Blog
How might mindset be relevant on how agile your project is?
13 Nov, 2019 at 1:51 pm
In the latest State of Agile report, the survey responses indicate that organisational cultural issues remain the leading impediments to adopting and scaling agile. General resistance to change, and organizational culture that is at odds with agile values rank as two of the top challenges.
So, which of the key AGILE values might mindset be relevant to? Well our mindset can be resistant and inward or responsive and outward, so mindset can impact on how we respond to change over following the plan.
If change happens our default setting may be to turn inward, we may worry about the impact on us, the consequences for us. Will we know what to do? Will we have the skills required? Will we be ok?
I remember when a new team member joined us, they were coming in to perform a lot of the tasks that I had previously done. I had moved into a new role that I knew could bring a lot of value with but still as the new team member started, my focus turned to me;
What if they are instantly better than me?
What if everyone likes them more than me?
What if they are ambitious and better than me, and more popular…what could happen to me?
In that mindset, what might my behaviours have been to the new team member that was freeing me to undertake my new role?
What could the costs and consequences of my mindset have been?
All this focus is on self…this limits our ability to think outward and respond in the moment to what needs to be done.
If we are outward in the face of change, we can clearly ask ourselves how we might be a problem for the change. Focus on the needs of others and the organisation we work for and the customers or stakeholders we work with.
In that mindset we can stay agile and responsive to whatever the right thing to do.