Making teams better works well if the larger company’s setup, ways of working, skills, and rewards are aligned. If not, trying to improve teams might only help a little bit by itself, but more likely could make things worse for the larger whole.
Large improvement means aligning the organization’s design with its success strategy and building any missing skills or capabilities. Instead of following strict rules or wasting time in debates, like who should hire/fire Scrum Masters, it’s better to understand your own unique challenges and use your organization’s knowledge to make improvements.
I came to value two ways to evolve your own organizational model:
0. Use your organization’s intellect and benefit from available organization design guides, change guides, coaching guides and practical tools that turn principles into actionable ideas.
1. Use a minimal framework that lays the groundwork, leaving plenty of room for you to fill in the details. How to fill in the details? Again, using the available guidelines and principles can help you out.
In summary, study where your company stands, find out what skills and capabilities it needs to grow, and use available guidelines, practices, tools and equally important ideas from your people to make things better. Keep checking if these changes are helping develop the capabilities and adjust as needed. This iterative process of testing and adjusting is key for building an adaptable organization and moving beyond superficial changes.
