When Process Becomes a Prison, Breaking Free from Over-Rigid Agile Team Practices | Mateusz Komander

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Working with an airline scheduling tool development team, Mateusz encountered a situation where rigid processes became a self-imposed prison. Instead of adapting to challenges, the team's response to missed deadlines was to add more process layers, particularly around testing. 

The daily standups became status reports rather than collaboration opportunities, with team members focused on appearing busy rather than supporting each other. Through careful intervention, Mateusz helped transform their daily meetings to focus on future collaborations and mutual support needs.

Self-reflection Question: How can you identify if your team's processes are serving as protective measures or becoming barriers to effective collaboration?

Mateusz recommends "Managing for Happiness" by Jurgen Appelo as an essential read for Scrum Masters. This book stands out for its practical combination of tools and real-life examples, helping create better environments for teams' daily work. Its inspirational approach makes it particularly valuable for Scrum Masters looking to introduce new practices and ideas to their teams.

In this segment, we also refer to Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman. 

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About Mateusz Komander 

Mateusz, is a Scrum Master at Heineken, and brings expertise from biotech and airline industries, excelling in Agile delivery and transformations. Skilled in Management 3.0, he fosters self-managed, innovative teams. Mateusz just launched a podcast on organizational transformation, Mateusz highlights how understanding team dynamics beyond the Scrum framework enhances collaboration and effectiveness.

You can link with Mateusz Komander on LinkedIn.