"My boss is an agile nerd. What can I do?"

Somewhen during the Christmas break, so it has become a good tradition in our home, I take some time to sit down at our dining table to…sharpen our knives. It always takes energy to overcome my internal laziness, but once I get going it turns into a very satisfying chore. The small chives chopper. The long blades. The big ones. It is a job that takes concentration, precision, and caution. Still, it sometimes allows my thoughts to drift off. It is actually pretty meditative.

When moving the big knife blade on the blue grinding stone my thoughts wandered back to last December, to … a visit to the Christmas market in Würzburg. A small number of former colleagues and me are meeting at this picturesque place. Like many years before. I feel it is? nice and important to cultivate networks. We all have moved on to different directions after our joint time at the company. And over the many visits, we got used to enjoying the ?Winzer Glühwein“ (hot wine, made by the winegrowers), a ?Feuerwurst“ (long spicy sausage in a bread roll), and finally a glas of white wine on the famous "Old Main River bridge". Life cannot get much better, can it?

After our arrival at the Würzburg train station we walked the 15 minutes to the to the Christmas market. Unexpectedly, one lady of our group (let’s call her Dana) pulled me aside: ?Bruno, can I ask you a question? I do have a serious problem at work and I would really appreciate your opinion.“ I said: ?Sure, how can I help you?“. And she started telling her story. Well, long story short: her team had introduced ?agile work methods“ with standup meetings, sprints, agile masters and such things. And she was suffering badly. She not only felt that most of the activities were a pure waste of time. But as an expert in her field, she also suffered personally from this imposed way of ?structured“ working, with process being put over pragmatism.

I said: ?Why don’t you talk with your supervisor about your dilemma?“. She said: ?Well, that is one problem. My supervisor has also taken the role of the ?agile master“ in the team and is so convinced about this mastery of agile working, I would really put him in a dilemma. My boss is an agile nerd. What can I do? I am afraid that if I share openly my opinion with him, he will be personally offended. He might not have anything to offer, but ask me to fit in or leave the team.“ Ouch! My industrial experience has told me: If associates feel that the methods or processes are not suitable or bad, it is very difficult to produce good results as a team.

Having finished grinding one knife, I always test its sharpness. With my index finger. I am very careful. Still, I need to take this risk if I want to find out, whether my tool is sharp or not.

Do you take risks to find out if your leadership or process tools are sharp and effective?

I will not open up which advice I shared with Dana during our walk to the Christmas market. Sorry. However, I would like to ask you to take a risk this year. Yes, I would like to ask you to take a risk once you get back to your office after the New Years break and maybe do your annual target review meetings: Please, check the sharpness of the organizational tools that your team has to work with.

Ask your team mates in private, in a one-on-one setting, closed doors, what they feel about the way they have to work. Ask them, whether the chosen methods and process make sense from their perspective. And, if you are super-brave, ask them: ?What can I do as your leader to make your workday more productive and more enjoyable.“ Simple questions. But it takes guts to place them. Have courage and do it! You might be surprised by some of the feedback. Absorb the feedback. Think about it. And then make adjustments along their advice. Small steps. You will harvest ample rewards.

I wish you all a very prosperous, happy and healthy year 2025!