From my experience, once teams switch to Agile, most like it, and respond well. Teams and individuals quickly see the benefits and most will never go back to any other way of thinking and working. But to make the switch for a team or individual that is used to practicing waterfall, (or something similar), may not be easy.
It takes time, patience and commitment to change how people work in any organization. Bringing Agile into a team that is not familiar with Agile methods is not going to happen overnight. It's just not. This is why I advocate this Agilish concept. Practice Agile values and principles and apply Agile methods slowly. Train, (or hire), key players to help advocate. Bring people up to speed one step at a time and show the value. Most importantly, get started. This is not a perfect world and the conditions that enable all of the Agile principles may not exist.
Slapping an Agile label on top of an established PMO or prescribing Agile across an IT organization may seem like a clear, easy path, but this may do more harm than good. Like any methodology, if individuals and teams do not see the value and/or do not buy into the concepts, it is very easy for them to dig in and resist. At the first bump in the road, (production problem, missed deadline, etc.), the knives will come out and fingers will point to the prescribed methodology as the problem. "We did not have these issues when we were doing things the old way."
Be smart and Agile in your approach. Start small, show value and build momentum. Agile works. This is why it has taken off and is so widely adopted. It is as simple as that. When you are able to demonstrate success, people will want to be part of that magic and will flock to it, building momentum by pulling Agile into their projects. Make the switch to Agile in an Agilish way - one project at a time and within the constraints of the current environment.
