One result of an Agile implementation is that issues that
have simmered for a long time in an organization tend to surface up relatively
fast. One of the more common issues is the environment working against teamwork
and favoring an individual effort approach. There are many forms of this, one
of the most common and formal is the “hero based” organization. But that is for
a different blog post. For now, I want to ask the TOUGH question – what if you
find yourself in the position of having to get your people organized into a
team for the first time?
Some people naturally like to work together. Some people
normally like to be left alone. In Scrum, we will have BOTH of these people in
a group, and we definitely want them to find their way in interactions and in
developing their own goals and achieving them together. But in some cases…
In some cases, you will have a group of people that for
whatever reason will not work together. Like Oil and Vinegar, they just will
not mix. What can an organization do in order to get this type of group to
collaborate?
There are many motivators for people to come together, and
many reasons for them to fall apart. There are emotional issues, personal
histories and interactions, preferences prejudices etc. One experience I had with
a “team” that was under the pressure of working with a member not one other
person would work with – that had a TTM initiative to meet. As can be expected,
the initial set up went well – with everyone wanting to give Scrum a chance –
again. Everyone WANTED to work together. But as soon as we started, it became
clear WHY the people in the team did not like this one team member. She was a
Process “guru” – and continually reminded the team of how they were “doing it
wrong”. The personality was abrasive, negative and placed in such a way that
results were impeded. Interestingly, when the team realized they had a crisis –
they “magically” came together and were able to deliver functionality
relatively well. As soon as the “goal” was met, the people immediately resumed
the mistrust and hurt that had been “put off” while the crisis was mitigated.
If you have had lunch at almost any Italian restaurant, you
will see that in every place you have a bottle with an odd team – it has oil,
vinegar and usually some form of spices. You can see it because – well, because
it does not mix. It stands out – and when you get your salad, you shake the
container, the spices help in – for a moment – getting the ingredients to work
together, and you have a vinaigrette dressing on your salad that makes your
meal delicious. As soon as you stop shaking, the bottle goes to its steady
state – and now you are eating delicious salad and have something interesting
to look at.
Please, don’t shake your team!! But, in the above case, the
crisis provided an initial reason for the team members to come together. They
met their goal, and as soon as it was over – the fell apart. Many organizations
have “teams” that follow this pattern. It is evident that they are not a “team”
in the full sense of the word. And for Scrum to work, you NEED to not only have
a team, but an environment that is favorable to team formation, support and
nourishment. If not, you will fall somewhere short of the full benefits that
you could experience. So – how do you identify this and even more challenging,
how do you deal with it?
At AI, we want to help you transform the way you do
business. We want to help you get to that collaborative workspace, so that your
company can not only meet its initial goals, but also be able to innovate and
thrive in its market segment. To do this, it is imperative to set up
environments that allow this to happen. We have the leadership and experience
to help you achieve these results. There are hard decisions to be made day to
day in business – knowing how to address challenges and why a direction should
be chosen can make all the difference between success and merely getting by.
Let us partner together with you to help you get to the next level!
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