Leading Transformation: Leading an Agile Transformation—The Power of Patience and Small Winss | Lilia Pulova

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile Storytelling from the Trenches

Episode Summary: Leading Transformation—The Power of Patience and Small Wins featuring Lilia Pulova

Introduction

In this insightful episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte engages in a compelling conversation with Lilia Pulova, an experienced Scrum Master from Canada. Released on June 25, 2025, the episode delves into the intricacies of leading an Agile transformation within a large organization, emphasizing the virtues of patience and the significance of celebrating small wins.

Lilia Pulova’s Agile Transformation Journey

Lilia begins by sharing her firsthand experience of spearheading an Agile transformation in a sizable company. She recounts the initial skepticism and resistance she encountered when introducing Agile methodologies:

“It was a very big company and there was enormous skepticism and resistance because people are impatient… [00:02:16]”

Lilia highlights the challenges of changing established processes and the frustration from stakeholders expecting immediate results:

“Every day they would say, okay, what are the results of this Agile transformation? We've been doing it for a week and there is nothing. [00:03:22]”

Overcoming Resistance and Building Patience

A significant portion of the discussion centers on managing stakeholder expectations and fostering patience within the team. Lilia emphasizes the importance of maintaining clear communication and staying committed to the long-term vision:

“Patience and communications can really make a difference. [00:04:29]”

She explains how initial implementations, such as setting up Jira, were met with impatience. Stakeholders were eager for quick results, leading to daily pressures on the team:

“Some processes take a little bit more time than, let's say, a cup of coffee to make. [00:02:16]”

Implementing Scrum and Team Cohesion

Lilia details the adoption of Scrum methodologies, including two-week sprints, and the challenges of forming a cohesive team from diverse departments:

“We did start with Scrum. We did two weeks sprints… It takes time to become a team. [00:04:59]”

She underscores the necessity of understanding the project's vision and setting clear milestones to guide the team through the transformation.

Supporting the Team through Patience

Addressing team dynamics, Lilia shares her approach to supporting team members during challenging times. Through one-on-one conversations, she fosters resilience and encourages the team to stay focused despite external pressures:

“I was able to convince them just okay, don't take it personally, take it easy, we'll get there. [00:07:04]”

Lilia emphasizes appreciation and recognition as key motivators:

“People need to feel appreciated… That gives them confidence and energy and motivation to keep going. [00:07:31]”

Celebrating Small Wins

A pivotal takeaway from the episode is the importance of celebrating small victories to maintain team morale and demonstrate progress. Lilia advocates for acknowledging even minor achievements as they accumulate towards larger goals:

“Praise your team and don't forget to celebrate even small wins… Every even small, insignificant release… it's a lot of work in putting it and people need to know that they are appreciated. [00:08:15]”

Key Insights and Techniques

• Patience is Crucial: Transformations take time, and maintaining patience helps navigate through initial resistance.
• Effective Communication: Clear and consistent communication mitigates frustration and aligns stakeholder expectations.
• Team Support: Regular one-on-one interactions and appreciation sustain team motivation.
• Celebrate Progress: Recognizing small wins fosters a positive environment and acknowledges the team’s efforts.

Notable Quotes

• “Patience and communications can really make a difference.” — Lilia Pulova [00:04:29]
• “Don't take it personally, take it easy, we'll get there.” — Lilia Pulova [00:07:04]
• “Praise your team and don't forget to celebrate even small wins.” — Lilia Pulova [00:08:15]

Conclusion

This episode offers a profound exploration of the human aspects of Agile transformations. Lilia Pulova’s experiences shed light on the importance of patience, effective communication, and the celebration of incremental successes. Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches can draw valuable lessons from her journey to lead their teams through successful transformations, ensuring sustained motivation and tangible progress.

For those seeking to deepen their understanding of Agile practices and leadership, this episode serves as a testament to the power of resilience and the impact of recognizing every step forward.

Transcript

[Vasko]

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[Host]

Hello everybody. Welcome to our Wednesday the Change Leadership episode. And this week we have with us, joining us from Canada, Lilia Pulova. Hey, Lilia, welcome back.

[Liliya Pulova]

Hello everyone.

[Host]

So, a big hi to the awesome country of Canada, which I visited a long time ago, only once in a very cold day. I was in Montreal to visit the client. I shall never forget. It was even colder than Helsink in Finland, which is where I live.

[Vasko]

So I will always remember that.

[Liliya Pulova]

I can imagine and I can relate.

[Host]

So, Liliya, of course, when we talk about change, one of the things we very often talk about is that it's difficult, it takes its time, it's all about working with people, setting the direction. But we want to go into a little bit more of details. Walk us through one of those processes of change that you were involved with. And then as you go through that process happened step by step, highlight for us the tools, the tips, the tricks and the techniques you learned back then that you still apply today.

