Agile Doesn't Work Without Psychological Safety

On this week’s episode of the Culture by Design podcast, Tim and Junior break down one of Tim’s recent articles entitled Agile Doesn’t Work Without Psychological Safety. They explain why the failure patterns in Agile are inherently cultural, and how to fix them.

Show Notes

Agile beginnings and the Agile Manifesto (1:00). 20 years ago at Snowbird Mountain Resort, a group of tech industry leaders gathered together to change the bureaucratic waterfall method of software development, which at the time was linear, slow, and extremely rigid. The group wanted to develop a process that was fast, flexible, and dynamic. From there, Agile became a global movement.

Agile’s failure pattern (7:15). Most agile transformations end in false starts and most agile organizations are agile in name only. Why?

What is the biggest obstacle to a successful agile transformation? (14:27) Tim and Junior discuss the possible options: Is it skills? Tools? Processes? Training? Money? Or is culture king? 

Individuals and interactions over processes and tools (16:00). Even though this is the first of Agile’s four values, it often gets pushed to the side. Tim and Junior talk about why this is detrimental to the success of any organization.

Make psychological safety the center of Agile transformation (22:15). Once you frame Agile as cultural transformation, the way you approach it fundamentally changes. It’s a workstream that’s never completed. 

Evaluate your dialogic process post-sprint (38:20). Tim gives his suggestion as to what Agile implementation could look like with a foundation of psychological safety.

Mentioned Links

Agile Doesn’t Work Without Psychological Safety Article

The Psychological Safety Behavioral Guide

Why Psychological Safety is Oxygen for the Agile Movement Webinar

What is The Leader Factor?

[Previously Culture by Design] The leader is the #1 factor in determining organizational success. If you want to become an effective leader, you have three objectives: First, learn to lead yourself. Then, learn how to unlock the full potential of your team. Finally, build a business where culture is your competitive advantage and innovation is the status quo.