I’m going to talk about the future role of HR and managers in the future of work, which I believe is called the Agile People Coach. As I’ve been introduced, I’m the founder of Agile People, a network of dedicated Agile People Coaches around the world who are passionate about combining people and Agile to create engagement.
Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably why so few engage in it. This is what Henry Ford said, and it reflects how he viewed people. A few individuals at the top created structures of micromanagement that flowed downward, dividing people into workers and thinkers. In a real Ford factory, people were part of a machine, as Taylorism analyzed workflows. Today, we don’t separate workers into those who use their bodies and those who use their heads—almost all of us are knowledge workers who need to think critically in our roles.
Douglas McGregor, in his book The Human Side of Enterprise (1950s), introduced Theory X and Theory Y. These theories reflect how we perceive people. In Theory X, people are seen as lazy, unmotivated, and unwilling to take responsibility. In Theory Y, people strive to be the best they can be and want to contribute value if given the right conditions. Often, we assume others are X people, but if they were provided the right conditions, they might behave as Y people, just as we see ourselves.
It all comes down to the system of work we provide. Do we believe in our employees and set them up for success, allowing them to reach their full potential? Or do we create a system that sets them up to fail by not providing the necessary support, removing impediments, or giving them the resources to succeed?
Why is this important? Because how we view people shapes our management structures. It all starts with how we perceive others and what structures we think they need to be successful—or perhaps, how little structure they need.
Another historical example of the X-view of people is from ironing departments in factories. Women in these roles, now replaced by robots, were tasked with performing the same repetitive action. The goal was to make workflows as efficient as possible, with standardized processes dictated from above. These workers had no say in how things were done.
Fast forward to today, and we are undergoing a major transition, accelerated by the pandemic. Artificial intelligence and robots will ultimately create more work, not less. By 2027, the majority of the workforce will be freelancers, their own bosses. While there won’t be a shortage of jobs, there will be a shortage of skills needed for future work. Remote work has become the norm, offering people geographic freedom to live and work from wherever they choose.
In this complex reality, we must shift our view of organizations from mechanical systems that can be controlled and managed to social systems. People are not cogs in a machine; they have feelings, dreams, and challenges. They cannot be controlled. They are complex adaptive systems that function from intrinsic motivation.
We need to stop viewing people as "resources" and see them as the living organisms they are. Standardization, boxing people into rigid roles, and grading them with labels must end. Instead, we need to understand individual motivations to create a well-functioning social system. There are no one-size-fits-all solutions—experimentation and adaptation are required. Agile is not a silver bullet.
One of the biggest problems in traditional organizations is the illusion of control. We assume we can predict and control the future with perfect planning, but reality doesn’t work that way. The world is unpredictable, and we need regular feedback to make informed decisions. In Agile, we accept reality as it is, experimenting, adapting, and making course corrections along the way.
Another issue is an excessive focus on shareholder value. Instead, we should prioritize customer value and employee satisfaction. Happy employees serve customers well, and happy customers create a foundation for profitable organizations. Profit should be a byproduct of value creation, not the primary goal. As Evan Leybourn says, "You’re not in business to make money; you’re in business to create value." Profit follows value.
Managers also face uncertainty in Agile transformations. Many worry, "What happens to my role when people lead themselves?" We don’t want to eliminate managers—we want them to become servant leaders and coaches. However, this is difficult for those who built their careers on power and status. As the paradigm shifts, leadership must transform.
Our current organizational systems often create obstacles rather than enabling great performance. Structures must be redesigned to remove limitations, allowing people to work at their best.
Control is another issue. The idea that businesses can control people and predict the future is a comforting illusion. Annual budgeting is a prime example of this flawed thinking. Leaders spend months trying to forecast the future, but as soon as the budget is finalized, it becomes outdated. This process fosters competition, political maneuvering, and short-term thinking. It encourages leaders to use their entire budgets—otherwise, they risk getting less next year—without necessarily delivering value.
Traditional performance management also has flaws. Annual reviews assume that a manager, who doesn’t perform the work, knows best. They assume employees are motivated primarily by money. They assume one process fits all. The reality is different. A year is too long in a fast-changing world. Performance reviews focus on judging the past rather than proactively developing talent. Linking salaries to ratings encourages employees to set safe, low goals rather than striving for excellence. This structure contradicts the collaboration we say we value.
Another major issue is employee engagement. Most workplaces are not great places to work. The majority of employees are disengaged, merely going through the motions. However, even a 1% increase in engagement could have a massive impact on the bottom line.
So, what should we do instead? The answer lies in a new role: the Agile People Coach. This role is emerging as HR and leadership fundamentally change to support agility across organizations. Agile People Coaches come from HR, leadership, or Agile coaching backgrounds. They focus on people, helping improve value and flow continuously.
Unlike traditional Agile Coaches, who specialize in one area—people, product, technology, or process—Agile People Coaches integrate all these dimensions. People skills become central: psychology, sociology, and relationship management, rather than just process improvement.
HR must evolve. Instead of emphasizing execution, order, and control, HR must drive adaptability, innovation, and speed. HR leads deep structures—change management, leadership development, talent acquisition, and performance management—which can either support or hinder agility. This is why HR must lead the way.
Job descriptions should no longer be rigid boxes. Instead, they should be starting points, allowing individuals to grow into T-shaped professionals—developing deep expertise in some areas while building a broad base of skills.
Agile leadership must shift from managing performance to enabling performance. The CEO should become the Chief Enabling Officer. The best metaphor for Agile leadership is that of a gardener. A company is a garden with diverse plants, each needing different care. You can’t force plants to grow—you can only create the right conditions. The leader is the gardener, nurturing a thriving ecosystem.
The Agile People Coaching framework is built on Lyssa Adkins' Agile Coaching framework, but it expands to include additional roles. Change happens only when we remove limiting structures together. Leaders alone cannot drive transformation; it requires collaboration across all boundaries.
Agility has no universal recipe, but we can follow an approach: start by removing limiting structures, introduce new behaviors, and support them with Agile methods and tools. Then repeat, because structures tend to creep back in.
In 2019, we created the Agile People Manifesto in Sweden. This is our gift to you, outlining principles for transforming people and business agility.
With that, I encourage you to start today. Follow these principles and begin your personal and organizational learning journey toward greater agility. The sooner you start, the sooner you will benefit from engaged, high-performing people working toward a shared vision.
Join Agile People—attend an online training or become an Agile People Coach yourself. My next training starts on January 11, 2021. Visit agilepeople.com for more information. Thank you very much.