Installing an Emergent Culture in New Agile Teams
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The document outlines the process of establishing an emergent culture in new agile teams, detailing the definition and stages of cultural evolution as teams transition from a collection of individuals to a cohesive unit. It emphasizes the importance of shared experiences, emotional awareness, and the necessity for self-managed teams to create and adhere to their own behavioral norms. The content highlights the challenges faced during these stages, including dependency on authority and the struggle for leadership, while offering insights on facilitating a culture that encourages collaboration and mutual acceptance.
![The Second Marker Event
• Most often the first thing said by any team member
– “Maybe we should introduce ourselves”
– “[Facilitator], can you tell us anything
else about why we are here?”
– “Does anyone besides me feel that
tension?”
• Breaks the silence and tension
• First act of sharing – a sense of relief](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/installinganemergentcultureinnewagileteams-191204094046/85/Installing-an-Emergent-Culture-in-New-Agile-Teams-14-320.jpg)
Installing an Emergent Culture in New Agile Teams
- 1. Installing an Emergent Culture in New Agile Teams Darian Rashid Managing Partner darian.rashid@agileethos.com @darianrashid
- 2. Outline • Define culture • New team culture • Resetting culture • The 4 stages of cultural evolution
- 3. Defining Culture • “The way we do things around here.”(Bower, 1966)
- 4. Defining Culture • “Culture is the set of important assumptions (often unstated) that members of a community share in common.”(Sathe, 1985) • “Culture is the sum total of all the shared, taken-for- granted assumptions that a group has learned throughout its history. It is the residue of success.”(Schein, 1999)
- 5. Culture Is Implicit • UNCONCIOUS • UNSTATED • UNAWARE
- 6. Defining Culture • Not every collection of people form a culture • Has to be enough shared history
- 7. Defining Culture “A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.”(Schein, 1992)
- 8. Team Culture • New teams often inherit culture from the larger organization • Agile teams need to adopt a new way of thinking • Legacy culture may interfere with team’s goals – Self-managed – Continually evolving • May need to be “reset” • Create a “cultural island”
- 9. Pre-Formation • Collection of individuals • Worried about personal issues – Identity – “Who am I in the team?” – Inclusion – “Will the team accept me?” – Intimacy – “Will the team like me?” or “Will I like the team?” – Authority – “Will I be the authority?” or “Who will be authority over me?” • Unconscious assumption of dependency – “The manager knows what to do” – “Find out what it is and do it” – achieves safety
- 10. Cultural Island • Each person brings former cultural knowledge – Assumptions, expectations, coping mechanisms • No shared culture (yet) – No shared rules on how to begin – No shared experiences – No shared goal • To create a new culture (a cultural island) – Must understand each other – Must have a shared mission – Must have shared experiences http://www.genesisgalleryhawaii.com/WalfridoGarcia/IslandRomance.htm
- 11. The Organizing Event • Starting point of all groups – Offsite – Full 1 or 2 days • General awareness of goal • Fundamental question still being asked: “Why are we here?” • Each member will exhibit own coping style – Act impatient – Form alliances – Silently await instructions
- 12. The Management Void • “This is our first meeting” • “Our goal is the delivery of working software each iteration” • “Our group must be built by us to do this” • “I will help as much as I can but have no answers on how to proceed” • No more is said
- 13. The First Key Marker Event • Silence • Anxiety • Each person becomes keenly aware of their own emotional state • No manager to depend on – No direction – No answers – No immediate safety
- 14. The Second Marker Event • Most often the first thing said by any team member – “Maybe we should introduce ourselves” – “[Facilitator], can you tell us anything else about why we are here?” – “Does anyone besides me feel that tension?” • Breaks the silence and tension • First act of sharing – a sense of relief
- 15. Shared Emotional Reaction • If suggestion is agreeable, it will be acted on • Otherwise, it will lead to disagreement and divergent discussion • The formation of rough team boundaries • This will be remembered later – In the group – Not in the group • “We are a group – hear us roar”
- 16. The Third Marker Event • Articulation of what the group is feeling so far • If well timed, helps the group understand what they are feeling – What we feel is ok • “This facilitator is pretty useless” • “Can we just get going by …?”
