#10: How does a scrum master heal a toxic environment?

Hi,

I don’t know about you, but it’s a mixed bag of emotions when I join a new team. I’m excited to meet you people, support them in their journey and hopefully, help the team deliver something extraordinary in whatever way I can.

But, in the back of my mind are the memories of those teams and organisations I’ve joined that are just not nice. The ones where people say one thing and do another. The ones where people are no longer willing to try. People have already checked out and are waiting for the weekend, and it’s only Monday.

Sometimes we end up with those teams. How do you deal with the toxic environment?

It’s Thursday; here’s a newsletter; enjoy!

One Insight I’ve Had

In a perfect #agile world, everybody lives and breathes Agile values and principles. People believe deeply in collaboration and understand the power of teamwork. They commit to a shared vision, purpose, and help to create an environment where everyone on the team can thrive.

There are organisations that have achieved this state of Agile Utopia and serve as beacons of inspiration for others, but what happens when you walk into an environment that is just downright toxic?

What happens when the organisational culture of fear, blame and deeply competitive behaviours permeates into the teams you work with and creates a toxic environment that makes it virtually impossible for individuals to grow, collaborate and thrive?

What do you do when senior leadership teams are encouraging this behaviour and refuse to acknowledge the downside of the toxic culture that permeates the working environment?

It’s a concept I wanted to tackle because a growing number of companies are looking to Agile and Scrum to solve their woes. A greater number of organisations are adopting Agile and Scrum with the expectation that a new way of working will miraculously cure the toxic environment that has been created over countless years of neglect and abuse.

If you are stepping into that environment as a new #scrummaster or #agilecoach to the organisation, you are going to find that individuals, teams and managers are going to look to you to solve these issues (at best) or guide them through the quicksand in the hope that they reach the other side.

Whilst I believe and appreciate that we aren’t Agony Aunts, I do firmly believe that a great scrum master and agile coach is deeply committed to creating environments where individuals and teams can thrive, and as such, we must commit to doing what we can to help create that environment.

In this week’s video, I focus on a 4-step strategy that you can employ to help you navigate a toxic environment and help teams make decisions and take actions that lead to an environment that supports agility and creative, collaborative product development.

I would love to hear of your experiences working within toxic environments and how you overcame those challenges so please reply to this newsletter with your feedback or comment on the LinkedIn post. It would be great to hear how you overcame a toxic environment and culture.

One Quote

“When we recognise that a team environment is becoming toxic, it isn’t on the scrum master to FIX the environment. We don’t fix other people. We aren’t therapists or psychologists.

If you recognise that interactions between the team members have become toxic and underlying issues that fester are not being surfaced, we need to recognise that and work toward helping the team surface these issues and deal with them effectively.

The team will create a better environment and take the necessary action to resolve conflict and eliminate toxic behaviour, it is our job to help them do that.” – John McFadyen

Watch the full video on ‘How does a Scrum Master heal a toxic environment?

A Question for You

How do you navigate a toxic environment and inspire your team to thrive?

And a Thank You

This Monday, I ran the first in a series of webinars, starting with Sprint Planning.

I enjoyed meeting with those who came along and shared both questions and your thoughts. The video had a slight delay - due to me - so it’s not uploaded just yet; I’ll be sure to share a link as soon as it is available.

The next webinar will be announced next week once I have a moment to get my calendar in hand.

Thank you.

Enjoyed the newsletter? Please share it with others who might also benefit.