576: Bain Senior Partner Sarah Elk on Doing Agile Right (Strategy Skills classics)

The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving

Sarah Elk, Senior Partner at Bain & Company and global leader of its operating model work, brings a clear, pragmatic lens to why so many large-scale change efforts fail to stick. Drawing on decades of advising multinational organizations, she diagnoses the structural and behavioral traps that cause transformations to stall, and shares the disciplines that make change durable.

Elk emphasizes that transformation is not a one-off program but an enduring capability that must be “led from the top and embedded in the culture.” She cautions against outsourcing responsibility to a program office:

“If the CEO is not leading it and the leadership team isn’t engaged in the change, you might get something done, but it will erode quickly.”

Key Insights from the Conversation:

Clarity on Non-Negotiables

Many failed transformations lack a shared definition of the “non-negotiables” in the new operating model. Without them, execution becomes fragmented.

“You have to be crystal clear on what’s standard and what’s flexible.”

Outcomes Over Activity

Successful change efforts anchor to measurable business results, not just activity metrics or generic benchmarks.

“It’s not about hitting 80 percent of a checklist. It’s about whether you’ve moved the needle on the outcomes you care about.”

Leadership Alignment Is a Continuous Process

Alignment isn’t built in a single offsite; it requires ongoing dialogue, joint problem-solving, and confronting decisions that challenge entrenched interests.

“You need the leadership team acting as one—every week, every month—not just at the kickoff.”

Manage Change Fatigue

Overloading the organization erodes momentum. Sequencing initiatives and celebrating visible early wins tied to strategy helps sustain energy.

“People get tired. You have to show progress and give them space to breathe.”

Governance, Incentives, and Talent Must Evolve Together

Elk warns that without parallel changes to systems and structures, “behavior will revert to what it was before.”

The discussion reframes transformation from a high-profile event into a muscle organizations must build and maintain. For executives seeking change that endures beyond the initial push, Elk offers a blueprint grounded in operational rigor, leadership accountability, and cultural realism.

Get Sarah’s book here: https://shorturl.at/Tyotz

Doing Agile Right: Transformation Without Chaos

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