- 17. Stages of a Group’s Cultural Evolution(Schein, 2004) Formation • Collection of individuals • Dependent on a “manager” figure Fusion • “We are the best!” • “Kumbaya” to the 8th degree • Current view is an illusion Accomplishment • State of achieving • Understand and accept each-other Maturity • Many successes to date • Focus on preservation
- 18. Stage I: Formation • Early marker events created shared experiences • Individuals are still thinking about themselves • Dependence Assumption(Bion, 1959) – Still dependent on a manager – Will ask facilitator for direction – Will constantly look at facilitator – Uncomfortable in a management void
- 19. Testing Each-Other • React differently to dependency on manager • Can be traced to prior experiences 1. Accept authority – Do what is asked of them 2. Resist authority – Repel what is asked of them • Some will seek others that react the same – Beginnings of group sub-cultures • Each is testing others in their own way
- 20. Fighting for Leadership • Some members will vie for the missing “leader” role • This can be easily observed: – One contender may make a suggestion that others will shoot down – Some leap at guidance from facilitator and others blindly resist it • Fight or Flight(Bion, 1959) – Collectively attack facilitator – Ignore suggestions from the “useless” facilitator • PARADOX: This early power struggle keeps the group from forming and is essential at this point!
- 21. Setting Behavioral Norms • Situation: Bob suggests we use the Scrum guide as a starting point • The team is establishing norms on how to deal with future “suggestions” • Each of these times is a marker event that establishes future team norms Possible Response Team “norm” established Group ignores it. Silence will be followed by another comment Permissible to ignore someone Openly agree or disagree Respond to suggestions in some way Ask others how they feel about Bob’s suggestion Consider alternatives Go ahead and pull it up Try the suggestion
- 22. Calibration • Marker events create shared experiences • Over multiple shared experiences – A common language starts evolving – A sense of group at the emotional level arises – Anxieties start calming down
- 23. Calibration Norms Cognitive Emotional • Team starts to define procedures to accomplish their mission • Boundaries MUST be set on behavior that may be detrimental • Hostility • Bad language • Etc. • Boundaries must be set by describing consequences of actions, not from authority • Members struggle to balance authority (or lack thereof) and influence • Facilitator’s authority may be overtly challenged • Frustration is prevalent due to lack of consensus • Still working out issues with each-other
- 24. Breakthrough! • One or more members may be able to detach themselves from the management struggle • May recognize that the facilitator does NOT have any answers! – LIBERATION • Intervenes to move forward Direct interpretation “We’re hung up on the facilitator and aren’t getting anywhere” Direct challenge “The facilitator isn’t any use. We better figure this out ourselves” Direct suggestion for alternatives “Lets do a process check and see where we are instead of going in circles” Sharing an observation “Every time Bob makes a suggestion, Jim immediately dismisses it”
- 25. The King is Dead – Long Live the Team • The team will realize they have been too focused on answers from a manager when there is none • Revelation First sense of shared responsibility: Create a joint agenda for the session • Management is seen as shared – Every one in the group has a role to play – Starts to create a group consciousness • LOOK FOR: The team taking on and completing a joint action to prove itself
- 26. Time Frame for Formation • Some teams may never reach this state • May project the idea of a manager onto someone else • This needs to be recognized early on Minutes Days
- 27. Stage II: Fusion – the False Prophet • The first joint success swings the pendulum • “We’re a great group” • Each member desires a “merged” state • The fusion assumption denies any internal issues
- 28. Harmony at all Costs • Indicators of discord are ignored or squelched • Harmonizer types will try to keep peace at all costs • Personal differences may be denied • Interventions may be ignored or shut down
- 29. Signs to Look For… 1. Conspicuous evasion of conflict 2. Subtle scuffles and skirmishes when trying to take joint action 3. Sporadic (subtle or overt) feelings of disdain toward team members 4. Denial that some members do not like each-other
