Aikido and Agile Team Improvement

What does Aikido and Agile team improvement have in common?

I practiced Aikido since 2016 which is a modern Japanese martial art that promotes self-defense and harmony of body, spirit, and universe. There were many personal setbacks. I had a one-year break from my practice due to Covid; multiple shorts break due to business trips and 2 injuries for which I must take several months' rest. There were moments I felt I was going nowhere. If you asked me 7 years ago whether I can continue towards today, the answer would be no.

There are similar scenarios in the Agile team. An agile team is impacted by external and internal factors. Many times, I often hear from teams that they felt they were not improving and losing motivation. It seems that they will never achieve the dream state they would like.?

In the book “Mastery” by George Leonard. He introduces the concept of practice for the sake of the practice itself, not for the result. What is important to me in Aikido is going to the mats, rolling, and practicing techniques. What is important for the team is focusing on the improvements, keeping trying, and identifying impediments and opportunities to get better.

Start with something simple. All significant learning is composed of brief spurts of progress followed by long periods of work where it feels as if you’re going nowhere. Practice diligently, striving to hone your skills, to attain new levels of competence even if you feel you or your team is on a plateau.?

If you would hear more about Agile team improvement, I will host a workshop on 26th April on Value Steam Mapping which is an effective tool to help a team to improve and get better. Please register with Agile Singapore (link). Thank you Victor Loke, MCC for the invitation.

#agilewayofworking #agilemanagement #agileleadership #scrummaster #agilecoach #Relentlessimprovement #AgileSingapore #LeapAgile