Corporate Agility by Michael Wong

Author:Michael Wong [Wong, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119652212
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2020-09-03T00:00:00+00:00

Spotlight

Building a Trusting Work Environment

Max Ekesi

Whole Foods Market, Agile Program Manager

From twelve years of experience leading Agile transformations for Fortune 500 corporations, Max Ekesi, Agile transformation lead for the Whole Foods Market IT eCommerce department, has found one thing to be abundantly clear: “In order to foster a successful large-scale Agile transformation initiative, it is essential that all individuals and teams are engaged, empowered, and motivated.” This starts with having the right people, but leaders must also nurture the right environment to support them.

More specifically, Ekesi believes an environment built on trust will allow autonomy and freedom to proliferate, ensuring the engagement, empowerment, and motivation your teams need to succeed. To help nurture this environment, Ekesi stresses that “the first step should always be to make sure you have open lines of communication.” In doing so, team members across the corporation, regardless of position or rank, are able to interact openly and freely, building mutual trust along the way.

Another way Ekesi helps ensure such an environment is to cultivate a people-centric culture. Ekesi has achieved this at Whole Foods Market, now a subsidiary of Amazon, by championing a number of measures or practices. He believes, however, that the most important was co-locating teams. He stresses that this is a “tried and true method of empowering teams to work together, accomplish their goals faster, and realize greater success.” Another measure Ekesi suggests leaders do is to “listen to your people. When they know that their voice is heard and valued, they will give back, committing themselves to the success of the company.”

Implementing these practices has made a huge impact on the teams at Whole Foods. Ekesi has seen not only productivity skyrocket, but the amount of engagement, communication, and positive interactions increase as well. This has cultivated an environment where individuals and teams trust one another, enabling a successful Agile journey.

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