- 30. Breakthrough! • A non-harmonizer type will challenge the cohesion of the team • Others may support this with evidence • Facilitating this to completion is crucial • This will set up a norm for conflict resolution – Suppressing it may set a norm to keep feelings bottled – Encouraging it (with boundaries) will allow resolution
- 31. Evolution • Strength of the fusion assumption will be directly proportional to the fear of destruction • Security needs to replace the false fusion assumption • Security is gained through continual – Joint experiences – Group successes – External tests of strength • Continual experiences create norms • The norms that produce the greatest results will survive(Shein, 2003)
- 32. Stage III: Accomplishments • Moving past the fusion assumption leads to mutual acceptance • Move past the forced “kumbaya” • “We don’t have to pretend to like each-other to work well together”
- 33. Accomplishments • Fusion Accomplishments • Mental energy shifts from maintaining forced harmony to accomplishing a common goal • “We know each-other’s strengths and weaknesses to be able to work toward a shared goal” • NOTE: Most teams cannot make it to this point
- 34. Stage IV: Maturity • Shared success has – Reinforced behavioral norms – Created a unique team culture • The strength of the culture is directly tied to the strength of the emotional experiences • The team will know its function in the organization • The norms will be come unconscious – “the way we work”
- 35. Conclusions • Self-managing teams need to create their own way to reach the goal • Teams should have a healthy mix of different personalities – Direct – Harmonizing – Analytical – Traditional
- 36. Conclusions • Evolution of a team is caused by: – Positive problem solving – to deal with external concerns – Anxiety avoidance – to deal with internal integration issues • Shared success – Reinforces team norms – Leads to unspoken, shared culture • Understand and recognize the signs of each phase to help teams evolve
- 37. References • Daft, R. (1998) Organization Theory and Design, Sixth edition, Cincinnati, OH: Southwestern College Publishing. • Bion, W.R. (1959). Experiences in Groups. London: Tavistock. • Sathe, Vijay (1985) Culture and Related Corporate Realities: Text, cases and readings on organizational entry, establishment, and change, Homewood, IL: Irwin. • Schein, Edgar H. (1992) Organizational Culture and Leadership: A Dynamic View, Second edition, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. • Schein, Edgar H. (1999) The Corporate Culture Survival Guide: Sense and Nonsense About Culture Change, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. • Bolman, Lee G. and Terrence E. Deal. (1991) Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. • Robbins, H. and Finley, M. (1996) Why Change Doesn’t Work: Why initiatives go wrong and how to try again and succeed, Princeton, NJ: Peterson’s. • Jacobs, R. W. (1994) Real Time Strategic Change, San Francisco, CA: Berrett- Koehler. • Bower, M. (1966) The Will to Manage: Corporate Success Through Programmed Management. New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill.
- 38. Appendix
- 39. Culture and Personality • Culture is to the organization as personality is to the individual • The essence of culture may permeate and change the individual’s personality • Orientation and socialization require months and possibly years but the transformation is probably inevitable – If there is not a good fit between the organization and the individual they are routed out through peer pressure, appraisal systems, ranking, gossip and innuendo – If there is a good fit then they are retained, promoted, and rewarded
- 40. Misalignment • Organization says one thing but does another • Statements centered on quality, teamwork, customer service, and safety are abused topics • Important to separate desired culture from true culture (Schein 1999) • Recognize that most companies have both a desired culture that they claim adherence to and a de facto one that is the obvious object of their allegiance (Robbins and Finley, 1996)
- 41. Misaligned Culture Example – Who’s Values Are These? Communication We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we take the time to talk with one another… and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that information moves people. Respect We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment. Integrity We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly and sincerely. When we say we will do something, we will do it; when we say we cannot or will not do something, then we won’t do it. Excellence We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us to discover just how good we can really be.