Scope:
This
is an article which presents some quick fire ideas for agile coaching
the “Frozen Middle”.
Problem:
The
“Frozen Middle” is a term used for middle-management who do not
wish to become Agile. They want to avoid this situation at all costs.
This is because unless there are incentives, there is nothing in it
for them except massive risk. That is their perception anyway.
It
becomes a problem as it is middle management who really support and
lead real cultural change within an organisation. We need them to be
Agile or an Agile transformation will fail.
Some
approaches for dealing with the problem of the “Frozen Middle”
look at work around process or removal techniques [1].
But this does not deal with the systemic existence of that mindset.
The change for the change agents has not really happened.
The
problem therefore remains under the surface and is often the reason
why a lot of Agile Transformations fail to evolve. They are
moderately successful but then hit a ceiling and freeze with no thaw.
Solution:
The
solution is one of culture change [2]. To create
a new cultural mindset within middle-management. One technique or
approach is not enough. There is not a one size fits all. If only!
As
with so, many coaching situations it depends upon the details of the
situation. This can become frustrating as there is no clear answer,
but we can look at some options that together may help us progress a
cultural change. Which ones are useful then?
Before
coaching can commence though, we actually need to train people in the
basics of Agile and also Lean techniques. Often leaders are great at
leadership, but have not had exposure to the fundamentals of a topic.
Thus they do not know it. However rather than express this as
sometimes people can feel this is a weakness, they avoid it. Becoming
in denial. They need a starter point as they are Shu [3].
This
could take the form of training upon Agile Fundamentals [4] and also the
Cost of Delay [5]. Fundamentals explains what Agile is to them and Cost
of Delay is nice starter of why they need it. Then we can move onto
the "Coaching" and look for Ha and "Mentoring" for the Ri.
 |
| ShuHaRi [4] |
After
which we can provide:
-
Coaching on immediate Goals.
-
Coaching on organisational structure.
-
Coaching on adding Business value.
-
Coach them to learn all by themselves.
-
And many other topics as they arise [5].We need to be curious when coaching them.
One
major caveat that should be in place beforehand is that there must
already be an Agile Transformation vision being endorsed and
championed by the senior leadership. If Agile has to
bubble up, it will fail as it is not seen as addressing the wishes of
executive. You always need to "feed the machine".
The
end result is that we can help middle management change themselves
faster
through coaching and thus treat them with respect by following
the…….
Agile
Link:
Agile
Manifesto where it states:
“Individuals and interactions over processes and tools” [6]
Processes
and tools can help but as they are Individuals too, this is why we
need through interactions Coach the Frozen Middle to be Agile.
This
is also evident on my Agile Poster as Value of Respect [7].
References:
[1]
Agile
Makes Organisations Work:
http://www.agileconference.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Michael-Short-Agile-Make-Organisations-Work-Leadership-Makes-Agile-Work.pdf
[3]
ShuHaRi: http://martinfowler.com/bliki/ShuHaRi.html
[4] Agile Fundamentals training: https://icagile.com/icagile-certified-professional
[5] Cost of Delay topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_delay
[6]
ShuHaRi image:
https://www.scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2011/may/scrum-from-student-to-master
[7]
Advice
for Agile Coaches:
http://www.prettyagile.com/2013/10/advice-for-agile-coaches-on-dealing.html
[8]
Agile Manifesto:
Agile Coach - ICAgile Certified Professional
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