When organizations aim to implement Agile at Scale, they must also embrace Self-Organization at Scale. Without this cultural shift, moving on beyond traditional agile practices across a network becomes difficult. A powerful enabler in this transformation is the establishment of Communities of Practice (CoPs)—groups where people voluntarily collaborate to share knowledge, solve problems, and drive improvement.

At Ericsson’s ICT Development Center Aachen Eurolab in Germany, CoPs emerged as a driving force behind both cultural and operational changes. Over the years, these communities took responsibility for advancing Kaizen practices, fostering T-shaped skills, supporting DevOps adoption, boosting employee motivation, and even influencing strategic areas like 5G research and security.

Rather than being imposed from above, these CoPs arose organically, powered by individuals with a shared passion for improvement. Their efforts uncovered opportunities at all levels of the organization and across diverse units, accelerating progress and aligning teams toward common goals.

We will present to you our practical experiences, how CoPs are born, the secret of their success, and how they managed to revolutionize the way a multinational giant of the telecommunications world grows within the new Ways of Working!