{"id":25694,"date":"2020-10-29T06:26:34","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T12:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/corevalues.com\/?p=25694"},"modified":"2020-10-29T06:26:34","modified_gmt":"2020-10-29T12:26:34","slug":"why-agile-teams-struggle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corevalues.com\/dev\/2020\/10\/29\/why-agile-teams-struggle\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Agile Teams Struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Agile teams.<\/p>\n

Why the noise over this buzz word?\u00a0 For one, it\u2019s a process that the likes of Netflix and Spotify have in their arsenal.<\/p>\n

In the last 10 years, business leaders have come to the conclusion that an agile team setup is an essential condition for well-oiled operations.\u00a0 It’s what separates the greenhorns from the veterans.\u00a0 It has quickly grown from a trend to non-negotiable in less than 10 years.<\/p>\n

The term may be new to you but the philosophy isn\u2019t. \u00a0Peter Scholtes and other contributors created the Team Handbook in 1988 that established the case for self-managed teams. TIGERS Founder, Dianne Crampton, discovered this work while performing a meta-analysis study of business, education and psychology group dynamic research. “At that time, Hewlett Packard used this work for developing self-directed project teams,” explains Crampton. “My contacts with the company underscored how important it is for self-directed work teams to make team decisions around how conflict is resolved, team decisions are made, planning is conducted and then tracked, problems are resolved, how to avoid project scope creep among other critical team operational considerations.”<\/p>\n

You may have come across some semblance of agile teams (self-directed work teams) at work in your organization.\u00a0 In brief, Agile innovation teams are entrepreneurial groups that are made part of organizations to tackle specific projects.\u00a0 Because of their small member numbers, they are able to stay close to customers (or stakeholders) and can adapt in a snap when conditions suddenly change.<\/p>\n

When handled (and implemented) correctly, Agile teams improve productivity and morale. The results are tangible \u2013 fast time to market, measurable improvements in quality, and increased volume.<\/p>\n

Benefits of agile teams in action.<\/h4>\n

Organizations that have adopted an Agile setup allow for clients to make small objective changes WITHOUT drastically altering schedules or budgets.\u00a0 It\u2019s a process that involves dividing projects in order of priority and then fulfilling each within an iterative cycle. Iteration is a term used to describe the scheduled sequence of working on small sections of a project at a given time.\u00a0 Each iteration is then reviewed and assessed by a development team and client.\u00a0 The insights gained here are then used to determine the next step in development.<\/p>\n

If this \u201cAgile\u201d topic still feels alien to you, then these terms most likely aren\u2019t. Perhaps you may have heard any of these common examples of the Agile Methodology:\u00a0 Scrum, Crystal, Lean Software Development (LSD), eXtreme Programming (XP), r Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), to name a few.\u00a0 Of course, the Agile Method isn\u2019t limited to software development.<\/p>\n

Once an organization experiences the perks of having an agile team, the next question is: Can we launch agile teams throughout an entire organization?\u00a0 This could mean, launching, not just dozens of teams.\u00a0 We\u2019re talking about hundreds of even thousands cross-state or even cross-country.\u00a0 Would this type of scaling up improve corporate performance overall?<\/p>\n

The prospect is enticing.\u00a0 In today\u2019s turbulent and ultra-competitive environment (not to mention, the pandemic), the idea of having an adaptive, fast-moving organization is a dream come true.<\/p>\n

But why do companies struggle implementing agile teams?<\/p>\n

Why is it a challenge for them to know which functions to reorganize into agile teams?<\/p>\n

Why do new agile teams fall prey to red-tape and bureaucracies?<\/p>\n

Possible causes for why agile teams suffer<\/h4>\n

In our book, TIGERS Among Us – Winning Business Team Culture and Why they Thrive<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>we discuss the differences between a top-down, command and control work culture compared to a fully operational team-based culture. So when top-down organizations contemplate agile teams, leaders must be aware of culture split and clash.\u00a0 Developing agile teams is much more than the executive order – “Do agile!” That said, here are four additional reasons why agile teams struggle.<\/p>\n

1. The organization resists change<\/h5>\n

Everyone is gung-ho about it till they\u2019re told that they need to stray from what they deem familiar. People enjoy the perks of progress but are usually averse to change. Even organizations with a flexible culture can be resistant.<\/p>\n

The key here is to expect that not everyone will be willing to get on board with the changes.\u00a0 Some employees will even be violently unwilling to adapt to a new way of working. (Why fix it if it ain\u2019t broken?).\u00a0 Expect that during a transformation or transition period, objections to change may cause a delay in time and productivity \u2013 in the meantime at least.<\/p>\n

Resistance may be subtle. Here are some that may look familiar to you:<\/p>\n