2021 hasn’t really started the way I hoped it would: At a macro-level, it feels like 2020 hasn’t quite given up. On an individual level, I’m feeling burnt-out, tired, and distracted by current events. The “holiday break” – a time when most take vacation and refresh for the new year – never really happened. Instead, with nowhere to go, I stayed online and got work done. Productivity peaked just before the new year, but now I’m feeling stretched thin and overwhelmed. Another pandemic “wall”, if you will.
Context switching and feeling overwhelmed isn’t just an individual thing – I’ve seen it in teams too. Analysis paralysis, miscommunication, and backlog churn are all endemic to teams that are being asked to do too much, or that haven’t had enough time away from fighting fires to look ahead (and plan accordingly.) But there are solutions to some of these challenges, and indeed there are ways leaders can step and help their teams shift into high-gear.
Analysis paralysis occurs when there are too many options to pick from, or the options to pick from are indistinguishable in a meaningful way. It causes teams to bicker over nuance, dive into the weeds to discern some type of difference, and get lost in the what-ifs and so-whats. How to remedy? Lean on your Product Owner (or Manager). Have facilitated, timeboped brainstorming sessions. Say “No” to ambiguous requests and unclear value propositions.
Miscommunication is another symptom of teams being overwhelmed. The more we have to juggle, the more likely it is that our notes will be wrong, or that we’ll forget to explain something. Indeed, teams working with different stakeholders on different initiatives will find that managing those lines of communication becomes a full time job. An easy way out of this is to lean heavily on your Scrum Master or Program Manager. I say this with a natural bias, but we’re here to help, and are often trained in listening, facilitating, and ensuring communication stays tight and on topic. Ensuring understanding early and often helps reduce miscommunication down the road. Confirming what was heard and replaying what was said (as you understood it) drives shared understanding and alignment, reducing future (or further) friction and churn.
Finally, we have backlog churn. This is the classic “we working on this thing, and now it’s changed to that thing.” Stopping work midway to take on something else is almost always wasteful. The tech debt alone would score a good Scrum Master into action, but the real power player here is the Product organization. Product ultimately owns the backlog, with some “with the teams’ guidance and alignment” thrown in there for good measure. The less churn there is in the backlog, the more focused people doing the work can be. (Of course, it’s good to have other things to work on should team members be blocked, but ideally they’re not blocked for long. Looking at you, Scrum Masters.)
A stable backlog, a healthy team culture, and strong Product and Program leadership can help teams navigate tough times. So far, 2021 is proving just as challenging as 2020. It’s critical that we, as leaders, understand how that’s impacting our teams, and respond decisively.
Goscin.ski 