12 systemic rules you should understand if you are becoming Agile

Several years ago, Louise Diamond (a specialist in global initiatives for peace) published 12 rules for resolving conflicts in the world and channeling it toward eradicating wars. What does this have to do with agile?

In previous articles I talked about how systemic thinking is a core part of the Agile mindset. I explained there the different areas of complexity and the interconnection between its elements as well as the emerging properties of complex systems. It helps to understand characteristics such as the Scrum self-organization emerging property among others.

It is then clear that in all human systems exist several levels of organization and that these exhibit common dynamics to the living systems: all the members move between a status of chaos and their subsequent re-adaptation and pacification, repeating the cycle once and again indefinitely

One of the ways in which I differentiate a high performance Organisation from a low performance one is by appreciating its constant cycle that varies between the chaos, the destruction and new stabilization. Here, when a solution to something is achieved, a new element appears to produce some other chaos, which will suggest a radical change in its structure and their behaviour, thing which will stabilise subsequently and generate a new temporary peace. This is something that a Scrum Master or everyone involved in an Agile Organisation knows perfectly well and part of their  day-to-day duties.

Each day, companies  face challenges incredibly complex and interconnected, deriving from technical problems, deficiencies in the organization or the way they work, its culture or their unique limitations. It is therefore necessary to understand that the nature of complex system dynamics can give birth to a new way of thinking and change how we solve our problems, our current assumptions or the decisions we make.

So let's see how it is possible to adapt the 12 rules initially created by Mrs. Diamond to the adaptive and Agile organisation. This will without a doubt empower your company and the way you envision your business:

