What kills agility?

Dozens of documents and spreadsheets, meetings over meetings, and yet without much impact, result in team misalignments—realized too late.

How we manage an organization defines its quality. Excellent management is crucial to avoid the Waterfall trap if we aim to build an Agile environment. But why would we want that? What’s wrong with the way we already work?

If you are already happy with how you and your team work together, that’s okay. However, what about reevaluating how you work to look for potential improvements?

I am referring to evaluating your system and how you and the people around you act within it. What worked months or years ago might differ from what we could discover today—as part of continuous improvement.

I dislike politics in the workplace, where each team looks out for themselves instead of having a bigger shared direction. This results in daily work filled with fear from above, passed down to the people below, maintaining an unhealthy working environment. Game of Thrones is great as a fictional series, but not something to deal with in daily business.

Agile was born precisely as a response to the excessive waste generated by politics and organizational micromanagement.

Controlling and “slow performance” needed a more flexible approach. When people adopt a fixed mindset, they resist change, fear failure, and prioritize rigid processes and hierarchies. This conflicts with Agile’s core ideas of embracing change, continuous delivery with iterative development, flexible planning, and fostering collaboration and innovation.

A fixed mindset leads to fear of experimentation and a reluctance to challenge the status quo, reducing progress and the potential for learning and growth.

What kills agility?

• Fixed mindset: Resistance to change, fear of failure, and prioritizing rigid processes over learning and adaptation strangle innovation and flexibility.
• Excessive bureaucracy: Complex processes and excessive documentation slow down decision-making and responsiveness.
• Micromanagement: Over-controlling leadership undermines team autonomy.
• Lack of collaboration: Poor communication and teamwork hinder progress.
• Ineffective feedback loops: Prevent adjustments and continuous improvement.
• Fear of experimentation: A culture that punishes failure discourages experimentation and learning from mistakes.
• Inflexible processes: Strict adherence without adapting to project needs.
• Misaligned goals: Conflicting priorities reduce efficiency.
• Lack of leadership’s support: Without backing from upper management, Agile initiatives can struggle to gain the necessary resources and commitment.
• Poor technical practices: Neglecting technical excellence and good design can lead to a fragile codebase that is difficult to adapt and extend.

What can you do about it?

Learn the basics of Extreme Programming (XP) and Lean Software Development.

• XP: Focused on software development practices and technical excellence, with specific practices like pair programming and Test-Driven Development (TDD).
• Lean: Takes a broader approach, focusing on removing waste, optimizing flow, and improving processes across the organization.

Related posts

• Unhealthy working environment Recognizing red flags of an unhealthy workplace
• Working agile with non-agile teams How can you work with other teams that aren’t agile?
• Ignoring Scrum to get more Agile? Killing agility with excessive meetings
• Interview about XP and Agile Agile is about HOW you do certain things

Recommended readings

• The Clean Coder by Robert C. Martin
• Extreme Programming Explained by Kent Beck