The Agile Daily Standup - AgileDad

We Can't Fix Every Problem - Mike Cohn

Apr 16, 2024

Guest Mike Cohn discusses dysfunctional management challenges in agile teams, emphasizing the need to address issues like unrealistic deadlines and lack of team autonomy. He stresses the importance of exposing problems to stakeholders, seeking support, and accepting unchangeable situations for team success.

08:16

Creator website

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

In Agile management, facing impossible deadlines and unclear direction from product owners can hinder team success, emphasizing the importance of addressing underlying culture and leadership issues.

When dealing with challenges in Agile settings, effective communication and seeking support from higher authorities are crucial steps before considering accepting the status quo or seeking better opportunities.

Deep dives

Challenges in Agile Management

Agile management can be fraught with challenges such as facing impossible deadlines, having a junior team expected to perform at expert levels, dealing with stakeholders assigning work instead of allowing teams to choose, and product owners providing unclear direction yet criticizing outcomes. This lack of clarity and conflicting expectations can lead to frustration and hinder team productivity. Mike emphasizes that although efforts should be made to address these issues, sometimes the underlying company culture or leadership approach may limit the ability to overcome every obstacle.

Introduction

2min

Addressing Extreme Leadership Expectations and Promoting a Supportive Culture within Teams

4min

Accepting Unchangeable Situations and Focusing on Impactful Change

2min

We Can't Fix Every Problem - Mike Cohn

At almost every monthly Q&A session for my AMC members, someone asks me how to solve dysfunctional management challenges. I hear it all:

An impossible, imposed deadline
An incredibly junior team that needs to perform at an expert level to meet an impossible deadline
Management who assigns work to the team
Management who holds the team accountable for their sprint plan but then adds 50 percent more work during the sprint
Product owners who won’t tell the team what to work on next, but then yell during the sprint review when it’s the wrong thing

And more. Yes, more.

I feel compelled to point this out: We cannot fix every problem.

We owe it to our employers to try. But our employers owe us a culture in which we can succeed.

When they don’t provide that culture, we have limited options.

First, we should try to expose the problem (or the effects of the problem) to others who may be in a better position to address the issue.
If that fails, we either need to accept the status quo or move on.

If you are excited to build a strong agile team but the organization assigns your team a product owner who insists on telling the team what to do and has no willingness to change or improve, you probably aren’t going to be successful.

Yes. Try to educate the person. Try to persuade the person. Expose the bad behavior to stakeholders with the hope of garnering support there.

But if none of that works, accept that you’re in a position you cannot change.
Focus your energy on things you can affect. And accept or move on from the unfortunate things in our work environments you cannot. You can be successful. But not every company culture will let you fully succeed with agile

How to connect with AgileDad:

- [website] https://www.agiledad.com/

- [instagram] https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/

- [facebook] https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/

- [Linkedin] https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/