[Liliya Pulova]

I consider myself lucky, Scrum Master, because once I had a chance to participate in a real Agile transformation in the sense that the company decided to go agile and that's when I walked in. So they just installed Jira. I was one of the first to enter the first Jira ticket and it was a very interesting experience because it was a very big company and it was enormous skepticism and resistance because people are impatient, they don't understand that some, okay, they understand probably that, but they don't want to wait. Some processes take a little bit more time than, let's say, a cup of coffee to make. And that was the Hardest, I'd say two, three months that we had because every day they would say, okay, what are the results of this Agile transformation? We've been doing it for a week and there is. And then nothing happens.

[Host]

It's one week already. Why aren't we finished?

[Liliya Pulova]

Yeah, where are the results? You told us it's going to be great, but we don't see the greatness so far. That was the hardest few months that we were asking. Please give us time, give us time to make the team, to put them together to start the project. You will see the results soon. Then at that time we were working at the internal application for the company. And then after two months, when they started seeing first very tiny, slightly small releases, but changes in the application improvements, let's say before it would take them six months to change the color of the button on the application and there it took just one month. Yeah, but there are other opportunities and there is other solutions to come up that can be delivered faster and more efficient. And what I learned that patience and communications can really make a difference.

[Host]

So tell us a little bit more about it. So I imagine like maybe there are, I don't know what kind of sprint length you were using at that time. If you were using Scrum, was it two weeks or four weeks? But I imagine there was like this planning sessions or this review or these stakeholder meetings where everybody, hey, why isn't anything happening? Why don't we see the changes? Right, so you are in this kind of conversation. How did you implement that idea of being patient?

[Liliya Pulova]

We did start with Scrum. We, we did two weeks prints. It wasn't great at the beginning because it was a brand new team. We just got people from different departments, put them together, started working and it takes time to become a team. You don't become a team only just because you were put together. It takes time to work together and to understand the real value of this project, the vision of the project, where we want to go, how we want to get there, and what will be the, our milestones on the way. And as I said, a lot of skepticism and a lot of resistance and frustration that, okay, we were doing it old way and it was still working, now we're doing it new way. It's been like two weeks. Months. Two months. Still no results. So like why, when we doing it, why are we investing so much time and money in something that we not sure is gonna work? Because the old way did work and sometimes you just learn how to roll your eyes. I'm sorry, 360 and just keep quiet, do some yoga breathing. But just try not to answer some things like that, try not to react because you know what you can get at the end, how much positive value it can bring to the company. So sometimes you just have to learn.

[Host]

That's one of the things you did. You reminded yourself this will have an impact. I know this is important and that help you to kind of take it easy, let those comments kind of go over and focus on the task at hand. Right.

[Liliya Pulova]

I knew the purpose and the reason why we're doing that and I knew what we can give a company, let's say in six months because everything takes time.

[Host]

And how about the team? Because I imagine that this lack of patience. So the impatience was coming from the stakeholders, if I understood you. But how about the team? How patient were they?

[Liliya Pulova]

Team was great. I had a lot of conversations, especially one on one and it helps to. I was able to convince them just okay, don't take it personal, take it easy, we'll get there.

[Host]

So you were kind of helping the team to also do the same, to be patient and let the comments go by because there's this conviction, right? There's this confidence that yeah, we are going to deliver. We just have to let those comments go for a little bit and then we will come back.

[Liliya Pulova]

Absolutely. Because people need to feel appreciated, even if it's just from a Scrum master, at least somebody has to appreciate them. That gives them confidence and energy and motivation to keep going.

[Host]

Yeah, absolutely. So in that one on one like what are some tips you could share with us Scrum masters who need to be supporting teams like that? Even today somebody listening to us might be exactly now going through the same situation. What tips do you have for us to manage that? Let's say the consequences of the commentary with the team and help them to be patient, to let those comments go and to be confident that we are going to deliver.

[Liliya Pulova]

I'd say praise your team and don't forget to celebrate even small wins because that's what usually in day to day operations we forget to celebrate small wins. We all aiming for the big results. But first release, it's already a great result and it has to be celebrated with the team and team has to be praised for that. Because it's a lot of work. Every even small, insignificant release, even just let's say I'm exaggerating but like a change of color of the bottom on the application, it's a lot of work in putting it and people need to know that they are appreciated for that.

[Host]

Hard work. Yeah, that's very well said. People need to know that they are appreciated for their hard work. And of course, if the leadership isn't doing it, at least we can contribute that. So thank you very much for sharing that, Liliya.

[Liliya Pulova]

Pleasure is all mine.

[Vasko]

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[Host]

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[Vasko]

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[Outro Host]

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