Agile is the buzz word of the 21st century, at least in the first decades of it. I will not talk about the path to where Agile is now, but like to focus on the application of it in different circumstances. Yes it is used a lot in software development where it started from, and Yes, it is used in Start-Ups where they have Agile thinking in their DNA, and Yes, it can be used at home where you discuss the backlog with the family and the tasks are pulled by the members of the family. But then, is Agile beneficial in other workplaces? Yes it is!
In fact Agile is a way of thinking, so if you adopt Agile personally, you will automatically use it anytime anyplace, in the private environment, but also in other IT or non IT departments or workplaces. You actually can 'live' Agile! It will bring a lot of satisfaction to you personally if you 'live' it yourself, but it will help a lot if the environment, your colleagues, join you. Question is, how to get your colleagues adopting Agile too?
The following, initial, 7 tips are focused on how to get your colleagues in a non-Agile workplace, at least closer to the point of adopting Agile. What you can do is the following.
- Talk about ‘Courage’ when you can! The fact that ‘we’ as an organisation and as employees should have more of that. If something is not optimal, we should shout out! Make our opinions heard!
Colleagues would appreciate/respect you and hope that you will pick up some hot and difficult items, maybe they will do some effort towards you to do so. You can easily reply ‘why don’t you?’ - Just do it, create your own personal scrum board and put it on a visible spot for everyone to see. Colleagues will look at it and maybe ask questions about it. Take really time for that. That will help you to identify people who are most interested and might be an early adopter.
- In central work meetings, departmental sessions, ask if there is a vision or a common goal which we can constantly refer to.
Colleagues and managers will join you in this desire hopefully. If so, these are potential partners for you to enable change in the organisation. If not, try to come up with a vision yourself for the next meeting and ask to put it on the agenda. - Try to get a picture of the departmental work planned for the upcoming period, try to split it in logical chunks, and discuss this with the manager. Spread this list, and, add this list in a separate column in your personal scrum board.Call it ‘department backlog’. Maybe a few of your stickies/activities are related to departmental work?
- Ask feedback on your behavior in bilateral meetings with your colleagues.
Colleagues are normally OK to do so, maybe hesitating, but they do. Do not ask them to give feedback to them, that is possibly a bridge too far. Show that you take the feedback into account. In later phases you can ask if your behavior is improved. This openness, honesty and courage, will impress colleagues and prepares them for feedback to themselves. - Celebrate something related to general work or one of your achievements. Invite all to the celebration, that will give you the opportunity to have a platform to talk to all. Bake some cake and bring it to the canteen. Express that you are glad, happy and proud of some achievement of you or department and show the sticky from your board related to it.
Colleagues will look at the sticky and relate/link joy, happiness cake and success to your board! - Have Agile books on your desk constantly, if people are interested lend them out to them.
Colleagues just see it and ask questions about it. Avoid to use the term “Agile”, but talk about an interesting philosophy to approach work.
The five phases to full Agile adoption in a non IT department are discussed, larded with tips, in the following blogs to come:
1/5 Raise Agile awareness smoothly.
2/5 Teach/train by example and facilitate others.
3/5 Find management buy-in.
4/5 Implement it,
5/5 Expand it.
