Mary Adebisi SPC, ICP-ACC’s Post

Last week, a tech leader admitted: “Our yearly reviews are killing innovation. By the time feedback lands, the moment’s gone.” Sound familiar? 👉 Yearly reviews are fossils. 👉 Even quarterly check-ins are too slow. In today’s agile world, your team development system needs to move at the speed of delivery. Here’s what slows most teams down: → Waiting for formal review cycles → Stacking feedback for months → Missing daily growth moments → Agile leaders do it differently. They use a sprint-based 30-day system: Week 1 – Foundation Sprint → Strategic shadowing (daily standups) → Rapid team integration → Real-time tools practice Week 2 – Confidence Sprint → Micro-wins in every sprint → Daily retrospectives → Fast failure learning Week 3 – Growth Sprint → 24-hour feedback loops → Sprint goal alignment → Continuous improvement tracking Week 4 – Impact Sprint → Sprint leadership rotation → Start–Stop–Continue daily checks → Weekly victory celebrations  Power Move:  Level up with these courses:  Leadership in Practice (FutureLearn) and  Managing Projects (OpenLearn). Remember: Traditional teams wait for feedback. Agile teams create feedback. What’s one agile feedback practice that’s transformed your team’s growth? Drop it in the comments 👇 ---- ♻️ Repost if you're ready to lead at sprint speed 🔔 Follow Renata Heranova for more agile leadership insights

Last week, a tech leader admitted: “Our yearly reviews are killing innovation. By the time feedback lands, the moment’s gone.” Sound familiar? 👉 Yearly reviews are fossils. 👉 Even quarterly check-ins are too slow. In today’s agile world, your team development system needs to move at the speed of delivery.

Lately, I’ve seen a lot of posts and articles claiming that “Agile doesn’t work.” Let’s be clear: Agile is not a magic wand. It won’t fix bad management, disengaged leaders, or teams unwilling to collaborate. What Agile does do (when practiced correctly) is shine a light on what’s broken, provide data for improvement, and surface the uncomfortable truths organizations often try to ignore. The process itself cannot solve poor practices; it can only highlight them. That spotlight is uncomfortable, and too often the blame gets placed on the framework rather than the accountability required to change. As someone who has spent nearly two decades as an Agile Coach and Scrum Master, I’ve seen Agile succeed when companies are committed to continuous improvement, transparency, and actually doing the work of change. So when I hear “Agile doesn’t work,” what I often see is resistance to accountability. Agile works—when leaders and teams commit to owning the problems it reveals and turning those insights into meaningful action. #AgileLeadership #ContinuousImprovement #AccountabilityInAction #ScrumMastery #BusinessAgility

The Challenge of Misaligned Expectations Stakeholders are essential. They provide funding, direction, and market insight. However, they often have different goals and a different sense of urgency than the team. This can lead to the "us vs. them" mentality, where stakeholders feel the team is too slow and the team feels a constant pressure to deliver more than is possible. The Scrum Master’s job is to prevent this conflict. Strategies for Proactive Expectation Management Your ability to manage expectations is a direct measure of your influence. Here are three key strategies you can use: Use Data for Transparency: Your best tool is not an opinion; it's data. Use metrics like flow time and team predictability to have a data-driven conversation about what is realistically achievable. Instead of saying, "We can't do that," say, "Based on our data, a feature of that size typically takes us 4-6 weeks to deliver." This moves the conversation from a debate to a collaborative problem-solving session. Practice Radical Candor: Be honest, but be empathetic. It's better to have a difficult conversation about scope or timeline early than to let a stakeholder believe you can deliver on an impossible date. A Scrum Master’s courage to deliver bad news with empathy and a clear plan is a sign of a true leader. Translate "What" to "Why": Help the team understand the stakeholder's "why"—the business problem they are trying to solve. Conversely, help the stakeholders understand the team's "why"—the technical or process challenges they face. This mutual understanding builds trust and collaboration. By mastering these skills, you transform yourself from a mere process facilitator into a strategic partner who can guide the business toward realistic, data-informed decisions. What's a key tip you have for managing stakeholder expectations? Let's discuss! 🗣️ #ScrumMaster #BusinessAgility #StakeholderManagement #Leadership #AgileCoach #ScrumLife #ContinuousImprovement

