We all want to be Agile.
Why not? Who doesn’t want to be flexible, fast & responsive?
If you value flexibility & speed, why not apply it to everything?
Create a new silver bullet and give it a name.
Call it “Agile”.
The trouble is that righteous adjectives can become abusive nouns.
Promoting flexibility and fast response is an attribute of good leaders.
Promoting indecision and distraction is not.
The counter view to the “let’s become agile” trend comes from those who have to actually deliver results.
As opposed to those who just set objectives.
The counter is deeply rooted in humans’ need for respect.
You ask me to achieve an objective.
I’m expected to plan and prepare then make actual changes to achieve it.
All that takes time and energy and commitment.
Note the commitment bit.
When I don’t achieve the objective you have a choice.
Re-group, persist, try again.
Or change the objective and quickly shift to a different track.
When I persist I can turn defeat into victory.
When I change objectives I just have the defeat.
If I’m a piece of software code I don’t remember the change, but if I’m a human I will.
Did you respect my commitment, or just use me as a tool?
That memory might effect my commitment to your next objective.
And actually make us less agile…!
“righteous adjectives can become abusive nouns…”
Good leaders understand that & balance agility with persistence.
Encourage accountability, not just activity.
Do you have the balance right?
Do you have objectives that you haven’t met, but you keep anyway?
Do you support people in your team who don’t achieve the goal?
Or do you consider persistence a weakness?
Do you show respect for your team’s commitment to objectives?
Is Agile an adjective or a noun in your team?
.
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“I might be wrong, but at least I’ve thought about it…”