SEACON 2023 - sharing the secrets to agility??4/10

So full disclosure, I already did spill the secrets to agility internally in my organisation a couple of weeks ago but only this morning it clicked to me... why not spreading the joy with our wider community #OpenAgile #SoftwareDevelopment

For those of you that hear about it for the 1st time I'd highly encourage you to check out the website here https://www.seacom.online/ TL;DR it's like COMICON but for Agile at scale it takes place 1 a year and brings together top leaders from Agile, Product & Software development.

Special thanks to Owen Gardner and team for organising yet another brilliant event

This year the conference had over 30 speakers across 3 different tracks

1. Enterprise Agility track
2. Agile Leadership track
3. Start-up/scale up track

An interesting highlight was the Agile Leadership Track which had a variety of speakers outside the sphere of software development but with many applicable learnings. I found that quite refreshing.

If anyone is curious about industry insights, fresh expertise and strategic thinking you can check it out below. A range of topics covered from what we can do to generate engagement and buy-in as well as discussions on systems thinking, adaptive leadership and even some culinary tips on how to bake a change

Target audience: You as a leader (it doesn't matter how senior or junior you are, this is for leaders at all levels in all roles)

Tacit - Why can't we all just get along ? ??

Emily Webber from Tacit touched on collaboration and organisational dynamics, creating environments where people can thrive so that organisations can thrive

Collaborative Success: Breaking Down Anti-Patterns in the Workplace

In the realm of organizational dynamics, collaboration stands as the cornerstone for success. Emily talked about how she noticed a worrying trend in the industry about specialism at the expense of collaboration, shared responsibility, and valuable outcomes. This could be due to organisational structure, changing workforces or uncertainty in the world, but this trend creates siloes between and across departments and teams which leads to all the value that we get from people working together and collaborating being lost.

Three Collaboration Anti-Patterns

1. Antipattern one: One Role Across Many Teams

One prevalent anti-pattern is the practice of assigning one professional to multiple teams, diluting their focus and hindering collaboration. This often stems from a shortage of specific roles, leading to individuals being stretched thin across various projects. Example of persona "Anita" (blue dot), a designer, embodies this struggle. Initially an integral part of a cohesive team, Anita is gradually pulled into multiple projects, diluting her focus and impeding her ability to contribute meaningfully. The consequences include reduced effectiveness, dissatisfaction, and a detrimental impact on the quality of work.

2. Antipattern two: Product versus Engineering Wars

The second anti-pattern manifests when organizations bifurcate into product (e.g. Design, BAs etc.) and engineering factions, creating cultural rifts. Another detrimental scenario arises when organizations create distinct cultures between product and engineering teams. Decisions are made in isolation, hindering creative collaboration and slowing down the iterative process. This leads to frustration on both sides, creating unnecessary silos and impeding overall productivity

More info here https://martinfowler.com/articles/bottlenecks-of-scaleups/03-product-v-engineering.html This is due to the fact that teams tend to align with their line management instead of their x-functional team

3. Antipattern three: X-led organisations

The third anti-pattern centers on organizations adopting a singular focus, be it data-led, product-led, or delivery-led. While this approach may seem strategic, it often devolves into a literal power play. Singular viewpoints dominate, side-lining diverse experiences and ideas. This not only stifles innovation but also fosters an "Us vs. Them" mentality, eroding the cross-functional cooperation vital for sustained success.?

3 Symptoms and Consequences of these 3 Anti-patterns

One Group Holds the Power: In each scenario (designers, product v engineering and x-led), power dynamics become skewed, with one group holding disproportionate influence. This not only impedes collaboration but also stifles the creativity and input of other team members.

Constant Power Struggles: Whether it's designers, product teams, or overarching leadership, power struggles become a constant. This internal conflict hampers progress, fosters frustration, and ultimately impedes the achievement of shared goals.

Professional Protectionism: The anti-patterns reinforce a phenomenon known as professional protectionism. Team members become overly protective of their roles and disciplines, hindering the free flow of ideas and collaboration essential for innovation.

Counteracting Collaboration Anti-Patterns

Create one team at all levels

• Align teams at all organizational levels, fostering shared responsibility and accountability.
• Move away from conflicting leadership teams to ensure clarity and avoid confusion among team members.
• Leaders must prioritize collaboration with their peers over internal disagreements, fostering a cohesive environment.?

Build Interdisciplinary Teams

• Recognize that disciplines, roles, and job titles are distinct entities.
• Embrace interdisciplinary team models that blur role boundaries and encourage collaborative goal achievement.
• Allow for varied models of teamworking, from multidisciplinary to transdisciplinary, based on the nature of the shared goal.

Embrace In-Team Collaboration

• Recognize individual capabilities beyond job titles, encouraging a blend of skills and expertise.
• Promote exercises within the team to understand each member's strengths, superpowers, and areas for improvement.
• Actively blend roles within the team based on skills liquidity and complementary capabilities.
• E.g. a data analyst can be very good at design so we need to embrace that and look outside of what people role is on paper and look for ways to blur that
• Traditional career ladders often do not capture the diverse skills and experiences individuals bring to the table. Embracing a more fluid approach to career progression allows for the integration of diverse skills.
• Conduct exercises within the team to understand each member's strengths and specialisms. This includes recognizing superpowers, areas for improvement, and opportunities for collaboration. Actively promote collaboration by blending roles and fostering a sense of skills liquidity within the team.
• We can all play our part by identify collaboration anti-patterns within the team and address points of friction promptly. Watch for signs of imbalanced power dynamics and decision-making .Encourage collective team responsibility irrespective of individual positions within the organization.

Conclusion

By acknowledging and addressing collaboration challenges, organizations can cultivate environments where teams work together seamlessly, break down silos, and ultimately create exceptional outcomes. Promoting a culture of unity and shared responsibility leads to an environment where everyone can contribute meaningfully, resulting in successful collaborations and innovative solutions.