Reframing Agile

Written by David Wallis, The Breakthrough Coach

Over the past decade, as a practitioner and trainer in project management methodologies, both traditional and agile, I have witnessed the evolution of project delivery frameworks and their impact on organisations. Agile, once heralded as a game-changer for its promise of flexibility, adaptability, and collaboration, has not been without its challenges.

For many organisations, agile has become overly engineered, bogged down by its own processes, and, at times, disconnected from the realities of leadership and practical outcomes.

This article calls for a reframing of agile through the lens of LEGIA, a rearrangement of the letters in AGILE. But this is not just an anagrammatic exercise; it is a redefinition of how we think about organisational change.

Drawing upon this experience—and my time living and working in Poland, LEGIA embodies not just a methodology, but a mindset rooted in pride, resilience, and action. In Polish, the word "Legia" takes on profound meaning. Derived from the Latin "legio," meaning "legion," it evokes pride, resilience, and athletic prowess. "Legion" in the Polish context represents unity, strength, and a shared sense of purpose, concepts that are as relevant to high-performing teams as they are to historical legions of soldiers or athletes striving for excellence.

Having had the privilege of living and working in Warsaw for three years, I saw how these qualities manifested in my Polish colleagues and the broader culture. There was a palpable pride in their work, a tenacity in overcoming challenges, and a willingness to adapt, innovate, and drive results.

Many of these former colleagues have since gone on to pursue entrepreneurial careers, embodying the very essence of resilience and adaptability that agile frameworks aim to foster. Their approach to challenges, combining structure with creativity, has inspired my thinking about what it truly means to be "agile" and why some are more agile than others.

It is this experience, combined with the symbolic meaning of "LEGIA," that forms the foundation of this reimagined framework.

The Problem with Agile Today: Pain Points and Unresolved Issues

While agile has transformed how many organisations deliver value, it has also introduced or failed to resolve several pain points:

1. Over-Engineering Agile

Agile was intended to be lightweight and adaptable, but in many organisations, it has become overly complex. Layers of ceremonies, prescribed roles, and rigid adherence to frameworks like Scrum or SAFe have turned agile into a bureaucratic system that stifles innovation rather than fostering it.

• Example: A company that implemented SAFe to scale agile across the enterprise. What started as a means to improve collaboration quickly devolved into a rigid, overly structured system that required more time coordinating agile ceremonies than delivering value. Teams were frustrated, and leadership struggled to see tangible outcomes.

2. The Erosion of Leadership

Agile’s emphasis on self-organising teams has inadvertently led some organisations to undervalue the role of leadership. While autonomy is valuable, the absence of strong, proactive leadership often results in a lack of direction, slow decision-making, and teams spinning their wheels.

• Example: In a tech startup, teams were given full autonomy to prioritise their work. However, without clear guidance from leadership, priorities became fragmented, and the team struggled to align with the company’s broader goals. This created inefficiencies and a decline in morale.

3. Over-Theorising and Lack of Action

Agile’s iterative processes, such as sprint planning and retrospectives, are meant to foster reflection and improvement. However, in some organisations, these processes have become overly focused on discussion and theorising rather than driving tangible results.

• Example: A manufacturing business running agile pilots spent more time in sprint planning meetings debating backlog items than delivering working prototypes. Teams became disillusioned, and stakeholders lost faith in the approach.

4. Command-and-Control Legacy

For organisations transitioning from traditional command-and-control models, agile often struggles to bridge the cultural gap. Leaders accustomed to top-down decision-making can find it challenging to adapt to Agile’s collaborative ethos, leading to friction and resistance.

LEGIA: A Reframed Approach to Agile

LEGIA offers a solution to these challenges by rethinking the principles of agility in the context of organisational change. LEGIA stands for:

• L: Leadership (People Make a Difference, Proactivity)
• E: Enterprise (Entrepreneurial Approach and Adaptability)
• G: Growth (Personal and Business, Skills, and Competencies)
• I: Innovation (Future Centred, Vision & Roadmap)
• A: Accountability (Outcomes and Delivery, Bottom Line Focus, Value Add)

This model aligns with the values I observed in Poland: the pride in leadership, the practical efficiency of processes, the ability to act and get things done, the relentless pursuit of innovation, and the drive to deliver outcomes that matter.

Let us explore these principles in detail.

