The Agile Municipality: How Agility and Technology Can Transform the Way You Work

Agenda

‣ New normal‣ Happiness and flow‣ Agility‣ Agile leadership‣ Agility and technology

The New Normal :Situation

‣ A world of demand verses squeeze• Ask for budget increases in order to increase

services• Cut services

The New Normal: Competition

‣ Competing projects‣ Agencies competing for turf‣ Competing for budget dollars

The New Normal: Old vs. New

‣ Stability and continuity are highly valued—which means new and untried are risky

‣ It can be nearly impossible to replace old—new ideas get added to the pot—increasing clutter and competition

The New Normal :Need

‣ The need to create an organizational anatomy capable of delivering outcomes and generating distinct capabilities you need AT peak cost efficiency

Stress

Did You Know That…?

‣ Humans cannot process more than 110 bits of information per-second

The New Normal = Stress

‣ Stress• In an American Psychological Association poll in

September, 80 percent reported the economy’s causing significant stress, up from 66 percent last April

• Numbing out• Thought processes narrow• Unemotional, unimaginative

As leaders how do we help our employees and departments be successful?

Happiness + Work = ?

‣ Happiness and the workplace go together like tomatoes and chocolate

‣ As leaders we are experience creators

Happiness

‣ Happiness at work= productivity• Work better with others• More creative• Learn faster• Make better decisions

Flow

Otherwise Known As….

‣ On the ball‣ In the moment‣ In the zone‣ In tune‣ On fire‣ In the groove

Flow

It is what the sailor holding a tight course feels when the wind whips through her hair. It is what a painter feels when the colors on the canvas begin to set up a magnetic tension with each other and a new thing, a living form takes shape

--Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

How Do You Know—If You Are in Flow

‣ Challenge level and skill level are high‣ Loss of feeling of self-consciousness‣ Distorted sense of time‣ Lack of awareness of bodily needs‣ Action/ awareness merging

Reaching Flow

‣ Clear set of goals‣ Balance between perceived challenges

and perceived skills‣ Clear and immediate feedback

Knowledge Workers are Creative

‣ Creativity comes out of flow‣ Documents are their material‣ Make document handling seamless for them

Agility: Agile Makes Flow Possible

Agility

‣ a·gil·i·ty‣  1. the power of moving quickly and

easily; nimbleness: exercises demanding agility

‣ 2. the ability to think and draw conclusions quickly; intellectual acuity

Agility in Government

‣ Not just emergency response‣ Complexity‣ Pursue serial incompetence

What are some of the characteristics of an agile leader?

Agility and Leadership

Agile Leaders have figured it out

– Ana Dutra, Forbes Magazine

Agile Leadership

‣ Attributes• Ambiguity tolerance• Curiosity• Creativity• Courage and conviction• Critical thinking• Emotional resilience• Vision• Flexibility

Agility and Leadership

‣ Having a plan is compulsory—but knowing how to respond to the unknown is the real benefit of agile leadership

What types of people make agile leaders?

Mothers Are the Ultimate Agile Leaders

What skills, experiences and competencies have you developed as a parent that are transferable into your

executive role?

Motherhood and Leadership Agility

‣ Skills• Self-awareness• Emotional intelligence• Flexibility• Conflict management• Listening and communications skills

Motherhood and Leadership Agility

‣ New challenges and ambiguity are the norm

‣ Acutely aware of how others process and respond to us

‣ This awareness helps us choose how to relate, support and nurture

Motherhood and Leadership Agility

‣ “The village”• Complementing gaps• Creating networks• Receive support

How do you conduct your yearly planning?

Leadership and Agility

The best laid schemes of mice and men / Often go awry

—Robert Burns

Benefits

‣ Provides a holistic view of the organization’s needs

‣ Enhances predictability‣ Fosters collaboration‣ Feedback is baked-in

Building an Agile Framework

‣ Define‣ Measure‣ Analyze‣ Improve‣ Control

Where Are You?

‣ What gets measured—gets done• Take the time• Reflect and assess

Step 1: Define the Problem

‣ Business• What is the problem we are trying to solve?

‣ Communications• Establish stakeholder committee

Step 2: Measure the Current State

‣ Business• Identify high-impact activities• Where are the bottlenecks

‣ Communication• Conduct a user survey

Step 3: Analyze Causes

‣ Business• What IS causing the bottleneck?

‣ Communications• Hold feedback meetings

Step 4: Improve and Optimize

‣ Business• Minimize bottlenecks• Standardize thoughtfully

‣ Communication• Emphasize value over process improvements

Step 5: Control to Ensure Sustainability

‣ Business• Consider automation• Monitor ROI and other metrics for consistency• Observe adoption and correct deviations

‣ Communication• Governance

Agile Process: SCRUM

‣ Type of Agile PM methodology‣ Resulted as a response to an age-old

problem‣ User-centric

Agile Process ImplementationFast, focused deployments make organizations succeed

Technology and Agility

• Technology alone does NOT make you agile• “A fool with a tool is still a fool”

• Foster• Adaptability• Transparency• Collaboration

Agility and ECM

‣ Definition‣ DI + DM + CM + BPM + RM = ECM‣ Philosophy and paradox

Laserfiche Forms

Forms Guide Users

A Variety of Form Elements

‣ Single Line‣ Paragraph‣ Radio Button‣ Checkbox‣ Drop-down‣ File Upload‣ Address

‣ Number‣ E-mail‣ Date‣ Currency‣ Custom Block‣ Section‣ Collection

‣ Page Rules‣ Lookup Rules‣ Scripting‣ Styles‣ Process Field‣ Field Label‣ Required Field

Repeatable Sections

Conditional Field Display

Lookup Database Values

Business Process Model and Notation

Fields Retained Across a Process

Monitor Process Health

Build Charts from Form Data

Build Dashboards for Groups

Agility and Organizations

‣ Adapt or be left behind‣ Work processes are being redesigned‣ Reconfiguration of infrastructure =

something different?‣ Agility as a response to complexity

Finally

‣ The most inspired work is created by…• …by motivated individuals• …through regular interaction among individuals• …when individuals working together figure out

how to be more effective• …where the environment has minimum

roadblocks and illogical restrictions

Selected Reading

‣ The Leadership Machine. Michael Lonbardo and Robert Eichinger‣ Building High Performance Government Through Lean Six

Sigma: A Leader’s Guide to Creating Speed. Agility and Efficiency. Mark Price and Walter Mores

‣ Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change. William Joiner and Stephen Josephs

Comments or Questions?