What makes a great agile team?
Michael Hardy, a Quality Lead here at BGL Tech talks about how fully embracing agile working practices has increased team productivity.
There is significant evidence that suggests adopting agile practices and values improves the agility of software professionals, teams and organisations.
I’m going to talk about this methodology and apply it to Leicester City Football Club who, despite all odds, won the 2015–16 season Premier League title.
When Claudio Ranieri joined as manager for the squad, he didn’t look at fundamentally changing the structure of the team or the direction of travel for the team. He stood back and watched them for two weeks without interference.
He understood there was a foundation of high quality players and coaches that needed nurturing, so he listened to all of them and helped the direction of travel by motivating the team to deliver more than they ever had before.
Claudio emulated a team spirit and togetherness that the team echoed and even the country backed the would-be underdogs. It wasn’t the sole responsibility of one player to perform a role, that role became the team’s role. If Jamie Vardy wasn’t scoring, others stepped in. Players who only a few season before were playing in lower English leagues or rejected by other football teams were now performing in a team of champions. There were no egos that season and each game was taken one step at a time with no looking into the future.
For that season, Leicester demonstrated what being an agile team is all about.
Applying that to working practices, as a Quality Lead, I think applying an agile mind-set is essential to deploy an effective team. The right mind-set, I believe involves the following key aspects:
- Provide a supportive environment
- Allow for failure
- Regular communication between all colleagues, irrespective of level
- Take ownership for your work
- Remove single point of failures efficiently
This is what moves teams to become high-performers, much like Leicester City Football Club that season.
