I received this question from my friend Christopher Lee—
I have an existential and abstract question for you. How do we stop line managers from adopting micromanaging behaviors as it relates to artificial deadlines? Can deadlines co-exist with Agile? If so, how can line managers trust their people to make good decisions and execute those decisions autonomously? Is there an organization that exists with this ideal culture that I describe? Thanks.
Can deadlines coexist with “agile”?
I certainly think so. I think deadlines, milestones, delivery dates, etc. are a fundamental part of the real world. I think the key focus points for agile contexts include—
Don’t overcommit your teams (and organization) beyond their capacity;
Ask & listen to your team(s) before making any commitments for them;
Be fully transparent when the unexpected happens (and it always will) and then respond and adjust your outward commitments;
Be prepared to say ‘No’, to external demands, if you need to.
Is there an organization that exists with this ideal culture that I describe?
I don’t want to make any absolute statements nor call any organizations out positively or negatively, Christopher. However, I do want to weigh in this way—
I don’t believe this is an ideal culture. I think it’s is a reasonable and achievable culture.
I have seen cultures that are supportive of the points you made. Not as many as cultures who are anathema to those points. But it certainly is possible and many are doing it.
I actually think this is the ONLY way to do business. That is, to ask your trusted teams to weigh in on their capacity and the work before you commit them to do it. It’s fair, balanced, respectful, and trustworthy.
Wrapping Up
A question that Christopher didn’t ask was—
What makes organizations behave this way anyway?
While I don’t know for sure, I can make a couple of reasonable guesses:
Leadership laziness;
Institutional fear;
Real and imagined pressure;
And habit, that is, we’ve always done it this way.
None of which justify the behavior nor make it work better than engaging your teams. And, at least in my experience, creating the sort of culture that Christopher alludes to actually leads to better business outcomes.
Stay agile my friends,
Bob.