Making Agile Work with Ikigai

Japan has provided many useful concepts for the business world from their way of living a content and happy life. Some of the concepts they have given to the world are ikigai, kaizen, wabi-sabi etcetera. One of these is ikigai which can help agile teams to work with more motivation and efficiency. In today’s topic, we will discuss what ikigai is, how it helps businesses, and how agile can benefit from ikigai.

When you know what your purpose is, you feel more content and motivated. When agile teams are questioned, what are they for? Mostly, all the teams are unable to answer it. Even if some answer, they will say it is for delivery of products or services. But then, does every team dissolve after successful delivery? Even though features are constantly being updated and added, the reason for being a team should always be greater than just delivery or shipping.?

In Japanese iki means 'life' and gai mean 'value'. It simply states what is your purpose or value in life that inspires and motivates you every day to wake up and keep going. When this concept of ikigai is used in teams they state that teams must know and understand the purpose of being a team.

Even though agile teams are already trusting and bonded well together but still motivation and inspiration to come to work and put in the best effort requires some more cause. By giving this cause to agile teams with ikigai any leader can help the team inspire and give meaning to their life and work.

Agile, with its complete understanding, itself gives an explanation of what agile teams should be like. In many texts and processes, "agile" gives the message of what a team's values should be and how they should consist of a shared vision in a team and organization. However, many teams enter transformation without fully comprehending the concept, why's, and roles of teams. However, without this foundation, no agile team can truly be agile. When agile teams start the ikigai concept, they can get answers to the following:

• What’s their passion?
• What mission do they have?
• Are they following their calling?
• What’s their truthful profession which is beyond their job?

Answering these questions by team members will help them develop the team’s ikigai.

So when teams must go for Ikigai?

During the formation of agile teams or the dawn of a new project, it is best to go with ikigai. Even though these are the best times to go with ikigai, it is a tool that can be used at any time in a team.

Ikigai consists mainly of four circles that overlap each other to indicate the relationship between two different factors.

The circle's outermost parts involve love, need, earning abilities, and qualities. The circle where love and need overlap gives mission; needs and earning abilities give vocation; love and quality overlap give passion and earning abilities; and quality overlap gives professionalism. This is the second inner round. Combining all these factors provides us with the ikigai, or life purpose.

Leaders must ensure team members are part of an organization's mission. They must build and ensure the team that the work they are doing is needed by the world. Their work means something to others. The good their work will do for the world will strengthen their motivation to work. Leaders must reward and develop skills in team members, ensuring they are good at improving and contributing to the work with passion and loyalty. Fair pay without any discrimination will again help team members to develop the team more.

While applying ikigai, team members must remember some points, which are as below.

Ikigai is not only about work and money-related issues, but it involves dreams, health, family, spiritual belief, and many more. As other things are important, work is also important in ikigai. Every factor has its value.

Ikigai always prefers to have more emphasis on mastery, sharing, immersion, process, and excellence instead of targeting only a single purpose.

Ikigai, due to its element of evolving with time, inclines more towards the agile framework. It considers that the purpose can change with time and that not working for a long time must not be considered.

About Advance Agility

We, at Advance Agility, are the new-age Agile Coaching, Consulting and IT services company. We enable end-to-end Digital Transformation. Agile execution is integral to our being. We are doing SAFe implementation with small, medium and large organization across the globe. Our vision is to be the leading Agile execution player globally. To keep adding value at every process stage. We are on a mission to empower our clients, move from concept to cash in the shortest sustainable lead time by adopting human centric approach to business agility. Embracing the change is in our DNA. Things that keep us apart are Quicker and Seamless execution with End-to-end gamut of services. Our Global presence and Stellar Track Record give us an edge over our competitor.

Connect with us at advanceagility.com to learn about SAFe and SAFe Implementation. We provide various SAFe certification courses along with DevOps, Scrum, Agile Coaching and more trainings. Write to us at [email protected] for any agile training or consulting needs. We are always looking for competent agile trainers as well. So if you are a good trainer or want to become one, do get in touch with us to that we can learn, grow and achieve together.