Most of us know what we are against.
What frustrates us. What makes us feel wronged. What upsets us. What is making things difficult for us.
That’s easy to know.
Sometimes Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches point at everything that is wrong, bad, anti-agile. It is very clear what they are against. But they don’t make it clear what they are for. This can have the opposite desired effect when your goal is to influence agility.
I fell into this trap early in my agile journey. I pointed out everything team members and management were doing that was not contributing to agility. I declared what needed to be vanquished from the team or the organization in order to be more agile.
And this was easy to do. I thought it made me a good agilist, an effective change agent.
I could say that I did MY job, but THEY just wouldn’t listen.
People are more open to listening and taking risks when you aren’t just telling them what they are doing wrong.
This is how you influence agility.
To complicate things further, we sometimes mistake actions for values. We assume that a person must not have the same values if they are taking certain actions. This is not necessarily true. Yet we tell ourselves a story, and we create an us versus them dynamic.
Don’t get me wrong. There are times when we see environments so toxic and actions so detrimental that we do have to directly point them out. We must have the courage to protect the team in order to give them a fighting chance at progress. As Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, this is part of our job too.
However, I ask you to consider if there are other tools in your toolbox that you haven’t fully utilized?
It is often harder to focus on what we are for.
Because then we have to do the work. We have to define what we are for and why we are for it.
And then comes the scary part. We have to figure out how to achieve it.
As I’ve said before, there is no silver bullet nor a guarantee of success when it comes to doing complex things in an unpredictable world. We try our best, take simple steps, learn as we go, improve our game relentlessly, and keep in line with our vision. (Check out these 5 simple steps for taking action).
Pay attention to how often you see people talking about everything they are against. Are they convincing others to take action? How might they be more effective if they focus on what they are for? How might we all win if we start focusing on our desires and where they intersect?
I would love to hear what you discover.
________________________________
If you enjoyed this blog post and are seeking just enough structure to help you increase your impact and influence as a leader, check out the Scrum Master: Grow Program. Learn more about this affordable lightweight program.
AGILE SOCKS is a registered trademark of Agile Socks LLC. Other marks used herein are the property of their respective owners. For more information see Trademark Notice in Terms & Conditions.