"Criminal networks have become localised, highly specialised and highly structured organisations. They’re early tech adopters and if you're the cops, you’re constantly playing catch-up."
This is according to Michiel van Gerven, who was speaking at the Business Agility Conference in Johannesburg this week. Van Gerven is an Agile coach from the New York-based consultancy Organize Agile. The company has worked with several Dutch public-sector organisations. At the conference, he presented a case study on the work he has done with the Dutch National Police Corps.
Van Gerven describes himself as a social technologist, and has been in involved with the Dutch police as a trainer, consultant and team coach. He says the many lessons he has learnt are applicable far wider than just the police service.
So why is the Dutch police undertaking an Agile transformation?
The face of a typical criminal organisation has changed, says Van Gerven. “What we've ended up with are organisations without senior leadership; they’re networks of highly localised, specialised professionals...and they’re an enterprising lot. They see opportunities where other people don't.”
And this means that they are early adopters of new technology, he says.
“If you are the police, you need to play a catch-up all the time...you have to learn all sorts of new skills. For example, police officers now have to learn skills previously reserved for specialists, such as cracking phones, to be able to complete tasks they've never had to deal with before.”
Furthermore, it takes a network to beat a network.
“In order to beat these criminal networks,” says Van Gerven, “we need to become just like them.” And that includes being more agile.
He says he based his case study on experiences from several police Agile coaches as well as his own experiences coaching, training and cosuting internal police Agile coaches troughout the country. The Leadership lessons, are based on the city of Arnhem, in the eastern part of the Netherlands.
Aswin van Veggel was chief of the Arnhem south region police and is now in charge of implementing Agile within the eastern part of the Netherlands.
“Agile ways of working helped turn the Dutch Police into a more effective organisation. Teams across the country are enthusiastically adopting this new way of working and thinking. But it’s important to assess what each individual team needs to achieve the organisation’s goals, and then tailor your approach to those needs,” says Van Veggel.
“Once you start working in an Agile way, you should understand that you will never be done. We always seek new ways to improve and our citizens deserve it.”
Van Gerven says Arnhem’s police force is a pioneer within the Dutch Police. “By working more cleverly, rather than harder, they have been able to make better use of the scarce capacity they have and deliver great results.”
Lessons learnt
Van Gerven shares some of the key lesson learnt from the Dutch Police project.
-Agility requires commitment
A true Agile transformation has to be tailored and is a continuous experiment that can take years to sustain. You should not be focused on immediate, short-term goals. Rather, your leadership should be playing ‘the infinite game’.
-Be human
While leadership is important in an Agile organisation, it’s even more important to be human. When the station commanders Van Gerven worked with were struggling with implementation, they consulted the police officers on the ground.
-Be the change you want to see
You cannot expect your team to work in an Agile way if you are not willing to walk the walk.
-Show off your successes
Transformation happens in many small pockets; show off these small pockets.
-Be bold
Authoritarian leadership doesn't support Agility, but be prepared to make bold decisions. Agile often looks warm and fuzzy, but true Agile is often ruthless – it dares you to make hard choices. You need to set out a vision, but also be very open and clear about the consequences.
-Find what works for you
There are no blueprints for an Agile transformation. The Dutch police is not experiencing 'an' Agile transformation; it is conducting many parallel experiments at the same time. Transformation happens at a different pace throughout many small transformations, and this reduces complexity.
Van Gerven concluded by urging the audience to use their knowledge and experience to make a real difference.
“As an Agile consultant, ask yourself if you are delivering the value that is most important to you. Because, frankly, I think your local police needs your help.”
* This was the first Business Agility Conference to be staged in Africa. Talks during the event’s two days (3-4 February) included, 'Leading a transformation without getting fired’, and 'Embracing the agile workforce: How to be a chameleon’. The local edition of the global conference was hosted by the Business Agility Institute.
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