1. Leadership: Proactive Guidance through People

Leadership is not about control but about providing vision, direction, and support. The LEGIA model reintroduces the importance of leadership as a driving force behind agile initiatives, combining structure with adaptability.

• Example: In a retail organisation undergoing digital transformation, LEGIA-inspired leadership would involve leaders actively participating in backlog prioritisation, communicating the “why” behind initiatives, and empowering teams while maintaining alignment with business goals.

In Polish culture, leadership often reflects pride in one’s responsibilities. I witnessed this first hand during my time in Warsaw, where leaders balanced a clear sense of authority with empathy and collaboration. LEGIA builds on this by ensuring that leaders function as enablers, not bottlenecks.

2. Enterprise: Entrepreneurial Approach, Adaptability

Enterprise (the skill) focuses on simplifying processes and reducing waste. Agile ceremonies are streamlined, and tools are used pragmatically to support delivery rather than hinder it.

• Example: A marketing team adopting LEGIA might replace lengthy sprint retrospectives with quick, focused reviews that identify one or two actionable improvements. This keeps the team moving forward while fostering continuous improvement.

This principle mirrors the practical nature I observed among my Polish colleagues, who excelled at cutting through bureaucracy to focus on what truly mattered. LEGIA ensures that processes serve the team, not the other way around.

3. Growth: Personal and Business.

LEGIA prioritises tangible outcomes over excessive deliberation. Teams are encouraged to focus on delivering value incrementally and iteratively, with less emphasis on perfection in planning.

• Example: In a healthcare organisation, LEGIA could encourage teams to prototype a new patient onboarding system within two weeks, gather feedback, and iterate, rather than spending months in requirements gathering.

This bias for action reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of many of my Polish colleagues, who have gone on to build successful businesses by focusing on execution over endless planning.

4. Innovation: Driving Change and Culture.

Innovation is at the heart of LEGIA, recognising that true agility requires creativity and the courage to challenge the status quo. This includes fostering a culture of experimentation and learning from failure.

• Example: A software company using LEGIA might dedicate one sprint per quarter to “innovation time,” where teams work on passion projects or experiment with new technologies, fostering a culture of creativity and exploration.

Poland’s history of resilience and reinvention—whether in business or broader society—underscores the importance of innovation. LEGIA channels this spirit into agile practices, ensuring that teams remain forward-thinking and adaptive.

5. Accountability: Outcomes and Delivery.

Finally, LEGIA emphasises accountability, delivering tangible results that align with business objectives. Success is measured not by adherence to process but by the value delivered to customers and stakeholders.

• Example: A government agency using LEGIA to modernise its services would focus on delivering small, usable features (e.g., an online form or chatbot) incrementally rather than waiting for a massive, all-encompassing system to be deployed.

This focus on outcomes mirrors the pride I saw in Polish professionals, who measured their success not just by effort but by the quality and impact of their results.

Addressing Agile Pain Points with LEGIA

LEGIA directly addresses the challenges organisations face with agile:

• Over-Engineering: By simplifying processes and focusing on outcomes, LEGIA reduces the complexity and bureaucracy that have crept into agile.
• Leadership Gaps: LEGIA reaffirms the importance of proactive, engaged leadership to guide teams and align efforts with organisational goals.
• Action Over Theory: LEGIA’s emphasis on “Getting Stuff Done” ensures that teams prioritise delivery and value creation over endless discussions.
• Cultural Shifts: LEGIA provides a roadmap for transitioning from command-and-control to collaborative models by balancing leadership with team autonomy.

The Future of Agile: LEGIA in Action

For organisations seeking to evolve beyond the limitations of traditional agile methods, LEGIA offers a promising path forward. It retains the core strengths of agile, flexibility, adaptability, and collaboration, while addressing its pain points and rebalancing the role of leadership.

The values embodied by LEGIA are deeply personal to me, shaped by my years in Warsaw and the lessons I learned from my Polish colleagues. Their pride, resilience, and entrepreneurial spirit continue to inspire my work and my understanding of agility.

For organisations ready to move beyond rigid frameworks and embrace a more dynamic, leadership-driven approach to agility, LEGIA is not just a rearrangement of letters—it is a call to action.

It is time to reimagine Agile for the next decade of organisational change.

David Wallis

The Breakthrough Coach