The Government Leader’s Field Guide to Organizational Agility

ONE

Constant Change Requires a Different Way of Organizing

Let’s start with a story about a leader named Blair, who realizes that her organization and team face many challenges. She knows that the changes will not go away. In fact, the number and pace of changes will only increase, resulting in more complex and unexpected changes to deal with. Blair is just starting to see the need to find a different way of approaching work.

Blair, a mid-level manager in the acquisition department of a large government agency, gets settled in her home office. Some days Blair works remotely to give her space for deep, focused work; other days she heads into the office for face-to-face meetings. To start her workday, she thinks about her plan for the day. She ...