Agile Coaches' Corner How to Effectively Use Agility Metaphors with Dan Neumann
In today’s ‘solocast’ of the Agile Coaches’ Corner, Dan Neumann is exploring the art of metaphors. Metaphors can be a powerful tool to illustrate important ideas and concepts of agility — if used well.
Dan shares the pros and cons of using metaphors in an agile setting, how to use them effectively whatever your role may be, and how metaphors can be a really powerful tool to add to your arsenal, regardless of what level you’re at in the organization and who you’re trying to communicate with.
Key Takeaways
What is a metaphor?
A metaphor is a way of using a concrete image/example to help connect to an abstract thought
Taking an abstract idea like agility and then comparing it to something that is very concrete
Metaphors help us connect abstract things to familiar ideas
Examples: “All the world is a stage.” — Shakespeare, “Life is like a box of chocolates.” — Forrest Gump
What to keep in mind when using metaphors:
Be aware that we can sometimes bring in biases and/or unintended constraints that are not helpful
Using a metaphor may impact the way a person is looking to solve a problem
The way in which a metaphor is used is going to affect the way that someone is going to think about different problems
Common (and not-so-common) agility metaphors:
An 8-hour endurance race (where the goal is to see how many miles you can go in a set amount of time) can be compared to an agile software development project
Building a car as compared to product development (the metaphor of construction helps to connect the thought of agility with regard to transportation)
Agile gardening vs. Agile farming (illustrates the contextual differences when you’re doing small-scale agility [the gardening] vs. commercial, industrial-scale agility [farming])
Sailboat (a metaphor technique used in retrospectives): i.e. “What are the fair winds that are blowing your boat across the water?” and “What are the anchors?” (i.e. what is keeping your boat moving forward to its destination)
Metaphors can also be used to show where agility does not make sense (i.e. you don’t exactly want a McDonald’s lineworker being agile when they’re making your burger; you want the same burger every time you go there)
House metaphors: “If you’re building a house you have to build a solid foundation” and “You wouldn’t build a house one room at a time” (these can be good for user stories as well as illustrating the desire for pre-planning)
Pros
Metaphors are powerful in that they cause the brain to react differently
Metaphors can help teams move away from a really concrete way of thinking about a problem to a much more abstract way, unlocking some new potential
There are lots of different ways of using metaphors to help connect people to this abstract concept of agility
Cons
An issue with metaphors is that they can sometimes be militaristic (i.e. using military metaphors, such as those seen in Team of Teams)
Some metaphors bring in gender biases (i.e. “don’t get your panties in a twist”) — this baggage is not appropriate and brings in stereotypes
Metaphors about games and sports (because agility isn’t a win/lose scenario)
Art metaphors — not everyone will be able to relate to the message (it’s important to be aware of your audience)
Imagining your team as a machine in a metaphor can bring in some constraints you don’t necessarily want
Mentioned in this Episode:
“How the brain finds meaning in metaphor,” ScienceDaily
“Through Their Own Words: Towards a New Understanding of Leadership Through Metaphors”
“The Power of Metaphors in Communication”
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