The Kiss of Death: Why OKRs and Bonuses Must Live Separately I remember a CEO proudly explaining his system to me: 100% goal achievement equals 100% bonus. It seemed fair to him. I knew he'd just given his teams the kiss of death for ambition. This is the most common and destructive mistake you can make when implementing OKRs. The moment you connect goals with money, a silent disease begins in the company. First, ambition dies. Instead of aiming high, teams start playing the game of setting goals to ensure they'll achieve them. Creativity is wasted on lowering expectations. Second, collaboration breaks down. People become lone wolves because helping a colleague means wasting time on achieving their own, rewarded goal. Third, fear sets in. No one will risk a bold experiment if they're financially paying for failure. And that's the end of innovation. So how do we avoid this? You need to completely separate the conversation about goals from the conversation about money. They're two different worlds. Think of OKRs as a compass. They're a tool the team uses to navigate so they don't lose their way. The annual review, on the other hand, is a summary of the entire journey. You're not being judged on how often you looked at the compass, but on how your attitude and contribution helped the entire team reach their goal. That doesn't mean OKRs aren't relevant in evaluations. They're a starting point for a smarter conversation. Instead of asking an employee, "Did you meet your goal 100%?" ask them differently. "Tell me the story of your contribution to this project. What did you learn when something went wrong? How did you help others succeed?" You stop measuring numbers and start understanding impact, attitude, and the ability to learn. This is a fundamental shift. It's a shift from a transactional system of "do X, get Y" to a relationship based on trust. You trust that people want to be ambitious and achieve great things. Your job is to give them the direction and security to do so, not a cage with a bonus that limits their potential. Aleksander Kóska Agile Institute

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘆? I’ve handled 4 Scrum teams at once. And I’ll admit — they were actually effective teams. But I would not not glorify it. It was hard. Really hard. It worked because I went back to first principles. I built the first team from scratch (Qwan) and focused deeply on self-organization. There were people who really cared about Agile, about collaboration. They stepped up. They facilitated when I was with other teams. They raised impediments early. They updated me proactively. That gave me room to get the other teams up and running. And slowly, I had 4 functional, fairly mature teams. But was it sustainable? No way. It drained me. You’re mentoring individuals across teams, coaching team dynamics, tracking system flow, protecting rhythm — all at once. No matter how smart your strategy is, you can’t infinitely scale your attention. So what’s the ideal number of teams? 👉 I say 2. 3 is a stretch — and only when the SM is seasoned, has strong coaching presence, and the teams are aligned or delivering at scale. But most setups I’ve seen are far from ideal. You have new or mid-level Scrum Masters supporting 2-3 unrelated teams in highly volatile environments. They’re not empowered. They’re not setup right. They’re expected to juggle, but not given the space to lead. And then leadership wonders why Agile isn’t working. What I see happening is: Leaders unfamiliar with Agile principles map SMs to multiple teams — because “everyone should be busy.” They mistake activity for progress. The SMs, overwhelmed and unsupported, struggle to fully show up in their role. And the leaders, still not satisfied, start asking tough questions. And that slippery slope… often ends with the SM exiting. That’s why we’re seeing so many Scrum Masters lose their jobs. Not because they’re not capable — but because they were never set up to succeed. What helps? Making backlog priorities visible Creating space for real refinement Coaching the SMs so they can coach the teams But even then, it’s a leadership call: 👉 Are you designing an environment where SMs can actually coach… …or just making them run from ceremony to ceremony? #ScrumMaster #AgileCoaching #Leadership #TeamHealth #ServantLeadership #ScrumAntiPatterns #AgileFailure #Agilonomics #MondayMomentum #agilityByVisuals

𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 As a servant leader and coach, I rarely have formal authority. But I’ve learned that real influence doesn’t come from a title anyway. It’s not in the RACI chart. It’s not in the org structure. It’s in your presence. Gandhi didn’t hold a position. But he moved a nation. That’s what presence, belongingness, and deep listening can do. In my work, I don’t start by “coaching Agile.” I start by going straight to where people are. I connect. I listen. I help them solve what’s actually in their way — not in Scrum terms, but in human terms. That’s where trust begins. And trust is the only door through which real change enters. The biggest mistake I see is when Leaders try to influence through authority, perks, bonuses. It feels transactional. People sense it. TIPs I want to share with Scrum Masters, POs, coaches who want to lead without authority I call it ABC: A – Awareness of reality. Of people’s actual needs. Not what the Agile book says. B – Belongingness. Feeling one with your teams — genuinely. C – Continuous inner work. The kind that shapes your presence and builds quiet charisma. You don’t need authority to lead. But you do need trust. And the kind of presence that makes people want to listen — even when they don’t have to. #Leadership #InfluenceWithoutAuthority #AgileLeadership #ServantLeadership #TrustAndPresence #ScrumMastery #Agilonomics #agilitybyvisuals #ThursdayThoughts

Thinking about scaling Agile in your organization? 🤔 The SAFe® Implementation Roadmap offers a structured, 12-step path to success! It's not just about adopting new practices; it's about transforming your culture and delivering value more effectively. Here’s a quick look at the journey: 🚀 Getting Started: 1️⃣ Reach the Tipping Point: Define a compelling "why" for change. 2️⃣ Train Lean-Agile Change Agents (SPCs): Empower internal leaders. 3️⃣ Train Executives, Managers, and Leaders: Ensure leadership understands and champions the shift. 4️⃣ Create a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE): Establish a guiding hub. 🚄 Launching and Scaling: 5️⃣ Identify Value Streams and ARTs: Organize around customer value. 6️⃣ Create the Implementation Plan: Map out your rollout strategy. 7️⃣ Prepare for ART Launch: Get teams and backlogs ready for the first Program Increment. 8️⃣ Train Teams and Launch the ART: Execute your first PI Planning – the heart of SAFe! 💨 Sustaining and Accelerating: 9️⃣ Coach ART Execution: Provide ongoing support and guidance. 🔟 Launch More ARTs and Value Streams: Expand the transformation. 1️⃣1️⃣ Enhance the Portfolio: Align strategy with execution at the highest level. 1️⃣2️⃣ Accelerate: Embed the Lean-Agile mindset and continuously improve. This roadmap provides a fantastic framework to navigate the complexities of scaling Agile, ultimately leading to better time-to-market, improved quality, and increased productivity. 💪 Have you used the SAFe Implementation Roadmap in your organization? What was your biggest takeaway? Share your experiences in the comments below! 👇 #SAFe #Agile #ScalingAgile #AgileTransformation #LeanAgile #Leadership #Egypt #Cairo #BusinessAgility

🚨 Are you stuck "optimizing" your operations — while real transformation keeps slipping away? Spoiler: You can tinker with process all day, but if your culture isn’t aligned, strategy is just a PowerPoint deck. Let’s break it down: 💡 A new Scrum.org article explains a silent trap many leaders fall into. We confuse operating models (how teams & processes run) with true organization design (culture, structure, people, incentives, AND processes). Operating models focus on nuts and bolts: Who does what How decisions get made How work flows Sounds important, right? But it’s *only* part of the system. 🔍 Real change requires aligning ALL the moving parts — think Jay Galbraith’s Star Model: Strategy Structure Processes Rewards People If you only adjust how teams operate, without considering the broader system, you risk “local optimization” — fixing symptoms, but not the cause. ✅ Key takeaways for agile leaders: Don’t just “redesign the operating model.” Ask: Are we changing the structure, incentives, or skills that shape behavior? Culture always wins — if you ignore it, old habits will eat your shiny new strategies for breakfast. ➤ When considering agile transformation, zoom out. Are we solving process problems, or do we need a full organizational alignment? My take: True agility means designing for flexibility across the system, not just tinkering with daily routines. How have you seen culture overpower process changes in your organization? Are you tackling the WHOLE system or just patching the processes? #Agile #Scrum #OrganizationalDesign #Leadership #BusinessTransformation