“The Room Where It Happens” and the Agile Transformation Journey

If you’ve ever seen Hamilton (or had its soundtrack on repeat like many of us), you know “The Room Where It Happens”—the show-stopping number where Aaron Burr laments being left out of the pivotal conversations shaping America’s future. It’s catchy, theatrical, and surprisingly relevant to organizational life—especially during an Agile transformation.

The song captures a universal sentiment:

👉 Who gets to be “in the room” where decisions are made?

👉 How do you gain influence without being consumed by politics?

👉 What happens when the “old ways” of decision-making clash with new ways of working?

In many ways, Burr’s frustration mirrors what leaders and teams experience in Agile transformations: shifting power structures, increased transparency, and a move from closed-door decision-making to collaborative, value-driven leadership.

From Closed Rooms to Open Collaboration

In traditional organizations, decisions often happen behind closed doors, communicated downwards after the fact. Agile challenges this model by emphasizing collaboration, visibility, and shared ownership.

When Burr sings, “No one else was in the room where it happened,” he highlights the exclusion many feel in hierarchical structures. Agile flips this dynamic by inviting teams into the room—through backlog refinement, PI Planning, sprint reviews, and Inspect & Adapt workshops. Suddenly, the room isn’t exclusive. It’s open, cross-functional, and transparent.

The Transformation Tension

However, this shift isn’t always comfortable. Burr’s caution (“Talk less, smile more”) represents the instinct to stay quiet, observe, and wait for the “right moment” to contribute. But in Agile, silence slows progress.

Agile thrives on frequent feedback, candid dialogue, and incremental improvement—qualities that require psychological safety and courage to speak up.

Just like Burr hesitated to take a stand until it was too late, organizations risk transformation failure when team members stay quiet, waiting for permission to participate.

Becoming a Hamilton in Your Transformation

Contrast Burr’s hesitation with Hamilton’s relentless drive to “be in the room.” He takes risks, experiments boldly, and embraces change—even when it’s messy. Agile leaders and teams must adopt that same mindset:

• Get in the room early – Join transformation forums, attend ART events, volunteer for pilot teams.
• Challenge old norms – Respectfully question processes that slow value delivery.
• Experiment and learn – Like Hamilton, embrace iteration over perfection. Fail fast, learn faster.

Successful Agile transformations need more Hamilton's: those willing to lean in, collaborate across silos, and prioritize value over comfort.

Agile is the New Room

Ultimately, Agile creates new “rooms where it happens”—not exclusive chambers of power, but open, collaborative spaces where strategy and execution align in real time. The beauty of an Agile transformation is that everyone is invited.

The question is: Will you be a Burr, waiting for an invitation that never comes, or a Hamilton, stepping boldly into the room where Agile truly happens?

💬 What about you? If you’ve been through an Agile transformation, did you feel more like Burr (on the outside looking in) or Hamilton (driving change from within)? How did your organization open the “room” to make transformation real?

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