Have you ever read the Charles Dickens classic “A Tale of Two Cities?” This timeless novel begins with the famous statement “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” and tells the story of a French doctor’s experience in two cities: Paris and London.
The culture in one city was one of wisdom, belief, light, and hope. The culture in the second was one of incredulity, darkness and despair. In the first city, the people believed things were headed in the right direction. In the other city, the citizens felt that things were headed the other way.
Hi! Dr. Kaliym Islam, the TrainingPro here. I spent the last 20 years of my career leading international teams and teaching leaders how to use techniques that helped them empower and energize their teams, quickly and easily respond to changing priorities and demands, and exceed client expectations.
The Dickens story always reminds of an experience I had working with two different organizations. The first organization was experiencing the “worst of times.” The employees were in despair. They didn’t feel empowered. The programs they developed took months and sometimes up to a year to complete. The rework associated with developing those programs seemed to never end. The satisfaction with their products was pedestrian. And, the costs associated with developing said programs were through the roof.
The second organization was experiencing “the best of times.” The employees felt empowered. They could develop and deliver their products quickly. Rework was almost non-existent.
Customer satisfaction with their services was at world-class levels, and the cost to develop these programs was less than the cost of off-shoring or outsourcing.
Now this story has a plot twist..... those two organizations were actually the same organization.
What made the difference was that after experiencing “the worst of times” the first organization abandoned antiquated leadership techniques of the past and adopted an Agile approach to leading teams.
I know this story is hard to believe, but the results speak for themselves.
After adopting Agile, the department experienced a 75% increase in production.
Client perception changed dramatically. Customers began commenting about the increase in professionalism , the helpfulness of the team, the quick turn around time and the high quality of work.
Perhaps the most profound impact that Agile had was its impact on the organization. We experienced double digit increases in employee engagement and leadership.
Our leadership index scores increased by 18 points, and our employee engagement increased by 12 points.
We scored nearly 24 points higher than the entire company.
Ladies and gentleman, the difference that agile leadership can make is mind altering. This is not just a philosophy. I’ve seen it work, and I’ve experienced the results.
I want each of you to have a similar experience.
So, if you’re ready to improve your team’s customer satisfaction, increase employee engagement and reduce risk, just click the button below to start learning how to use Agile Leadership.
