Transitioning into Agile isn’t just a simple methodology shift, it’s a cultural reset encompassing different aspects of an organization. It involves changing organizational mindsets and empowering teams to quickly adapt, innovate, and deliver incremental value (quickly). However, it can be daunting to implement without stakeholders' support, risking adoption failure.
This executive brief summarizes the insights of experts on how to start, scale, and measure Agile transformation while addressing key challenges and roadblocks along the way.
This roundtable was held on January 6th, 2025.
Roundtable Participants
Led by Sergio Tortora, Former AIG, PwC, and GE - Senior Transformation Leader
- Adolfo Carreno, Citi - Vice President, Transformation Program Management
- Akita Somani, U.S. Bank - SVP, Director – Inclusive Growth Strategy
- Alessandro Prieto, Analog Devices - Senior Director, HR North America Lead
- Alvin Haygan, Pfizer - Organizational Change Management Principal
- Amy Ho, Bank of America - MD, CAO Business Operaions & Controls Executive
- Cenina Saxton, Global Payments - Senior Director, Talent Management
- Chandra Vadamodula, Rite Aid - Vice President - Enterprise Technology Solutions
- Christina Han, Estée Lauder - Chief of Staff to EVP of Global Communications & Global Public Affairs
- David Stein, VML - SVP, Performance Marketing Operations
- Gautam Shah, Carelon - Chief Product Officer
- Jenifer Spurgeon, GE Appliances - VP/Director Operations
- Jennifer Blank Hecht, Symetra - VP Change Leadership
- Jessica Sarolli, Trane Technologies - Global Change Leader
- Katy Liddell, Liberty Utilities - Senior Director, Organizational Change Management
- Kym Kulle, Merkle - Strategic Chief of Staff & VP Business Ops
- Laurie Ditch, iMerit - Sr. Director, Organizational Strategy and Operations
- Liah Vazana, NICE - Senior Director, Business Operations
- Madhuri Kumar, Championx - Vice President & Global Head of Talent Management
- Mariko Kunimoto, GroupM - Chief of Staff to Global Chief People Officer
- Marjorie Etter, Meta - Global Training, Knowledge & Change Management Leader
- Michael Wiersma, Carrier - Lean Transformation Leader
- Niki Rabren, INVISTA - Finance Transformation Leader -Robert Westwood, Barclays - Head of Technology Strategy and Transformation
- Robin Patra, ARCO Construction Company - Head of Data : Platform, Product and Engineering
- Sammi Merkulov, Oracle - SVP, Industries Transformation and Program Management
- Sara Jetta, Purolator Inc. - Vice President of Strategic Enablement
- Steven Gruyters, CVS Health - Executive Director Enterprise Program Delivery and Portfolio Management
- Subba Marellapudi, Consulting Partner
- Sundeep Thusoo, Philips - Director, Business Transformation
- Vandana Khanna, Kenvue - Head of Global Digital Finance Transformation
- Vanessa McDonald, WNS Global - SVP Change Management
- Wendy Wheeler-Drew, Koch Industries - Change Leader at Koch Global Services
Understanding Agile Beyond Buzzwords: Where to Begin?
At its core, Agile is a methodology designed to improve collaboration, productivity, and flexibility. It is not just some fancy term thrown around in the business world. Know Agile’s potential for your organization before implementing it — not because everyone else does.
✔ Educate Your Stakeholders
Focus on stakeholder education or it won’t work. Agile is not a silver bullet — it’s a mindset change that prioritizes outcomes over rigid processes. People won't get on board just because you say Agile is good for the company (or for them).
“Start explaining the problem before explaining what Agile is. Anchor people on the issues with the current approach. Otherwise, there is no incentive to change. ”
Niki Rabren, INVISTA - Finance Transformation Leader
✔ Identify the Organization’s Readiness
Not all organizations are equipped for Agile from day one. Running a pilot initiative may be good for testing it out. Pick a problem area to run a controlled experiment, focusing on minimizing disruptions.
“Pilots help you set up practices or processes, create the environment needed, identify the required resources, and demonstrate potential ROI. Find low-hanging fruits you can get out of it. ”
Sara Jetta, Purolator Inc. - Vice President of Strategic Enablement
✔ Establish Agile Center of Excellence (CoE)
Establish a CoE for Agile to support other departments. For instance, Agile is a common practice in IT project management. Allow transformation leaders to take existing methods and frameworks from IT, adapting and standardizing practices to help drive adoption across departments.
