If your organization is on an Agile journey, you’re probably aware that Agile is all about mindset; however, if you’ve only read articles in the past few years, you’ve probably seen the term being used more as if it’s a methodology. I just want to be clear that I think of Agile as a set of values and principles that lead to a mindset.

Why does this matter? Because the Agile Manifesto is a guide used by most organizations and it’s focused on improvements in how we work together and how we communicate rather than prescribing a methodology or framework.

Back in the ’90s, when I first started managing projects, my teams practiced daily conversations, iterative planning, feedback loops, transparency (which improved trust and led to psychological safety) and other Agile attributes using a traditional methodology. The teams focused on working together, collaborating with each other, and doing the right thing to make a difference and they delivered successful outcomes.

Almost 30 years later, I’m still teaching teams how to change their mindset to improve their outcomes. It doesn’t matter if your team is using Waterfall, Iterative Waterfall, XP, Scrum, Kanban or a mix of methods, when the team’s mindset is aligned, they will accomplish more, feel empowered, and enjoy the work they do because they know it matters.

Focus on mindset will make all the difference in your Agile journey.

All the best,

Paulie,
your mindset muse 🙂