Help! My new company does not follow my kind of Agile!

I apologize in advance for being a little tardy. A company change, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve all presented obstacles. Okay, now that I’ve briefly explained myself (not really, but bear with me), let’s move on.

After beginning a new professional challenge, I had the idea for the following piece. And I was aware that I might encounter something akin to what I am describing while I was getting ready to start at my new company. Of course, for literary purposes, I’ve decided to slightly dramatize things (wishful thinking). But as I was about to begin, I considered this specific circumstance, knowing that I would experience something similar to what I am portraying here, and I made the decision to write this specific article because I understand that for all the young minds just beginning their careers in agility, this could be a frightening circumstance and is frequently seen as something that could prevent them from progressing professionally. And I want to present my take on it. Let’s go!

You now have a new job! Great! And you work as an Agile Coach or Scrum Master. Good work! You nailed those interviews, and now you want to use your positive outlook and innovative ideas to advance a team or an organization. Excellent!

You get going and dig right in. You soon learn that Scrum events are not quite what you anticipated (please refrain from using ceremony as it was eradicated from the Scrum Guide). There are certain teams that are a little larger or smaller than they ought to be. There are also positions you may not be familiar with. A table that converts story points to hours and days can be found while browsing the existing documentation.

So you address your concerns and propose solutions to “fix” everything you’ve discovered to be WRONG to your boss or department head (whoever is in charge of the transformation endeavor). You speak truth to power! Blasphemy! You believe it’s your job to stand up for the Manifesto! And you do it passionately! Then, as soon as you’ve finished sharing your views, you get ready to hear from someone who will be appreciative and enthusiastic of your initiative and willingness to assist the business in changing its ways. and it does not take place. Instead, you suffer a protracted explanation of why certain things are the way they are and why some things should not be changed just because (it doesn’t really matter why; at this point, you could not get past NO CHANGE).

You return home. You reflect on what transpired. If you work as an outsourcing consultant, you must decide whether to approach your firm manager to switch projects or not. If you work internally, you’re really at a loss for what to do. Who should you go to? How is this possible?

Well, here’s the kicker. That will happen every single time, with every single organization, unless you’re in a startup where everyone is still learning what to do and there are no set procedures in place or set in stone. Additionally, a corporation will be more firmly established the older and/or larger it is. You might have the good fortune to come across a corporation (I did in one specific instance) that wants to undergo a significant transition and opts for a big-bang approach before reconsidering everything. However, such businesses are nearly unicorns. In 99,99% of cases, you’re trapped in a business with ancient procedures, a strict management structure, and occasionally even an antiquated mentality. What should you do?

The answer? Nothing. And everything. Deal with it. Better yet, reconsider your strategy before going back in and talk again to your boss. Consider this: “Where do you want to go as an organization, and how do you think I can help?” Those should be the questions you may ask (and should have asked from the start). The best strategy is always to find common ground. And I can assure you that this will the best professional challenge you will ever encounter. We wouldn’t evolve if everything happened exactly as predicted.

Of course, you have to make a decision on your willingness to take on the challenge. I cannot make that decision for you. I can tell you that I’ve been in this situation a number of times. I also had to make a choice. And in some circumstances, I did choose not to take the difficult route. Did I act appropriately? I’m not sure. I can’t tell. What I do know is that choosing the difficult path has enormously benefited both my career and personal growth. Knowing that you cannot put all of your Agile evangelist ideas into reality, I need to choose to learn new and sometimes out of the box ways to help a company grow while still working with the various levels of the structure.?

Who knows, though? Work on what you can and support company growth. Small steps and quick wins. At some point, attitudes change, individuals do too, and the business will as well. Learn from those who have gone before you. In the corporate ladder, there is up, down, and side by side. With every challenge, there is always something fresh to learn. Establish contacts. Keep in mind that behaviours affect behaviours. And culture emerges from that, not from something that was forcibly transformed because it did not adhere to the Agile Manifesto. If you start making changes left and right, you can even encounter some resistance. Consider the big picture. You must quickly present outcomes if you wish to influence an organization.

In conclusion: Compromise. Learn. and develop from it You’ll advance as a professional. A better person, too. I’m not talking about your job or position. I’ve worked as a CTO, a developer, and a manager, but my main roles have been as a Scrum Master, an Agile Coach, and a trainer. And I’m doing great. In the end, my role will change even if I become a department head or whatever; nonetheless, my primary responsibility will remain the same. Help and foster the growth of structures, teams and individuals inside the organization. Myself included. And that is not an opinion. It’s a fact.

Originally posted in Medium .