Published on 09 February 2022 by Mark Paton

3 reasons why Change Agility Matters now.

Change Agility, the ability to quickly identify issues and implement solutions,  has always been a key trait for successful businesses, especially those which rely on efficient change. Over the last 2 years though, we’ve noticed more and more organisations realising that an inability to quickly react to new information or requirements is hindering their potential. Change Agility has rapidly become an essential for all businesses, and a trait which business leaders are looking for in individuals as well as in the ethos of their teams and the organisation as a whole. We wanted to take a minute to talk about why Change Agility matters now more than ever, and how Pelicam can help instil the required skill-set in your team. 

Pace of change

For start-ups and tech-companies, pace of change has always been a key and essential strength. In sectors where change happens quickly, prolonged project timelines are a recipe for disaster. What’s more interesting is the way in which that agility has bled into other, traditionally less agile industries like finance, insurance, utilities. Perhaps as a response to the start-up “disruptors” who have the pace to undercut their more established competitors, organisations in all industries have now woken up to the need to be able to review, adjust and implement new solutions quickly.

Nor is it just fleet-footed competitors that are forcing the advent of Change Agility in larger companies. Regulatory change is happening more quickly now than ever before, and the lead-time between regulations being announced and implemented is becoming shorter. For example the FCA moving to regulate in the ESG & Crypto spaces has resulted in landscapes that are moving quickly. Companies need to be able to adhere to these changes or risk the consequences.

Iterative transformations

The traditional way of business change, where a decision is made at board level and then fed down to dedicated change teams to implement throughout the business, is no longer sufficient in a landscape that is rapidly evolving. Instead, successful businesses are in a constant state of iterative transformation, and everyone is expected to have the ability to implement those changes. This constant, evolutionary transformation requires change agility throughout the organisation. Change (and the skillset associated with it) is no longer the responsibility of change teams alone - it’s now an essential part of how everyone needs to work, from board member to call centre.

Flexible strategies

As a response to the new challenges posed by competitors, regulators and external factors (such as, say, a global pandemic) - business strategies are becoming more fluid and flexible. Iterative transformations and flexible strategies become co-dependent; a strategy can’t be flexible if the team isn’t able to change quickly, and a team can’t pivot quickly if the overall strategy is too rigid to accommodate it. Change Agility is the bridge that links the two and allows both to succeed. Change Agility, then, is both a set of skills that each team member needs to possess, as well as an overall attitude that an organisation needs to adopt.

How can Pelicam help?

The dual focus on individual skill-sets and organisational attitude is where Pelicam are perfectly placed to help. Pelicam’s work has always been about change agility, identifying issues and implementing the changes required to ensure project success. Whether it’s through a stand-alone, interactive workshop with a particular team, to working hand in hand with individuals, or using our leadership coaching expertise to help board members understand how they can more effectively lead a change agile business, Pelicam have a track record of instilling change agility quickly and effectively.

Let’s chat about how your organisation can benefit from becoming more change agile in 2022.