Talking Agility

In stressful moments, we can get stuck in our old patterns and old ways of doing things. But people have always been resilient innovators, able to refine, re-direct, and grow—even during uncertainty. Ed and Dave from the innovation firm ?WhatIf! join Elitsa to discuss how an experimental approach can help organizations embrace change.

Accenture's Andy Young and Diana Barea join Ellie to discuss the connection between behavioral science, culture change, and enterprise agility.

Accenture’s Luis Díaz Gutiérrez joins Elitsa to discuss common challenges in driving workforce transformation—and how to overcome them. They also look at the impact of smart technology on the workforce.

Accenture’s Kit Friend joins Elitsa to discuss how the pandemic-driven shift to remote work is changing agile transformation journeys—and why working from home is terrific for some and terrible for others.

Accenture’s Andy Young joins Elitsa to discuss what can make moments of great change opportunities and not crises.

Jim Bramblet joins Elitsa to look at how and why insurance is embracing enterprise agility. They also discuss the power of curiosity, what cheetahs and elephants have to do with agile change, and more.

Manulife’s Samah Babbo and Elitsa look at the role of culture change in Manulife’s agile transformation and how to move past buzzwords to business value.

Accenture’s Kelley Conway joins Elitsa to discuss the relationship between tech innovation, organizational culture, and enterprise agility.

Can risk managers catalyze agile change at a global financial services firm? Risk managers are not known for embracing risk. (It’s right there in the name.) But Steve Suarez, who joins Ellie for this first episode of the second season of Talking Agility, begs to differ. Steve is the Global Head of Risk Transformation and Innovation at HSBC. Steve and Ellie discuss how the Risk team at HSBC came to lead the agile charge at the bank.

The word “disruption” is everywhere these days—what does it actually mean? Are any companies safe from disruption today? And what’s the connection between disruption and enterprise agility? Omar Abbosh, group chief executive of Accenture’s Communications, Media & Technology operating group, joins Ellie on this episode to explore these questions. They also discuss Omar’s connection with the hip-hop artist and philanthropist will.i.am and lessons from Accenture’s own transformation journey.

Enterprise agility is all about change—both making it and responding to it. But change, for many, brings fear and uncertainty. How can financial services organizations minimize fear and maximize trust on their agile journeys? Ellie is joined by Edwin Van der Ouderaa, Senior Managing Director of Digital and Analytics for Accenture Financial Services, and Andy Young, Managing Director and Financial Services Talent & Organisation Lead at Accenture, to explore this question.   

Reskilling the workforce at the speed of modern business is a massive challenge for financial services. Yet it’s one that must be overcome if an organization is to thrive in the New Digital Age—and truly embrace enterprise agility. Elitsa is joined by Bridie Fanning, Accenture's FS Talent & Organization Lead for North America, to discuss how financial services firms can unlock lifelong learning in the workforce.

 What’s the most important role in an Agile project? There’s a strong argument that it’s the product owner. But the same traits that make product owners so important also make them hard to find. Elitsa is joined by John Macleod, Front End Development Lead for Accenture Interactive, to discuss the power of the product owner role in Enterprise Agility and how to find and keep these Agile ‘unicorns’. 

Agile transformation at scale can seem like a chicken-and-egg problem: if a large organization was already agile, it could transform itself much more quickly. Elitsa is joined by Subhash Chandra Jose of ING to discuss how the global giant was able to overcome this quandary. 

An agile enterprise needs an agile workforce. And while organizations recognize the need to reskill and adapt to new technologies, very few are acting. What will the future of work look like? What role does leadership have in shaping an agile culture at work? And what kinds of skills and competencies should leaders be looking for as they build their future workforce?

 Is it easier to achieve Enterprise Agility if you start with a “clean slate”? What can challenger banks teach industry incumbents? Julian Sawyer, Chief Operating Officer of Starling Bank, joins Elitsa Nacheva to explore these questions and more. 

Without agile individuals, Enterprise Agility becomes impossible. On this episode, Elitsa is joined by Nici Butchart of Gazelle Partners, which helps business leaders foster employee wellbeing. They discuss how to maintain an agile state of mind in times of stress and change.

Banking customer behaviour has changed more in the last five years than in the previous 30, says Neil Garton of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Neil joins Elitsa to discuss how RBS keeps the customer at the centre of its enterprise agility program and what F1 racing reveals about agile change management. 

Before it went mainstream, enterprise agility was the exclusive domain of software developers. What can its roots tell us about achieving it in new contexts like financial services? Agility thought leaders John and Charlie Rudd join Elitsa Nacheva to discuss finding the road forward. 

Are organizational speed and stability mutually exclusive? Michael Bazigos of Accenture Strategy joins Elitsa Nacheva to look at the paradox of true agility, other surprising insights from Accenture's Transformation GPS tool, and what ultra-fast motorcycles can teach financial services leaders.