Culture Modernization in Federal Digital Transformation

Conversations around digital transformation in the federal government often focus on how technology can improve government operations, such as how robotic process automation empowers the workforce, how mobile apps boost customer experience, or how data analytics reduces cost. Often overlooked in these conversations is the need to modernize organizational culture to address legacy team structures that are siloed, heavily rely on in-person interactions, or have entrenched processes that don’t work in an IT environment that demands adaptability, collaboration, iteration, and proactive problem-solving.

The federal government’s work-in-progress shift to Agile—a set of project management principles focused on incremental, customer-driven software development—is a step in the right direction, but modernizing an agency’s culture requires more than just instituting Agile methodologies. Federal leaders should promote a culture of change to combat the “that’s how it’s always been done” mindset. This means cultivating talent, team dynamics, and work environments that actively foster collaboration, communication, curiosity, and flexibility.

View the virtual discussion on the role of culture modernization in federal digital transformation efforts and how agencies can adapt to avoid getting stuck in old ways of thinking.