Self-Organization and Empowerment in Agile
Transcript of Self-Organization and Empowerment in Agile
© 2016 beLithe, Inc.
Self-Organization in a Command and Control World
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Our teams are complex systems.
Self-organization is the spontaneous appearance of order or global coordination
out of local level interactions.
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Darkness Principle
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Centralized ControlImmune System
Pathogen
Blood cells
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What’s in it for our teammatesI am more effective.
I am more engaged.
My work is more rewarding.
I can handle adversity.
“....telling them to sit at a desk and to do
what they’re told obliterates 99 percent
of their value.” – Valve
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What’s in it for the business
Increase customer satisfaction rates by
18%Decrease employee
turnover by
14%Multiply financial
success by
x4½ Gallup Research
Increase employee performance by
40%
Self-organization ultimately makes
manageability of the system much easier.
Data Distribution
Number one barrier to self-organization
YOU.
Management Issues with Self-Organization
Excellent specialist ≠
excellent manager
Fear of exclusionIllusion of control Limited mentorship and training
Managers must learn that they are in charge but not in
control.
Data Distribution“The leader is best when people are
hardly aware of his existence (...). When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
the people say ‘We did it ourselves’.”
-Laozi
SafetyTrust
Boundaries
Vision
Elements of Effective Self-Organizing Teams
Authority
SafetyTrust
Boundaries
Vision
Elements of Effective Self-Organizing Teams
Authority
01 02 03 04Trust your
people.Earn trust from your people.
Help people trust each other.
Trust yourself.
Boundaries
Elements of Effective Self-Organizing Teams
Create boundaries around how individuals relate to other teams.
0201
03Create boundaries around how teams change over time.
Create boundaries around how teams
are structured.
Vision
Elements of Effective Self-Organizing Teams
D
C
B
A
This is our desired level of performance.
This is our fundamental purpose.
This is what we want to be.
This drives our decision-making.
Safety
Elements of Effective Self-Organizing Teams
It’s not about the first-mover advantage;It’s about the fast-learner advantage.
The only way to win is to learn faster than anyone else.
-Eric Ries, The Lean Startup
Elements of Effective Self-Organizing Teams
AuthorityEmpowerment
AuthorityAuthority:Gives a person the right to make decisions in a particular situation. Giving authority (delegation) is the act of handing over responsibilities to someone else.
Empowerment:Empowerment is authority plus a whole lot more. Empowering people is an ongoing activity.
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Empowerment
Giving power does not
diminish your own status,
rather it increases it over
time.
Knowledge workers have the power.
These are our star players. Managers are
coaches.
Like continuous improvement,
empowerment is a never-ending
process.
Being an empowered employee is
skill that must be learned.
Empowerment can make short-term
problems harder to solve but makes
long-term problems easier.
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Empowerment Maturity Levels
Low Moderate
High
Have no far-reaching consequences for the company.
• Developing internal workshops
• Establishing coding guidelines
• Decorating office for holidays
Hard for some organizations. If you’re doing Agile development, this is the minimum level you should achieve.
• Interviewing job candidates by employees
• Self-education• Self-organizing project
teams• Freedom of working hours• Freedom of tool selection
Very hard to achieve and may be practically impossible for most businesses. Most businesses in this category were created this way.
• Determine salaries together
• Allowed to work only the projects they want
• No distinction of job titles
How can we as managers influence each element?
I build trust by using the rule of two feet.
I build trust by asking for a microstatus rather than
micromanaging.
I build trust by asking my team to regularly complete a retrospective on my performance..
Trust
Boundaries
Vision
Safety
Authority
Trust
How can we as managers influence each element?
Boundaries
I create boundaries by helping each
team create an agreed on DoD.
I help the team create boundaries by facilitating the
understanding of external requirements.
Vision
Safety
Authority
Trust
How can we as managers influence each element?
Boundaries
Vision
Safety
Authority
I create the vision with my team early on in the process.
I reinforce the vision by
communicating it often.
Trust
How can we as managers influence each element?
Boundaries
Vision
Safety
Authority
I create a safe environment
by encouraging learning from
failures.
I build a safe environment by not punishing the team for not completing a
high priority in a sprint.
Trust
How can we as managers influence each element?
Boundaries
Vision
Safety
Authority
I distribute authority by letting the team determine when the
PSI has met the definition of done.
I distribute authority by having
the team make decisions on how it
will operate.
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Delegation Poker Delegation often comes down to either “I do it” or “You do it.”
But there are really seven levels of delegation.
Delegation Poker to make clear who’s responsible for what and to what level. This is a method where you can encourage employee engagement through controlled self-organization and clarified value
and decision-making.
1. Tell: You as the manager make the decision. 2. Sell: You make the decision but you try to persuade others to buy into it.3. Consult: You get input from team before still making decision.4. Agree: You make a decision together as a team.5. Advise: Your team makes the decision, but you try to influence it.6. Inquire: Your team makes the decision and then tells you about it.7. Delegate: You offer no influence and let team work it out.
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Delegation Poker
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Discussion & Takeaways
DELEGATION IS NOT A BINARY THING. THERE ARE SHADES OF GREY BETWEEN A DICTATOR AND AN ANARCHIST.
-JURGEN APPELO
Delegation is not a binary “this or that” thing.
Delegation is a step-by-step process.
Delegation is context-dependent.
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02
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Survey
Link to survey
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Resources – Check these out!
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Tana Linback
www.beLithe.com
Thank you, stay in touch!
@CoachLinback
Chris Daily
@Chris_Daily
Treating employees like adult humans might be common sense, but it is not common practice.
- Jurgen Appelo