We’ve been talking a lot about Agile principles and organizations, but we’ve not discussed the thread that connects it all—the Agile mindset. No matter how your company likes to handle changes, issues, and plain old normal, we could all stand to be more flexible.
With social media, the state of technology, and even the state of the world, we are more exposed to change than ever. That means we can either be an oak or a palm tree. We can snap under the pressure of the changing winds, or we can bend.
In this post, we are going to take a deep dive into the “agile mindset.” We are going to cover the following
- What is Agile?
- What is the Agile Mindset?
- The Origins of the Agile Mindset
- The Characteristics of an Agile Mindset
- What Organizations Lacking an Agile Mindset Look Like
- Reasons To Use Agile Mindset
- How To Develop An Agile Mindset
- Where The Agile Mindset Lives In Project Management
It doesn’t matter if you are a “traditional” project manager and “agile” anything is the devil. There are ways this approach can improve your life.
What is “Agile”?
Agile project management is exactly what it sounds like—a project management system that takes an agile approach. The word “agile” is an adjective that means “to move quickly and easily.” It’s light on its feet, the same as the management system. Instead of navigating projects based on lengthy plans and preparations, it allows teams to be flexible and deliver work iteratively.
But this idea didn’t come out of nowhere. Founded by a group of software developers in 2001, the agile manifesto details a set of requirements and expectations that set the team (or the organization) up to deliver quality in a different way than traditional previously provided.
Basically, they found the usual ways of handling project management just weren’t working for them, so they came up with something else, and it has stuck. These days, thousands of organizations are structuring projects and businesses to meet these criteria because of how well they work in this new age of fast-paced tech and change.
And while it was once just a project management system that was a better fit for software and tech, not it’s so much more.
What is an Agile Mindset?
When discussing the importance of using education and religion to fight the idea of segregation, Martin Luther King Jr. said, “You’ve got to change the heart, and you can’t change the heart through legislation…”
Why does that matter? Well, you can introduce a new management system all you want. You can require your team to change everything about the way they work, but if they don’t like these new ways, you (and your organization) will pay for it.
That’s where the “agile mindset” comes in. It’s a crucial aspect of creating change in your culture that leans into this new, flexible way of thinking. Simply put, the “agile mindset” is a thought process anchored in the following qualities.
- Understanding
- Collaboration
- Learning
- Delivering High-Performing Results
- Flexibility
When you combine the agile mindset with the right processes and tools to support it, you’ll allow your team to adapt and thrive—but that’s only if you give them the opportunity to do so. You’ve probably landed on the topic of the agile mindset because your team needs structure (everyone does), but most management systems are too stiff and limiting.
By providing firm guidelines that act as a foundation for this management system rather than a cage, you set your team up for success through increased productivity and accurate delivery.
Origins of The Agile Mindset
While agile principles are relatively straightforward, companies had a hard time introducing the topic as more than just “we don’t do plans anymore.” Agile project management took hold of the entire tech industry, but it was hard to fit inside normal organizations that used bureaucratic methods to operate.
By introducing an agile mindset before introducing the actual principles, organizations are able to successfully make the transition and enjoy the benefits of the management system. The teams are eased into a new way of thinking that is able to bolster the new way of working.
Characteristics of an Agile Mindset
There are two types of thinking in an organization. There is the bureaucratic mindset and the agile mindset. The first is heavily structured, rank-dependent, and keeps a lot of decision-making power at the top. The second isn’t like that at all.
Don’t misunderstand. We aren’t saying these organizations are like the wild, wild West. They just have different thought patterns and methods, including
- They are open to new ideas, wherever they come from.
- Challenges are seen as just that.
- Failures aren’t failures. Instead, they are lessons.
- Innovative solutions are encouraged.
- Teams support each other rather than compete.
- Team members are respected and heard.
- Change is not rejected or seen as a burden.
Additionally, the agile mindset is focused on successful outcomes, which is a broader focus than just trying to line the pockets of shareholders. It welcomes team members to be creative and brave. Risks are not filed as pure threats to the organization. The cherry on top is the collaboration. Teams see each other as allies, not enemies to be conquered.
The nature of the agile mindset is pragmatic and oriented towards action. It allows team members to be independent and do the job they were hired to do without always having the looming presence of management checking their work over their shoulders.
If we were to wrap this concept up and tie it with a bow, it would go like this.
- The agile mindset is a modern take on project management.
- It encourages teams to produce in iterations.
- The mindset creates the environment in which agile project management can flourish.
- The main goal is delivering value to the customer.
- It takes the agile manifesto and turns it into an extension of your company’s culture.
You can probably see why we think this topic is a big deal.
Doing Agile vs. Being Agile
Just in case you haven’t noticed the dichotomy we’ve been outlining, we wanted to pull some focus. There is a huge difference between doing agile things and being an agile organization.
On the one hand, doing agile looks like running your organization like usual, and then in small teams that are cut off from the rest of the organization, you might handle a project or two with agile project management. You just use it from time to time, and it ends there. None of the larger benefits are enjoyed because it isn’t allowed to really exist. It’s like putting a flower in a glass cage slightly larger than the plant. You don’t give it anywhere to go or room to grow.
Placing the agile mindset on a shelf somewhere is very different than using it—really using it. Be careful not to make that mistake.
Sure, you can have projects that truly need traditional methods and structures. You can have those be neighbors with your agile projects, and everyone can live in peace. Just don’t limit this approach’s potential unintentionally.
