Cultural humility in agile work practices

Abstract

Cultural humility shows when we stay open to learning and adapt to unfamiliar administrative environments. Humble people reflect on themselves accurately and value unfamiliar bureaucratic cultures. I demonstrate how being inclined to this way influences how innovation fellows align or clash as they introduce agile work practices in government settings. Drawing on qualitative interviews with innovation fellows and their government partners, I identify two dimensions of cultural humility: First, when people continue to stereotype bureaucrats, they create tension in their interactions with public servants. Second, when they reflect on their role, recognize inter-sectoral differences, understand workarounds, and engage deeply with the public-sector context, they can support effective agile learning. I present a cultural humility framework for researchers to test and validate. It can also guide practitioners successfully onboard consultants, improve how they interact with other external service providers, and support public bureaucracies in organizational change efforts.