Throughout my career, I’ve observed a notable tension between the theory of Agile, and the practice of Agile. Some of this is to be expected: Agile ways of working aren’t particularly new and what was once a market differentiator (“we deliver rapidly!”) is now a commodity. Likewise, manifestos and principles are showing their age. It turns out that a bunch of white dudes in Colorado probably didn’t speak for all Agile practitioners then, nor do they now. Thoughts around Agile are evolving, and this is almost certainly a good thing.
Except, of course, when it isn’t. The commoditization of Agile has had some nasty side-effects: Some organizations use Scrum Masters as de facto Project Managers. Large, lumbering frameworks purport to scale inherently lean ways of working. Velocity and Story Points have been abused to the point of incoherence. Everyone seems to know something about Agile, but nobody knows what to do with it.
Indeed, there are struggles in adopting more Agile ways of working that are beyond the tactical. Chris Matts’ post on Failureship captures nicely why Agile often struggles in large organizations and it wouldn’t surprise many to learn that it has a lot to do with culture. Culture, of course, is at the heart of what we preach, but it’s often overlooked because it’s far less tangible than role changes or dashboards, and it takes time – a long time. Few companies want to commit to that sort of transformation.
And so, Agilists have a tough reality to confront: The Agile we want to see implemented in the world, is likely not what will emerge. Regardless of what we want, our customers often want something else. This isn’t to say there aren’t wins to be had, but rather, that the major wins – the mindset shifts, the cultural changes – will take a while to see.
In the meantime, I suggest a dash of pragmatism, or realpolitik: Coach to the reality you see, and identify the impact you can actually have on an organization or individual, not the impact you’d like to have otherwise. As Coaches, our sphere of influence expands or contracts based in part on who we’re working with. Approaching these conversations with pragmatism feels a bit like giving up the high ground, but this isn’t war, or even a battle – it’s a partnership.
In theory, Agile ways of working are no-brainers. In practice, there are corporate hierarchies to work around, HR practices that need to be changed, and habits that individuals needs to let go of. All of this takes expertise to navigate, and patience to change. In a world where there’s a lot of “fake Agile” out there, approaches grounded in reality are a positive next step for the Agile community to take.
Goscin.ski 