In today's fast-paced business environment, many companies are grappling with a paradox: the pursuit of agility often results in cumbersome processes that hinder rather than facilitate progress. Wasn't the essence of agility to streamline operations and deliver promptly to the customer? Teams find themselves entangled in bureaucratic tasks, hoping for clarity amidst the chaos.
It’s like trying to organize a family road trip. Instead of just packing the essentials and hitting the road, you end up creating detailed itineraries, planning rest stops down to the minute, and scheduling every activity. Before you know it, you're so bogged down by planning that you haven't even left the driveway.
Let's break this down with some relatable examples and possible solutions:
Problem 1: At the Strategy Level, the Company Vision or Goal is blurry.
Leading to: Teams embracing agility without a defined vision or goal.
Imagine a team running around with a lot of energy but no clear destination or too many narratives on North Star. They might be busy, but without a shared vision or clear goals, their efforts can easily become misaligned and chaotic, leading to burnout.
Proposed Solution: Establish Clear Vision and Goals:
Define a compelling vision and set clear, achievable goals. Ensure everyone understands and aligns with them.
Problem 2: Misalignment of company values and leadership actions
Leading to Companies aiming for high-performing teams but lacking empowering leadership:
High performance stems from empowerment and trust. It's a culture that both the leadership and teams have to build together. However, if leadership micromanages or fails to provide the necessary support and autonomy, teams can't reach their full potential.
Imagine a family cooking dinner together: everyone has a specific task and trusts each other, resulting in a harmonious and delicious meal. However, if the parent constantly hovers and corrects every move, it frustrates everyone and slows down the process. The kids lose interest, feel undervalued, and the experience becomes stressful rather than enjoyable. materials and freedom to innovate.
Proposed Solution: Empower Teams
Provide the necessary resources, autonomy, and support. Trust your teams to make decisions and innovate, give them space to breathe. Create a culture of self-managed teams.
Problem 3: Conflict between Product Discovery & Yearly Roadmaps.
Leading to Stakeholders/ Management endorsing product discovery despite implementing inflexible yearly roadmaps.
True product discovery is about exploring and iterating based on feedback, and teams require bandwidth to be able to be innovative and think out of the box. Yearly roadmaps can stifle this process by locking teams into long-term plans that may become obsolete. It’s like asking an interior designer to adapt to changing trends but then forcing them to stick to a design plan made a year ago.
Proposed Solution: Balance Roadmaps with Flexibility
Create flexible roadmaps that allow for adaptation and iteration based on new insights and changing conditions. Encourage teams to have product discovery that runs (2 or 3) sprints ahead of delivery.
Problem 4: Strategic Misalignment Prompts Search for Prioritisation Solutions
Leading to Teams seeking improved prioritisation methods without a cohesive strategy:
Prioritization should be guided by a clear strategy. Without it, teams can struggle to determine what’s truly important. This scenario is similar to a designer prioritizing furniture without knowing the overall theme or style, leading to a disjointed and ineffective room design.
Proposed Solution: Align Strategy with Prioritisation
Develop a coherent strategy that guides prioritization decisions, ensuring efforts are focused on what truly matters.
Problem 5: Lack of Post-Launch Outcome Evaluation and Adaptation Due to Deadline-Centric Management
Leading to management focusing solely on timely outputs while failing to measure outcomes post-launch or to pivot by discontinuing ineffective ideas, resulting in endless iterations.
Management often pushes to launch products on time, even if it means compromising on quality. They focus on delivery timelines but struggle to measure success post-launch, which can demotivate teams and lead to wasted effort. It's like praising an interior designer for filling a room with furniture, regardless of how well it all fits together—overlooking the importance of balance and harmony.
Proposed Solution: Focus on Outcomes Over Outputs and pivot when needed
Shift the focus from merely completing tasks on time to achieving meaningful outcomes. Measure success by the impact and value created.
Problem 6: Traditional Deadline Approvals by Mid-Senior Management
Leading to Leadership pushing for value creation while imposing arbitrary time constraints:
Value creation requires time and thoughtful work. Arbitrary deadlines can compromise quality and innovation. It’s akin to rushing a designer to complete a complex room makeover within an unrealistic timeframe, likely resulting in a subpar design.
Possible Solution: Set Realistic Deadlines & Reassess risk at regular intervals
Avoid arbitrary deadlines that can hinder quality. Allow sufficient time for thoughtful work and innovation. Engage in reassessing the risk related to delivery, and keep relevant parties informed.
Conclusion:
In essence, each problem reflects a disconnect between the rigidity of traditional/hybrid management approaches and the dynamic needs of modern businesses. By embracing flexibility, empowerment, and a focus on outcomes, companies can navigate these challenges to achieve genuine agility and sustainable success.
" LET’S FIRST GET THE ESSENTIALS OF AGILE RIGHT."
I'm excited to delve deeper into each proposed solution outlined in this article, providing real-world examples to offer a clearer understanding of how we can navigate this path together.
Your feedback and insights are always welcomed, and I can't wait to share my knowledge with you. Stay tuned for more valuable insights!