In a fragile, anxious, non-linear and incomprehensible current situation, company management needs to be increasingly structured and fast.

Keeping up with the changes and transformations that have occurred so quickly is a real challenge for organizations.

In this sense, offering reliable and, at the same time, flexible mechanisms so that people can work and deliver better results is imperative for businesses that want to remain in the market.

After all, dealing with the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the VUCA world associated with the demands of the BANI world (Brittle, Anxious, Nonlinear, Incomprehensible) is really challenging for professionals and modern companies.

In this context, Ramon Oliveira, founder of Instituto MestreGP, brings important clarifications on project management and agile methodologies that structure organizations and provide ideal conditions for business.

In an exclusive conversation with Crowd, you will see this meticulous and unique view of someone who has already experienced the constantly evolving market for over a decade.

See, then, Ramon Oliveira's insights on management and agile methods for successful companies and professionals.

Who is Ramon Oliveira and the Instituto MestreGP

Active in the advertising market for over 10 years, Ramon Oliveira is a project manager and professor, in addition to being the founder of MestreGP Institute. The organization, founded in 2013, is based on four pillars: Education, Research, Events and Content.

Oliveira and the institute are focused on disseminating good practices in project management, leadership and organizational issues for the advertising market.

1. Project management – ​​management as a business culture

The digitization of markets, which has occurred in a marked way in recent years, has forced companies to leave their comfort zones and start with new practices.

In the technology and communication segment, for example, it was very common for only administrative, managerial and financial areas to carry out some type of management.

But, in the operational teams of these companies, the use of methods that organize work and measure activities was not very common, according to Ramon.

For the founder of MestreGP, despite being a very comfortable scenario for organizations, this situation harmed the routine of the teams:

“In a context where good management practices are being implemented, you have chaos. Hence, you end up leaving people without a clear vision of what they are doing, why they are doing it, what goals they have to reach and achieve".

Do you remember the iconic scenes of actor Charles Chaplin in the movie “Modern Times”? In the work, the character Carlitos only performs his functions as a micro result, almost “blindly” to the other operations of the factory. 

The lack of orientation and integration of teams, in today's world, produces work where the employee does not understand the general context very well and, therefore, just “does what has to be done”.

Focused on his own micro activities, he is distant from what the overall team delivers.

For Oliveira, many people understand project management as just a bureaucratic process. But, for the manager, the market is showing signs that this scenario is changing and many professionals have already come to understand management as creating better conditions for people to work.

With it, employees receive the necessary guidance to carry out their work and, together, achieve better results.

So, according to Ramon, management has become part of the reality of many companies:

"Nowadays, what we feel is that the scenario is very favorable for this discipline to be incorporated as an essence - which is part of our work: to place management as a business culture".

2. Agile Methodology

The Agile Manifesto, launched in 2001, brings a new look at organizations' teams. The declaration of values ​​and principles for software development also changed the management of people and processes in different areas – including sectors not related to creating systems.

Ramon Oliveira says that agility has been applied in various companies, from manufacturing to service providers, passing through education institutes and even surgical centers.

The methodology elevates the importance of individuals and their interactions to the success of projects. In addition, the agile method reframes the use of processes, tools, documentation, contracts and plans for the good result of the work.

For the founder of MestreGP, the concepts and philosophical basis of agility are simple to understand. However, its application is quite complex and requires an important change in people's behavior and habits.

Ramon states that:

"It's much less about tool and process, and much more about behaviors and attitudes that people have to have - and that's hard".

3. The future of agency and company management

Leaving complete chaos for structured management and, then, for agile methodologies, we are experiencing a true rupture of times. In his analysis and benchmarking, the manager points out that:

"What we have noticed as new, both from the point of view of companies in our market and advertisers, is the story of agility. I think it's a global change. Companies in general are bringing agility to their structures".

But, for him, it is necessary to have tolerance for the time of learning and implementing this new culture. After all, such significant changes can take several years and, in such an immediate market, it is necessary to be more patient with mistakes, adjustments and lessons learned throughout the process.

In addition, Oliveira points out that, in this context, there are three types of company:

  • Those who are born agile;
  • Organizations that were not born agile, but resignify and adapt; It is
  • Companies that resist change.

According to the founder of MestreGP, the latter:

“They will be left aside and the market ends up expelling these companies”.

What if a business didn't even make it to the management stage? How to “jump” to the agility phase? Ramon believes it is necessary to take two steps: structuring management and agility.

