Building a Culture of Agility

What attracted you to the Driving Organizational Agility—Virtual program?

The program was so timely. I had just taken on a new role as the Global Senior Director of Innovation and Agile at Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. From an educational standpoint, I was looking for a program where I could hear what top thought leaders had to say about best practices and new ways of driving transformation and cultural change within an organization. Harvard Business School, and this program in particular, seemed like a really good fit for me.

How would you describe your overall program experience?

It was fantastic. The professors were incredibly engaging and helped me rethink and reframe challenges. Through the books they've written and the research they’ve done on different companies, they each brought unique perspectives to the table. And they also brought in leaders from different organizations and industries to talk about their experience with driving transformation—the pitfalls, the opportunities, and how to set yourself up for success.

Did you find that the virtual format of the program expanded the learning opportunities?

Definitely. Bringing together people from different walks of life, industries, and countries across the globe was amazing. It enabled me to build connections with folks from every single continent. Every day, our learning group would meet as a team and chat. And we also created a WhatsApp group to talk about our experiences while we were learning, what we were trying to achieve in our organizations, and how we could support one another.

What were your objectives coming into the program?

Within my new role at Four Seasons, my responsibility is rolling out agile ways of working across the commercial teams and then more widely across the global organization over time. So I was looking to find new ways of thinking about how we work together, how our culture shapes the work we’re doing, and how as a collective team we can drive the results we’re looking for and spur innovation.

And what did you take away from the program?

I was surprised to discover how agility and innovation are so tightly linked. One of the lectures that really stands out to me was around what innovation is. It could be how you're thinking about your business process, your customer, and your culture around work, or it could be breakthrough and disruptive. That's critical for me as I frame up my executive leadership team and my board around what we're trying to achieve.

Another key takeaway for me is the importance of agility in the face of uncertainty. Coming from hospitality, especially over the last few years, we've been faced with a lot of uncertainty. How do you grow from it, and how do you adapt to it? I've learned how to challenge long-held assumptions, think outside the box, and collaborate in new ways to continually advance an agenda of excellence.