Learning from Our Mistakes

I recently had the opportunity to witness a team make one of its most significant mistakes, leading to a valuable learning experience. Throughout the iteration, everything that could go wrong seemed to happen. The team didn’t make a single major mistake but rather a series of small errors in judgment and a failure to adhere to agreed-upon work practices.

Some key issues included initiating user stories from the product backlog, one person handling multiple user stories simultaneously, refining user stories already committed to the sprint, and inadequate communication about sprint changes. Essentially, the team lacked collaboration and communication.

At the iteration’s end, it was estimated that up to half of the work was discarded due to waste. This was a substantial problem, and I was determined to prevent its recurrence.

As I discussed the events with the team, I couldn’t help but smile. This was a golden opportunity for growth and development within the team. I’ve learned from experience that situations like these can propel a team toward high performance, and how we respond to such moments shapes the team’s direction.

People Resist Being Told

As adults, we seek autonomy and space for innovation. We become resistant to being told how to do things. In assisting with Agile adoption, it’s crucial not to impose changes but rather to foster a genuine desire for change within the teams.

Encouraging Teams to Want Change

Here are my tips for encouraging teams to embrace change:

1. Don’t Hide Problems: Make problems visible rather than attempting to conceal them. People are more willing to fix problems they can see.
2. Hold Back from Immediate Fixes: Avoid fixing problems immediately if they aren’t visible to the team. Being too proactive may lead to resistance. Instead, involve the team in recognizing the problem, creating advocates for implementing solutions.
3. Fix the Root Cause: Encourage teams to find and address the root cause of problems. Use tools like ’cause mapping’ or ‘the 5 whys’ approach to understand the underlying issues.
4. Focus on Problem Resolution, Not Blame: Foster a culture of psychological safety by looking for problems to fix rather than blaming individuals. Celebrate learning opportunities from mistakes.
5. Celebrate Learning from Mistakes: Recognize and celebrate when a team learns from significant failures. Encourage a mindset that views mistakes as opportunities for improvement.

Responding positively to mistakes, focusing on improvement rather than blame, will create a conducive environment for exploration, innovation, and measured risks. Critical responses, on the other hand, make teams risk-averse, hindering exploration and innovation.