Roles of Servant Leadership in Driving Agile-Driven Teams
Agile is a lot about empowerment and autonomy. However, implementing Agile doesn’t mean leaders should get out of the way and do nothing afterward. Employees are more likely to support initiatives when their leaders are transparent, authentic, and empathic.
✔ Resource Support & Psychological Safety
Provide teams with resources and remove barriers when needed. If an Agile-driven team is the spear that surges forward, servant leadership is the shield that protects them along the way. Create a safe space for them to be comfortable about failing forward.
“Oftentimes, the biggest barriers are the executives who still don’t understand Agile or its goals. You can’t wait for everyone to be aligned so continue to support your team and have their back.”
Laurie Ditch, iMerit - Sr. Director, Organizational Strategy and Operations
“People forget to take leadership through the Agile phases and explain what is needed for this transformation. You need to guide both the teams and leaders through the steps.”
Robert Westwood, Barclays - Head of Technology Strategy and Transformation
✔ Modeling and Leading by Example
Lead by example to create the right culture. Other than sharing strategic intent, leadership should not be removed from the operational aspects. Demonstrate Agile mindsets by mentoring the workforce through the change and giving credit to teams where it’s due.
“Show people how it’s done from the beginning. Make decisions for them but tell them why you do it. Through slow coaching, let go of the reign little by little to let Agile-driven culture fully take place.”
Steven Gruyters, CVS Health - Executive Director Enterprise Program Delivery and Portfolio Management
“The ‘ceremony’ part is important to show Agile success. Demonstrate and celebrate what went well, identify what didn’t, and set new standards for the team.”
Robin Patra, ARCO Construction Company - Head of Data : Platform, Product and Engineering
Scaling Agile & Potential Roadblocks to Look Out For
Scaling Agile in a large organization is no small feat. Should you start small to minimize risks or go big and bold while you are at it?
✔ Approach 1: Start Small, Scale Gradually
Starting small allows you to highlight the why. You can demonstrate the outcomes and ROI with data and numbers faster to prove your case.
“The more people you bring in, the more you show, the more they will come. You will be able to scale quickly afterward.”
Vandana Khanna, Kenvue - Head of Global Digital Finance Transformation
✔ Approach 2: Bigger is Better for Buy-In
Starting small comes with risks; you risk that nobody cares or gets it. You only hit problems when you finally scale up and out of the protected environment. Instead, start big (for the clout) and make everyone work on it. This way, you’ll get the full experience and business involvement.
“The ‘Go Big’ approach has a bigger share and ranks higher in priority. This allows you the resources, dedicated support, and buy-in you need.”
Steven Gruyters, CVS Health - Executive Director Enterprise Program Delivery and Portfolio Management
Going big is where you scale Agile into multiple functions at once. You’ll be addressing different issues and streamlining templates and processes; all while ensuring aspects like customer journeys are applied and embedded within the leadership level at the same time.
“Consistency is an important part of scaling. The major challenge is that the bigger you go, the faster things can get out of control.”
Alessandro Prieto, Analog Devices - Senior Director, HR North America Lead
So, do we scale big or start small?
While most organizations need to accelerate and get started with Agile to stay competitive, the scale should depend on the context of change and the type of organization you are transforming.
“It’s not how big or small it should be, but how to achieve quick wins to secure the support of the whole organization. Quick wins are generally easier to achieve and demonstrate when you’re creating a new product, solution, or process instead of transforming existing ones.”
Akita Somani, U.S. Bank - SVP, Director – Inclusive Growth Strategy
Common Roadblocks in Scaling Agile
Identify potential roadblocks early to see if you can afford to put all your eggs in one basket.
✔ Organization’s Maturity Curve
Identify the organization’s culture and its maturity curve. Traditional ones tend to have a set mindset, process, structure, and leadership style.
Any authoritative or ‘command and control’ organization requires cultural reform before diving fully into Agile’s self-managing practices. Otherwise, employees won’t immediately believe they are truly given the trust and authority for decision-making.
“Agile has a big learning curve, especially around organizational culture and mindset. It’s like running a new application on an old computer. You need to upgrade before you can get it to work.”
