very different conversation than someone from the top down telling you the way it’s going to be moving forward.  

So get in there early with people you can see as being advocates for the process to help break down any barriers and empower them to work towards the future vision.

The third and final “E” of this agile change management model is Enable.

Tony explains that this is deliberately the final piece of the model, because if you haven’t already built that vision and empowered people by securing your early champions, there's no point enabling (because you're not going to go anywhere!).

Unless you've built that vision first and empowered people by going with those early champions, there's no point enabling because you're not going to get started.

— Tony Costella, Global Consumer and Market Insights Director at Heineken

And if you try to just get an agile change management process started, without taking any of the steps above, you’ll just end up working backwards (which doesn't typically pan out well).  

It’s like saying, “We just need some agile research software,” without outlining a reason or defining a problem that needs to be solved. Simply buying a shiny new toy isn’t the answer to drive the change your organization needs. 

So take the time to outline the vision and get people on board. Only then can you start to provide them with tools and training they need to successfully implement it. 

Driving change like the digital transformation of insights across a global organization is no easy feat. There are a lot of hurdles to jump over, from stakeholder buy-in to training to implementation and more. 

Just remember, change doesn’t happen overnight — so on your journey, always value progress over perfection. We hope Tony’s model for agile change management helps guide you on your quest to enable change. If you’d like to hear his full lesson on leading and driving change, start streaming his Inside Insights episode here.

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