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Agility impacts on the entire organization . However , there can be a strong disparity across the organization in terms of how agility is viewed , as shown by the more detailed analysis of the index results of various management levels :

AGILE THINKING AT C-EXECUTIVE LEVEL DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THE ORGANIZATION IS AN AGILE PERFORMER AT AN OPERATIONAL LEVEL .

C-level executives surveyed in the Agile Performer Index rated their own company ’ s agility higher than middle managers . This observation is valid across all four agility routines . On a scale of 0 to 100 , respondents from middle management gave an average score of between 59 and 68 points for Strategizing , Perceiving , Testing and Implementing . Senior managers , on the other hand , give their company an average of 72 to 76 points .

The result reveals a disparity in perception between C-level executives and lower levels . One potential reason for the difference is that , like any other transformation , a shift to greater agility requires time , targeted communication , and learning to cascade through the entire organization . A decision to be more agile taken at C-level will not , in itself , establish agility at operational levels . The new approaches have to be actively brought in throughout the entire organization .

The disparity in views could also be explained by the different expectations . Owing to their role , senior executives tend to be more outward-looking , and ” talk the talk ” of agility because the market demands it . For middle management , on the other hand , new agility measures have greater impact on their everyday work – so they are likely to give a more critical appraisal of the envisaged benefit of agility because they must “ walk the walk .”

What is true in both cases is this :

TRANSFORMING A COMPANY INTO AN AGILE ORGAN- IZATION IS A LONG-TERM LEARNING CHALLENGE – ABOVE ALL , IT ’ S A CHALLENGE THAT TAKES IN EVERY ASPECT OF THE ORGANIZATION .

Being an overarching capability , agility has an impact on the entire company organism . For this reason , such changes cannot be implemented selectively . Rather , the act of aligning itself to agile principles will in fact change the company continuously , efficiently and sustainably – and this change cuts right across every aspect of the organization . The transformation is initiated by strategic decisions at the senior management level . However , the organization is not properly agile until agile practice has been introduced along every dimension , from hierarchy-free design of structures to iterative working methods in product development . ||

DIFFERENCES IN PERCEPTIONS BETWEEN MANAGEMENT LEVELS

STRATEGIZING PERCEIVING

C-Level Middle Management

TESTING IMPLEMENTING