When Organizations Lack An Agile Mindset
You know them when you see them. Unless an agile mindset is avoided intentionally, these organizations are not fun to work for. Management sees the team members as pawns and numbers. They are a means to an end. Competition is encouraged, tasks are assigned, and big leaders appoint little ones. When you take a step back, the goals of the organization are solely concentrated on making money for the executives and shareholders.
We call this a “bureaucratic mindset.”
How the organization functions—top to bottom—is based on rules, not the environment it exists in. Team members are expected to obey pre-determined rules and criteria that rarely, if ever, adjust. The top-down hierarchy is respected, and rank is never disrupted for the sake of change.
The top is compensation, power, and influence heavy. Meaning compensation increases the higher the rank, power trickles down from the top, and strategy is set without input from the teams. When change threatens to rock the boat, there is little room for accommodations unless they are planned ahead of time.
Depending on the type of industry your organization participated in, this bureaucratic or fixed mindset is necessary, especially when your processes are cyclical and repeating. Forbes created a helpful chart to depict the difference between these two thought patterns.
| The Agile Mindset | The Bureaucratic Mindset | |
| Goal | The Law of the Customer—an obsession with delivering more and more value in increments | The Law of the Shareholder—the primary focus is making money for the firm and maximizing shareholder value |
| How work gets done | The Law of Small Teams—a presumption that all work is carried out by small self-organized teams that work in short cycles and remain completely focused on value | The Law of the Bureaucrat—the assumption and expectation that individuals report to bosses and management who are responsible for defining individuals’ roles and rules for working and performance |
| Organizational Structure | The Law of the Network—the presumption that an organization operates as an interconnected and interacting network of teams | The Law of Hierarchy—the assumption and expectation that the organization operates as a top-down structure with layers and divisions |
As needed as your fixed procedures may be, it’s hard to argue that an agile mindset is useless.
Reasons To Use Agile Mindset
An agile mindset can be extremely helpful in changing stagnant or old thought patterns. We live in a world that will happily chug along without us. It takes work to stay with the times. So, here are a few ways your business would benefit from an agile mindset.
1. Standing In Your Own Way
Sometimes, policies that are handed down over time are very helpful. That is the way you do it for a very good reason. Other times, you do it that way just because, which isn’t a very good reason. An agile mindset is great for relaxing self-imposed limits on your organization. You might be the very thing standing in the way of your goals.
2. Respond To Change
Just like winter, change is coming. It is always coming. The more you bury your head in the sand, the more work you create for your future self. With an agile mindset, you can actually respond to change rather than constantly hide from it.
3. New Routes To Reach Goals
If no one is ever allowed to think outside the box, no one will. And then, your organization will fulfill the definition of insanity. Everyone will be trying the same tired ways over and over again, hoping for a different result. Not to burst your bubble, but unless you are trying one of those viral trick shots, this isn’t going to work.
4. “Resilience”
The definition of resilience is the “capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.” An agile mindset supports this ability, whereas a fixed mindset does not. How could your team learn to get back up when they could be fired or penalized due to the slightest mistake?
5. Better Customer Experience
No one, save for the shareholders and executives, is happy when some random budget cut is made, and the quality of the company’s product reduces dramatically. If your company is just focused on the bottom line, you will slowly but surely drive your customers away.
6. Better Employee Experience
An agile mindset encourages an organization to change its entire outlook on mistakes. When your team views failure as an opportunity rather than a way to lose their job, everyone is happier, more satisfied, and leaving your company a lot less. You’ll also notice that productivity improves.
How To Develop An Agile Mindset
As we’ve previously mentioned, there are some organizations and industries that will rarely, if ever, be able to use agile project management, but there is always room for an agile mindset.
The way to develop an agile mindset in your organization starts by getting creative about collaboration—honestly, it could come from simply attempting collaboration. When you are putting together your team, maybe use people from a variety of positions and departments. If that seems intimidating, you could start by asking for their input on a coming project.
Another way to cultivate a collective agile mindset is to use your knowledge to support others, not tear them down. You know your stuff. You’ve developed a specialty, even if your actual niche is generic. Use it to help, support, and bolster the efforts of others. Also, attempt to report progress, changes, and anything else with a renewed sense of transparency. It’s an important feature that is conveniently ignored in tough moments.
And as team members make decisions, they need to come from the individual rather than the rule book. People work through challenges in a way that is specific to them, their experience, and their perspectives—encourage this.
However, the best way to develop an agile mindset in your organization is to be willing to let go of old thought patterns and beliefs. This is only possible within the individual. Mindsets exist in the mind, of course, and without taking on new ideas, you’ll never see your organization truly improve.
Where The Agile Mindset Lives In Project Management
We believe an agile mindset can exist and do quite well in traditional project management. When you boil the principle down, it just means doing more than going through the motions. It means allowing for creativity and ingenuity where you can.
Maybe you can occasionally use agile project management on less regulated and less restrained projects. To do that, you just need to start with you. Move away from the idea that having to make any kind of adjustment is the worst thing that has ever happened to you. Change your perspective and see it as the opportunity it is. Encourage others to do the same.
Life isn’t going to stop moving. Things are not going to stop changing, so you might as well learn how to adapt—and that is exactly what the agile mindset allows. Try it!
Let New Ideas Find You
Here at A.McBeth, Inc., we know it’s better to open our thinking caps, receive new ideas, and use them occasionally than act like we know everything. Project management is pretty uncomfortable with that attitude, so we are offering up new (and old) ideas all month long, so sign up to be notified the next time one pops up. You won’t want to miss it!