Sergio Tortora, Former AIG, PwC, and GE - Senior Transformation Leader
✔ Resistance to Change
People don’t like change. Overcome resistance by showing people how Agile focuses on efficiency and necessity; shifting from a platform or system-based approach to the end customer, journey, and end-to-end experience.
“Agile should be the norm but it's harder to execute with the technical debt of organizations. The bigger the company, the heavier the weight. Over-communicate to ensure continuous buy-in, especially in large organizations with frequently changing sponsors.”
Vandana Khanna, Kenvue - Head of Global Digital Finance Transformation
✔ Wrong Leaders to Lead it Right
Never assume the person within a critical function can do what you want them to do. You need people to evolve with you — which in some cases, might involve some personnel changes.
“Generally, when we talk about Agile, everyone is on board. What’s missing is the right person to fulfill the role. Find someone to learn and inherit everything that has been done in the past, before completely undoing everything and start again.”
Sammi Merkulov, Oracle - SVP, Industries Transformation and Program Management
✔ Business Nature & Scopes
Within certain high-risk sectors where practitioners are utilizing specific processes, Agile is a lot harder to implement. Assess change criticality before moving forward.
Real-Life Sample 1:
Sticking to the process is critical for healthcare practitioners. Even something as benign as updating the software and changing the color of a button in the ER setting may risk fatalities. Everything needs to be tested and supported by the handbook.
“This is a great reality check. It’s important to temper the pace and approach for change based on the environment. It is a great case for experimentation and starting small since you can’t go big in a high-risk environment.”
Niki Rabren, INVISTA - Finance Transformation Leader
Real-Life Sample 2:
On the contrary, fast-paced industries have no problem adopting and scaling quickly due to the nature of the business. For example, IT sectors are used to the expectations of rapid release and constant innovation. Implementing Agile is almost a prerequisite to staying competitive.
Measuring Agile Maturity and ROI
Agile is only as successful as the result it delivers. It goes beyond tracking the sprint velocity; it’s about assessing the impact.
1. Focus on Business Outcomes: Identify the best ways to actively assess progress. It’s better to fail fast and repurpose. Everything should relate to the business outcomes and, ultimately, the financial impact.
“Look at leading indicators like how often you are killing projects early. ”
Sundeep Thusoo, Philips - Director, Business Transformation
2. Rate of Product Adoption: Measure your product and its capability. See how quickly your teams and customers adapt to transformation after implementing Agile.
“Put a circle around where you are applying Agile and if you are moving the needle. For example, with the release of a new digital app, track how quickly the customer base adapted to the change.”
David Stein, VML - SVP, Performance Marketing Operations
3. Employee Engagement & Cultural Evolution: Are employees adopting the Agile mindset as intended? Agile should not be treated as a temporary initiative but as an ongoing, embedded philosophy within the entire organization.
“Can you see different behaviors in engagement, collaborations, or participation? Engagement surveys can provide insights into how Agile changed the working culture. Ask them how Agile affected team dynamics and decision-making. ”
Cenina Saxton, Global Payments - Senior Director, Talent Management
“From the perspective of legacy organizations, check on executive openness to new ideas. It’s closely tied to evolution in culture.”
Christina Han, Estée Lauder - Chief of Staff to EVP of Global Communications & Global Public Affairs
Conclusion
While Agile transformation is bound to certain rules and principles, it has never been a one-size-fits-all process. It requires the right foundation and fine-tuning to support your organization’s unique cultural structure and ecosystem.
By educating stakeholders, empowering teams, and creating a culture of transparency, your organization can successfully adopt and scale it across. For leadership, the journey involves embracing a new role — not as decision-makers, but as facilitators of innovation. It will become less about managing change, and more about nurturing a goal-driven, innovative workplace to deliver better results.
The Executive Council for Leading Change
The Executive Council for Leading Change (ECLC) is a global organization that brings executives together to redefine the landscape of organizational change and transformation. Our council aims to advance strategic leadership expertise in the realm of corporate change by connecting visionary leaders. It's a place where leaders responsible for significant change initiatives can collaborate, plan, and create practical solutions for intricate challenges in leading large organizations through major shifts.
In a world where change is constant, we recognize its crucial role in driving business success. ECLC’s mission is to create a community where leaders can excel in guiding their organizations through these dynamic times.
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