1. Make sure you always connect the disconnected
   In complex systems, all items or agents are interconnected, as in a giant network. They are also interdependent; what happens to one affects all the others. Therefore: Connects the disconnected.
   It is necessary that all the employees in your company begin to see the implication of this and focus on enhancing as a day-to-day duty the knowledge and information flow among all the areas of the business.
   Scrum or any other Agile framework is never a happy island within the enterprise but a way of thinking through the whole organisation. You need to look for areas where the social density is low and focus on increasing it (you can read more about Social Systems for Agile companies here).
2. Connect to ground with the unpredictability
   The complexity is the nature and status of any living system and the world in which we live. What we know about complex systems is that there are multiple agents or elements, combining and interacting in unpredictable and non-linear ways. This indicates that the decisions often lead to some unintended consequences. Therefore: Connect to ground with the unpredictability. 
   Having a long-term plan can be effective only if it is taken as a map of intention to keep people aligned, but it must be assumed as an organic element with some unintended consequences. This point should be always communicated with transparency to all the employees. By its organic nature, investing time and money in long-term fixed plans is ineffective and can immerse the company in the syndrome of analysis paralysis. 
   You should create maps of intentions and never fixed roadmaps unless they are a high level view. 
3. Create the conditions for quality links
   In the huge network of interconnections, the points or nodes where agents meet are the relationships and interactions or opportunities for your company to improve. These interactions determine what is going to happen with the system (organisation) in the coming future. The nature and the qualityo f these relationships are consequently of critical importance. Therefore: create the conditions so that you have high quality links. 
   You must foster the right environment for people to establish high quality and lasting links. You could the Agile, Scum or any clear values but you should have them in order to foster connections. 
   For example, in an environment where individuals have really high work load and perform constant multitasking, you will not be able to create the physical conditions for high quality links.
   A good idea can be to encourage negotiation and global discussion of this or similar topics in order to achieve general consensus on its decisions.This will increase the links and wisdom between employees. 
   On a scale of 1 to 5 (lowest to highest) What do you think the quality of interactions in your company is? Do they all have the same perspective on this? How could you improve them?
4. Re-balance the flows across your teams/areas or its borders
   We know that all systems or sub-systems exchange energy, matter and information through its boundaries. When we are able to identify the flow imbalances - blockades, sub-accumulation or sub-optimisations- we are ready to change things that will make the system more balanced and sustainable. Therefore: Re-balance the flows across borders. Work on reducing the queues every day without introducing local optimisations, analyse the weakest link and make it stronger. You can apply the theory of queues here as a way to to re-establish balance. Another way is by having effective facilitators at different levels of the organisation.
   Imagine multiple "Scrum Master's" distributed through the whole organisation.
5. Modify the patterns to support the sustainability of your  company
   All living systems develop patterns and we human beings are not an exception. Often, these patterns are self-reinforcing, deeply rooted in the culture and seem difficult to change. Many of them are common and recognizable in human systems. These patterns also appear in similar ways at different levels of the same organization. Therefore: Modify the patterns to support the sustainability of your  company before thinking of adding or changing the roles that initially seem to be the problem.
   You should analyse the patterns, plan a structured change and execute it in a matter of days instead of months. Then analyse the outcome, inspect, adapt and execute the new plan again.
6. Pay attention to the small parts and large parts
   We know from the living systems that everything is a whole in itself and, at the same time, part of a larger whole. Therefore: Pay attention to the small parts and large parts. 
   If you resolve the personal problems of a group of employees, it can lubricate the efficiency of that team, which in turn, can help them discover and support new way of working/thinking. This could lead to replicate the discovery trough the whole company, action which will help consolidate the business innovation and global vision.
   You will find in each level unique features as also issues and patterns. To be able to move back and forth between them, in the same way that a telescopic lens works, you would need to ask the same questions at different levels and analyse the information gathered in order to find better solutions. Increasing visibility, information radiators and the way that people work (i.e. using Kanban) help transforming the implicit problems into explicit and tangible things, leaving space for continuous improvement at small and higher levels.
7. Pay attention to emerging networks
   Living systems are organised through the interactions between its agents or parts. The organization itself is a giant network -that is, groups of small and independent networks working together for a period of time-. Therefore: Pay attention to emerging networks and how they behave (e.g. Teams changing their behaviour for  no reason). 
   Without the understanding of how networks operate, you cannot expect to effectively addressing most situations. There are new emerging networks or groups/fashions in your company to which you must pay attention and support or discourage. Supporting some can provide new unknowns trends, ideas or paths. Cultivate your curiosity and try to  know why things are working or emerged in a way before making a decision. Always assess the different types of signals you and people are getting and try to understand which ones are consistent with your vision, inconsistent, the ones that need to be amplified or discouraged.
8. Look for consistency within the chaos
   Systems move between different degrees of stability and instability, this is, order and chaos. When chaos becomes too great, things are crumbling. When order is too rigid, things cannot grow or develop. However, a certain degree of instability or being on the edge of chaos can foster powerful moments of creative ideas. Therefore: Look for consistency within the chaos. 
   High performance Teams need to switch between these two states to get their maximum potential. This is normal and expected but you should also expect people to focus on reducing variability. You can do this by putting very simple and clear rules. This will help people be very disciplined but will leave room for improvement, innovation and continuous improvement.
9. Look at the intangible, as well as the concrete to see its potential
   All living systems exist as a field of unique and unified potential; the observer is also member and part of the situation. Therefore: Look at the intangible, as well as the concrete to see its potential. 
   Assigning a member to a team that, for example, was its former boss or technical leader when the company was using traditional ways of management can bring tangible consequences due to previous situations which are not tangible in the present. This will derive surely in the destruction of the self-organization, deterioration of their morale, strange behaviours among others. 
   Decisions must be taken with a global, historical and critical vision of the company policies,  actions and their impact. You should always analyse the problems  with the people involved or the ones who created the problem and look for consensus on the tangible and intangible. You could provide an initial solution but you should allow people to find their way so they can take ownership of their actions. 
10. Articulate, communicate and validates the stories you tell yourself with the rest of the members of the Organization
    A systems exist within their own unique context. For human systems, this context is an internal story that gives meaning to our decisions, ideas and actions. Therefore: articulate, communicate and validates the stories you tell yourself with the rest of the members of the Organization. 
    The ideas that lead us to take decisions are the stories that we repeat ourselves once and again and the ones we believe are true -regardless of whether they have proven to be certain in practice or not-. Conditions change and the old assumptions can be no longer valid, although in many occasions, we believe they are. 
    You need to validate your assumptions with the rest of your employees or colleagues or take an action to verify your hypothesis. Ask for help if you need feedback about your assumptions. Promote the culture of “help” and accept the change and fail as a positive behaviour. 
11. Define and review the objectives and its purpose
    The parts of a systems cohere around a common and shared goal. In Scrum, we employ a clear goal and concise vision for each Sprint, product, etc.  and we ensure that all the members of the company are aligned with them. We always make sure we follow them and refine regularly.
12. Learn and change on the basis of the internal and external messages
    Living systems are systems of learning. This means that adapt from the feedback they receive from their internal and external environments/peers. Therefore: Learn and change on the basis of the internal and external messages.
    In Scrum and other Agile frameworks, the use of retrospectives makes Teams provide and analyse different kinds of feedback. One can be related to the group itself, a second related to another team, the company, etc. People should be able to learn how to analyse messages coming from different parts and also able to provide honest feedback to all members of the organisation without any fear.
     

Erich Bühler

Remember you can follow me on Twitter @erichbuhler with my daily thoughts in Spanish about Scrum, disruptions, Agility and progressive organizations or in English in Linkedin.
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