Time to Detox!
— The team departs from any pre-existing roles, titles, hierarchies and relationships, including their processes and tools. They keep our skills and talent. Now they are in it together.
This sixth Athletic Standard is all about departing from existing frameworks, to break through status quo and invisible barriers. It should trigger a detox.
This standard is raised during the Formation Event, during which all members vow to depart from their titles, rank, roles, processes, and tools. The team starts anew as if it were a startup.
Coalition members commit to one another that they will not limit one's responsibilities to those frames.
Examples of ‘mindsets’ to avoid in an Athletic Coalition:
- “I am a [designer] so I will only [design]”;
- “I need [more info] before I can [start]”;
- “I will only do [tasks] that have been defined in [tool x]according to [format y]”;
- “I am [senior], so I don’t have to do [mundane tasks]”;
An Athletic Coalition doesn’t require all the skillsets to be included before it can start making progress. Continuous training and learning are part of the Athletic Routine. Members commit to do what needs to be done, regardless of expertise and background. They help each other along the way.
- Everyone shares the responsibility to get the best result.
- There can be no pecking order (junior, medior, senior). Lower level tasks are not delegated to “less qualified” members. No one is less qualified.
- Externals are no longer considered external or treated differently.
There is a difference between “not being able to do something” and “not being able to do something yet!” — as a mindset. If you can’t do something -as a team- then learn to.
Athletic Developers apply themselves to achieving the goal set, even if this involves adapting oneself. They step up and step in when it counts. They continuously discover what they are capable of.
Imagine playing a game during which all individual players play by different rules, frameworks, objectives, or are allowed to retain their own interpretations thereof. Right, you’ll get conflict and chaos.
So get on the same page. We need to make these guarantees, not just to ourselves, but to the team.
Last, but not least: “We give credit where credit is due.”