In a competitive market, these transformations need to be fast, being necessary to keep up with current demands and implement new methodologies and processes.

4. Remote work – managing for a culture

If remote work was already a trend a few years ago, after the COVID-19 pandemic – which started in 2020 -, the famous home office has consolidated itself as a work format.

The acceleration of technologies that allow effective communication at a distance has given a great impetus to improving the results of this form of production.

Ramon considers the method as a trend with a lot of space and market to develop and improve. According to the manager:

“You simply put people to work at home, but you don't guide them on what behaviors and attitudes they should have and what tools and indicators you are going to start measuring. So, I think remote work is a trend, but it has to be seen as a culture too”.

How can the implementation of management practices and agile methodologies be applied to teams that work remotely? 

The manager points out that it is necessary to prepare people so that they know the reason for their work, why they are working that way and the conditions that are available.

For remote work to be effective and produce consistent results, with the same quality found in allocated teams, it is necessary:

  • Provide conditions for work;
  • Provide clear information about what must be done;
  • Establish deadlines for deliveries;
  • Inform the management indicators; It is
  • Make the expected result clear.

“Management has to be used to benefit, so that people work better, work more efficiently and more productively. This can be seen in any context, whether physical work, face-to-face, or remote work – which is what Crowd already does”.

5. The future of the professional in the midst of agile methodologies

In the face of these changes, the application of management to projects and teams and agile methods, how is the professional? If these transformations are already challenging for organizations, how provocative are they for the people involved in these processes? 

At a recent World Economic Forum (WEF), the “The Future of JobsReport”. This survey pointed out the essential skills for the professional of the future:

  1. Analytical thinking;
  2. Active learning;
  3. Ability to solve complex problems;
  4. critical thinking;
  5. Creativity;
  6. Capacity of:
    1. lead and influence
    2. Monitor and use technology at work
  7. Resilience;
  8. Reasoning focused on resolutions.

Oliveira emphasizes these behaviors and believes that they are linked to agile methodologies. About them, the manager points out that:

"These are behavioral skills and attitudes that you must have. Of course, it has to have a good technical base too, but that has a lot to do with behavior and attitudes. So, I would suggest that people invest in self-knowledge and personal development".

This professional attitude is related to agility because the methodology also requires many behavioral and attitude changes. 

In this sense, Ramon says that the investment in these transformations must come, first of all, from the professional himself. For him, despite the need for an effort by organizations, the attitude of the individual is what generates the most impact:

“It's no use just giving tools, ceremonies, rituals, everything well established, written on the paper printed on the wall, if, from the person's point of view, their behavior is not adjusted to act in that model". 

But, in addition to these changes made by the worker himself, Ramon believes that organizations also need to act energetically for the well-being of these individuals on their premises. According to him:

"Companies increasingly have to look at what they are, what they represent and how people feel as belonging to that body.

It is much more than guaranteeing a store, you have to guarantee a comfortable working environment, a table, a computer, tools for people to produce what has to be produced, but you also have to look at the individual and how he feel in that environment. "

How to implement agile management and methodology in your company

The VUCA world and its sequel, BANI, seem to be an increasingly present reality in our routines.

To deal with these ruptures and transformations, which bring anxieties and uncertainties, it is necessary to have a team with solid knowledge associated with flexibility and adaptability.

In this way, the implementation of a structured management and agility is the key for companies to be able to maintain and stand out in this market.

Placing people and their interactions as the focal point for delivering quality results in the desired time is one of the necessary practices.

Thus, the implementation of agile remote squads is a practical and effective alternative for businesses to be integrated with today.

The “squadrons” are made up of professionals who are duly trained and aligned so that, together, they achieve the success of the project.

More than just “individuals working together”, squads allow minds and “hands” to work together to achieve the expected result.

In this way, the business can achieve its objectives and goals more quickly and with better quality.

At Crowd, we help accelerate projects digital transformation of our customers.

We do this and drive results with Agile Crowd, our unique agile framework that allows us to assemble remote squads and run projects quickly, efficiently and at scale.

Our thousands of duly qualified professionals are distributed throughout the country and, thanks to the application of up-to-date management methods and agility, we deliver cutting-edge results.

Find out how you and your company can benefit from efficient management and agile methodology with the Crowd's remote squads.

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gabriel matias

Co Founder and CEO of CROWD.
I connect you to the best tech and marketing professionals with AI, instantly.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gamatias/

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