09/06/2023 14:27 Agile is a mindset. Agile is behaviour.

- Zen Ex Machina

1 May, 2020 Agile, Culture

Agile is a mindset. Agile is behaviour.

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09/06/2023 14:27 Agile is a mindset. Agile is behaviour. - Zen Ex Machina

Ahmed Sidkey’s agile mindset image is one I remember fondly when I was presenting at the Agile

Alliance conference 2014 in Florida USA. Sidkey depicted a continuum from values to principles and

practices.

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09/06/2023 14:27 Agile is a mindset. Agile is behaviour. - Zen Ex Machina

After seeing it again a few years later when I was presenting at the Agile NZ 2016 conference, and

looking at it’s linear flow, I’m now not so sure.

I’ve recently talked with some people across a large program who are now focussing on being agile.

I think it’s amazing that they are considering what it means to be truly agile so early in their agile

evolution, rather than turning agile frameworks into yet another mindless, follow the proverbial

bouncing ball, process and methodology. This form of doing agile, turning it into yet another

corporate process, just doesn’t reap any significant benefits in my experience.

An Agile mindset is the combinations of actions and behaviours that result in an agile culture.

Encompasses values, principles, and a disciplined focused approach to using the agile framework

as part of contemporary way of working. It is a shift from linear plan driven ways of working towards

an adaptive, value driven, customer centric approach.

This mindset is the environment within which agile teams flourish. It isn’t a prerequisite for an agile

adoption, nor is it required for a functional agile team. But if this mindset is cultivated and nourished,

the teams (and therefore the company) will experience amazing results – happy employees

delivering great value and making customers elated with the results.

How to you measure Agile Mindset?

Agile IQ® assesses software and non-software teams on both their actions and behaviours.

LEARN MORE

But as I dug deeper into what people were doing when they said they were being agile, I’ve found

the strangest things:

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09/06/2023 14:27 Agile is a mindset. Agile is behaviour. - Zen Ex Machina

Scrum is too hard, so we’ll just say “we’re being agile” and everything will be ok.

We’ll reinforce we’re being pragmatic about its use and we “take what works”, even though we

have no real experience to base our judgement on “what works”.

Being agile is somehow superior to doing agile, so I’m better than you.

Agile has too many meetings, so I’ll just say we’re “being agile” and that will excuse us from

being in Sprint Planning or going to the Daily Scrum.

Ultimately, most often, what was being heralded as an Agile Mindset was really an excuse not to

change the way they worked. They labelled things as “agile” without actually exhibiting any of the

expected behaviours.

The strange push of this Agile Mindset phenomenon seemed to fast becoming the Descartes of

agile: “I think I am agile, therefore I am”.

Perhaps it was just positive thinking. Maybe if they thought they were agile then they would be agile.

“The problem with positive thinking is when it disconnects you from reality. If you have achieved

your goals in your mind’s eye, studies show you are less likely to consider the concrete actions

you need to take and the possible obstacles in the way.”

– Samantha Bordman, M.D. “Positive Thinking? Overrated“

In behavioural psychology, we see values, motivations, and intent manifest as action. When these

two conflict, we see cognitive dissonance and subsequent action to remove it be changing our

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09/06/2023 14:27 Agile is a mindset. Agile is behaviour. - Zen Ex Machina

minds about an issue or changing our behaviour so the two are in alignment. So, if someone claims

to have an agile mindset, and proclaims they are being agile, what sort of behaviours should we

expect?

Zen Ex Machina's Agile Mindset - actions and behaviours

If people truly had an agile mindset, I would expect to see:

Teams exhibiting Lean thinking of respect for people and removing waste.

Real empiricism over showcases at Sprint Review or navel gazing at Retrospectives.

User-centred and value-centred focus in Development Teams over UX people working as a

separate team or in isolation a Sprint-ahead.

Scrum’s values of trust, transparency, inspection, adaption and empiricism in people using

Kanban, not just using the easy aspects of visual management.

Agile mindset is nothing without behaviour. To have an agile mindset means living the values

through action. Don’t make it an excuse just to tick the box.

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09/06/2023 14:27 Agile is a mindset. Agile is behaviour. - Zen Ex Machina

About the author

Matthew Hodgson
Matt is the CEO of Zen Ex Machina, Professional Scrum Trainer (PST) and SAFe SPC5. He's an
author, keynote speaker, and a regular presenter at international conferences across
Australia, USA, Asia, and Europe.

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