11. What does it mean to work agile?

Emma Sharrock is an agile change leader, consultant, coach and facilitator, and works with Swinburne University in Melbourne, facilitating their Agile program. 

Beginning her career in the Royal Australian Navy, Emma was responsible for navigating warships until she moved into a project management role - and absolutely loved it.

She left the Navy and entered the corporate sector, running projects when she came across Agile. The process just made sense - she realised she'd already been intuitively following a lot of the Agile principles. The program gave her a framework from which to lead her teams, and she loved it so much that she became an Agile convert and consultant.

Agile is a framework that I have adopted and absolutely love, so if you're in charge of a team, or want to be, this is a concept you may want to explore further.

What is Agile?
Agile is a way of working that involves a series of steps, where teams iterate and improve on each step as it's taken. Teams check in regularly so that they can adapt as the project evolves. While traditional project management works when the outcomes and working conditions don't change, Agile is perhaps better for faster-moving industries, as the very premise of the framework is basically, "things are going to change, how do we adapt to those changes and continue to achieve our goals?"

Agile is about maximising outputs; it's a series of steps that doesn't just focus on the work itself, but how the team works together to maximise their outputs. 

What's great about the Agile framework?
The Agile framework gives some certainty to projects that might otherwise be very fluid in their operations - in IT, for example, we often need to get in to an organisation and get a feel for how things operate before we can solidify our approach, and Agile allows us to do just that. 

What are the limitations of the Agile framework?
The biggest block to teams taking up an Agile approach seems to be resistance to making the change over to the system. Emma doesn't force teams into daily meetings if they aren't responsive, but she often finds that once teams start meeting regularly, it often becomes natural for them to meet at the beginning of every day.

It's all about connection and accountability
Emma's biggest driver when leading teams is connection, and the Agile framework ensures that teams connect daily, communicate effectively and ensures teams are doing all the things that they know they 'should' be doing, but often allow to fall by the wayside. The framework also keeps deadlines front of mind, as they're constantly being reinforced. 

One of the most important components of the Agile framework is the daily 'stand ups' that teams have: a short meeting where each team member discusses what they're working on, identifies potential roadblocks, asks for help if they need it, and are held accountable to the things they said they would do the day before. 

Emma tells the story of how a team member felt that he wasn't getting much value from the stand ups, but when she shared her observations, he realised that he was able to help three people in three minutes to move their projects forward - so while he may not have received any help or feedback himself, he was able to provide value to his team. 

It's really important that the leader of the leadership team is on board, and is driving the use of the Agile system. Once you see how well an Agile System works, it's really hard to unsee it - but it can be confronting for weaker leaders to be confronted with their shortcomings when they miss deadlines and regularly fall short on their targets. 

The leadership team also sets the priorities for their teams, so it's essential that they have the confidence in the system as their project management system of choice. It can also highlight where some team members may need more clarification and help than they're currently getting.

In IT particularly, a lot of the time you're not seeing the work that goes into a project, and I believe that Agile does allow you to get a snapshot of how much work is actually being done. 

If you're working with leaders who may not be so keen on operating in an Agile way, it can be helpful to ask to shadow other teams that do. Viewing the process in action can give you some insight into how to start nudging the principles into the way your team works. 

What I love most about the Agile way of working is how it highlights the importance of connection and relationships - I love to stand back and watch how my team interacts; who leads these meetings naturally, who is generous with their knowledge, who is maybe falling behind a little, or isn't really a team player? Agile forces teams to be upfront and honest about their progress and the challenges they're facing. 

Emma Sharrock works with leaders and teams to help improve the way they work. She wrote her book, The Agile Project Manager, as a means to clarify her own thoughts and processes in one place. You can hear our conversation about working in an Agile way, here.