Opening Space for Improvement

The year is 2011. I’ve been coaching Agile practices since 2006 or so, and I’m still learning a lot. 

I’m working at a client. At their place of work. I’m here for 3 or 4 months, 2 or 3 days a week. There are about 7 or 8 teams, depending on how you count. It's going good. We are about 5 or 6 weeks into the engagement. I’ve delivered some teaching and training, and now I’m coaching the teams. 

It’s a Tuesday. After lunch. I’m in the men’s washroom, washing my hands. There is this big mirror over the sink. I’m glancing at myself in this mirror, as I wash my hands. I’m alone.

Now another fellow enters. I know him; his name is Anatoly. He’s a Russian guy. He’s also an architect-level developer. I am very sure he is smarter than me. He’s written many of the function libraries and other tools that all the developers use. Anatoly starts washing his hands. He’s the quiet type. 

I decide to say hello.

“Hi, Anatoly. How’s it going?” I’m now looking at him through the reflection in the mirror…

“Oh…OK!” he says, looking back through the mirror, in a thick Russian accent. “You really want to know how it is all going eh?”

“Yes, of course!” I say.

He stops, gets a paper towel, starts wiping his hands, and then pauses. He looks directly at me.

“Here is how it is going my friend. This Agile stuff sucks. And so do you.”

I’m looking him in the eyes now. My hands are still wet. “Wait…why?” I ask.

“Here is why OK? No one gives a shit what I think. Or what I want. No one. Noy you. Not management. Management does not really care about any ideas I have about this. And neither do you. No one asks me for ideas; no one asks me what I think. We simply have to work this way now. End of story. There is no discussion. Period.” 

I’m standing there, my hands dripping into the sink…in stunned silence.

He finally looks away, making a ball of his paper towel before emphatically flinging it with precision, into the wastebasket.

“And so: have yourself a very nice day, my friend. Goodbye.”  

And he calmly walks out the door. 

I listen, as the door creaks closed. I’m alone again, looking in the mirror. I notice my heart is beating very fast. My face is very, very red.

After that, I was confused for about three days. I started questioning my own intentions and even the quality of the work I was doing. How could I miss this? My client and I both assumed everyone wanted to improve, and do better work, and use Agile practices to get there. But we never asked. 

And that was such a huge mistake. 

All Over The World

All over the world, this same mistake is being made… every single day. “Transformation” is hatched on teams and entire organizations, without any regard or genuine respect for the very people who must implement this change. Is it any wonder that the Agile world is in such disarray?

The year is now 2019. If we look around, we find all kinds of conflicting signals. One noted authority, Martin Fowler, is saying “The Agile Industrial Complex imposing methods on people is a travesty…I was going to say ‘tragedy’ but I think ‘travesty’ is the better word.” In contrast,  another Agile Manifesto signatory, Alistair Cockburn, is now saying “Even badly done Agile tends to be better than whatever came before it.”

Who or what are we to believe?

Still other prominent voices are busy defining for us what “fake agile” is. Sadly, there is apparently some very real demand for clarity around this. Seriously...one noted authority is actually convening a special conference in southern Europe, in September, to help describe and define what separates “fake agile” from the real thing. 

As if we do not know the difference!

Sadly, this is where we are today. And as you might expect, it is all very confusing. Business people new to “digital" or "agile" transformation, who are trying to orient themselves, are having real trouble figuring out exactly who to follow...and what to believe. Many of the more seasoned participants in Agile are expressing the very definite sense that it’s over.

I myself posted this to LinkedIn is September of 2019:

“You are an independent Agile coach, visiting a potential client with 1500 employees. It's obvious that the intelligent, well-meaning executive that is interviewing you does not really understand that employee engagement is essential to success in transformation. His org wants to "roll out" imposed Agile practices. They plan to use this big, huge framework. They already decided. 

“With all the training and everything else, it's looking like about 200K coming your way over the next 8 months if you get this account. But you are 100% sure it's the wrong approach. And if you say so, you figure there is a 60% chance your concerns will be lost in translation. And you know you have no more than 45 minutes with this executive. So you sit there, intently listening to his story, and pondering what it means to "do the right thing." There are 25 minutes left in this meeting. And you know some other consulting firms who are good at marketing will also be interviewed as service providers for this engagement. You realize it's now or never. And you are not too happy about this...” 

This post quickly attracted over twenty-seven thousand views, and hundreds of comments from professional coaches from all over the world. You can see it here. Apparently, the story described there is very, very real for the consultants and coaches who do this kind of work. 

This Agile thing, this people-oriented philosophy of work, has truly lost its way. The emphasis on practices over principles had led to a very real sense of loss…and even despair. Most of us are now working as coaches in places where “Agile” change is actually being imposed. Actually being forced—at scale. In conflict with the values. As a result, many of us are not happy that this kind of work is the default reality. The new normal.

The time has come for better ways of thinking and doing. And some courage. We’ve failed executive leaders, by not questioning their assumptions or challenging their thinking. In so doing, we have also failed ourselves and the world we live in. 

The good news is that there is a very simple and very positive way forward. We can teach a truly open approach, and show how to actually implement it. We can explain where this approach is working and making progress today.

The Open Approach

The Open approach is people-oriented. It recognizes that employee engagement is essential for success with org-level change. The Open approach is an invitational approach. It invites participation as it also welcomes the best idea, regardless of its source. The Open approach creates a space where people can do their best work. It does this by authorizing some real decision-making where the work is performed. The Open approach focuses on Open patterns, which serve as an important and essential bridge from principles to practices. 

The Open approach provides executives with the learning and tools they need to implement Open patterns. Tools like “No Limits Self-Management.” Inviting Leadership?. Open Space Technology. Protocols for communication, like Clean Language. Engagement models, like OpenSpace Agility? and Agendashift?.  

The Open Movement

What we might call the Open Movement is quickly taking shape. Every individual and every group that favors an invitational approach is a leader of this new and emerging thing: the Open Movement. Every single person who believes employee engagement is essential for lasting change, is a part of this.

There is a great conference on Open patterns that is coming up: The Open Leadership Symposium, in November, in Berlin Germany. This event is arranged by the Open Leadership Network, a source for continuing education and real community around Open patterns and practices. Every Symposium participant receives a lifetime membership in the Open Leadership Network. This membership includes attractive discounts on continuing education, conferences and community events. You can learn more about the Berlin Symposium and the OLN, here: https://openleadershipnetwork.com/events/

References and Links:

Fowler, State of Agile 2018: https://martinfowler.com/articles/agile-aus-2018.html

Cockburn, Agile Isn’t Dead: https://heartofagile.com/agile-is-not-dead-quite-the-opposite/

Mezick, LinkedIn post: https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/danielmezick_you-are-an-independent-agile-coach-visiting-activity-6577891855055241216-oU7Y

The Open Leadership Symposium BERLIN, 19 November: https://openleadershipnetwork.com/events/2019-berlin/