If you accept management intervening, you are part of the problem
Being a self-organising team comes with responsibilities
Being a self-organising team comes with responsibilities
“Scrum Teams are self-organizing and cross-functional. Self-organizing teams choose how best to accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others outside the team.” — Scrum Guide 2017
If I got a cent for every time someone from a Scrum Team told me about how a manager or other stakeholder didn’t respect them being a self-organising unit, I’d be rich by now. It is one of the major issues of Scrum Teams.
Last week my colleague Pieter V and I had one of our Agile Boot Camps, in which we tackle the issues that our companies’ Scrum Teams have. Not surprisingly, a main concern was how stakeholders interfered with the team. Teams were told what to do, when things should be finished and how it should be built. Based on these observations we selected a number of learning topics about the matter, aiming to increase their awareness. We were very happy that one of the participants at one point said:
“We are part of the problem”. When we accept to be overruled, we should not be surprised that we are limited in our self-organisation.”
He hit a home-run!
Self-organisation isn’t something to take for granted. It comes with responsibilities, like:
Focusing on things that bring the most value next;
Committing to your goals;
Making your own solution decisions;
Continuously aiming to improve your way of working;
Having effective Sprint Reviews, including your main stakeholders:
KNOWING your main stakeholders;
Saying NO, if needed!
Taking yourself seriously;
Taking your product seriously;
Taking your stakeholders (needs) seriously.
So, the next time a stakeholder — be it a manager or anyone else — doesn’t respect your team being a self-organising unit: don’t fold. Instead, step up your game and ACT like a (member of a) self-organising team.