​​

Agile is a 'WE' Mindset; change Individualized reward systems


Genuine Scrum, and Agile, means it's all about us. WE succeed, or fail, as a team. True Scrum requires a 'We' mindset and operating system. This is one reason many transformations fail. At best the organization will reach a point where some efficiency gains are realized and stagnate.

Organizations stubbornly remain at the 'I' stage. I am great; I am better at this than you; I need to do this by myself to get a promotion and/or raise; etc. If the reward system within an organization stays 'I' based, nothing will change. People will always strive to meet the expectations of the incentives given. If your reward system is based on individual performance, folks will always work as individuals first and team members last.

Most organizations require an individualized annual performance review and professional development plan. This is a major reason that management feels incapable of progressing beyond 'I' to 'We'. This is the biggest impediment for an organization to travel beyond the initial phase of transformation to genuine Scrum and true Agile. 

As an Executive, or Manager, are you setting the expectations to meet an individualized reward system? Do you feel required to maintain that system? This is the beginning of a new year, a clean slate exists for each of your team members. This is the time to set expectations for taking that next step in the journey towards agility and success. Don't let an individualized reward system get in your way.

Look at the performance review forms. How can you, as a Manager, translate these questions and areas of competence to a 'We' based operating system? With a little thought, and maybe a bit of experimentation, it's not as complicated as it seems. As an Executive you need to convince HR, and other Executives, that a change is needed in order to take the next big step towards hyper-performance. There are many examples of large boosts to the bottom line due to the efficiency gains that will be realized in a true 'We' are great operating system. If you can't find any, email me I'll be happy to help you find the information to assist you in making those changes..

Here are some typical areas that a performance review is based upon. Let's take a look and try a different approach to answering these questions.

  •  Does employee effectively communicate with others?
This is a fairly easy one to translate to a 'We' based approach. How well does this person communicate internal, and external, of the team? An efficient 'We' operating system requires efficient communication within the team. Ensuring communication flows outside of the team is just as important. It's one of the Three C's, we will address the other two in a later question.

  • Does the employee adequately perform the functions of their job? 
So, what is their job? In a genuine Scrum, and true Agile, organization it would be team member. Sure there are areas of expertise that exist within her repertoire but that's only part of the job. This question doesn't ask if she is living up to her level of Software Engineer III or Project Manager I. That's not their job that's their title.

  • How would you rate the quality of the employee's work?
Again, not difficult to translate to a 'We' context. Scrum and Agile maintain fail fast as a principle. Everyone should be conducting a demo and review at the end of each iteration. How have these been? Is he contributing to the overall quality of the team's delivery each time? Are acceptance criteria met? Does he take an inspect and adapt mentality for failure? Is continuous improvement being supported? 

  • Is the employee capable of working independently with little or no supervision?
This is the quintessential Scrum/Agile way of working. Self managing teams are the mainstay of efficiency. Working with little or no supervision is an unequivocal requirement. Is this person pulling new tasks when time allows? Is this person finding things that need to be done and just doing them? Time management, helping others, and continuously striving towards getting the work done on time are the key focus for answering this question.

  • Does the employee take direction and follow orders well?
Honestly this is my favorite one to break down into a 'We' operating system. Use it to evaluate how this person approaches the other two parts of the Three C's; Cooperation and Collaboration.
This is the ultimate hierarchical command and control question. This should never be on a person's performance review. 

  • Translation: Does this person cooperate and collaborate well?

This is the epitome of teamwork. Is there give and take or is it all one sided? Everyone must work together and, at times, take direction from others. How well can this person follow another's lead. We can't always be right. We can't always insist that everyone do what they're told. Change the context of this question form delegation and "doing what you're told" to being a team player. 
​
​Begin this year setting the stage to break through the stagnation. Bring your organization the ability to take that next step into a better, more efficient, operating system. Work towards being the leader your group needs. Your folks were hired because they are good at what they do. They need you to help them become great at what they do. They deserve a leader. 

Leadership means giving your teams what they need to be great. Whether it's new tools, the ability to experiment with new methods, or removing impediments like individualized reward systems, that's your job. 

Stop Managing; Start Leading.


Agile Yoda


​​Always Learning