I’ve been involved in agile for ~20 years and I’ve noticed a consistent anti-pattern that never seems to change.
People wait too long to ask for help!
I’ve noticed it in my coaching. By the time I usually get called into a situation where an organization is attempting to implement agile is, dare I say it, things are off the rails. Sure, a part of me thinks that’s a good or normal thing. But that’s the revenue generation part of me.
The principled agile coach part of me always wishes that they had reached out earlier. That it would have saved so much aggravation and frustration, wasted time & effort, and ultimately cost.
But it’s not just as a coach. It also applies to my leadership experience too.
If a project was off-track or a commitment would be missed, I usually found out at the last minute. Far later than when I could have actually helped or done something. I always work hard as a leader to create safety for bad news, to be approachable, and to be grateful for it. Very hard. But it still shocked me how often folks wait too long to share something with me. I often wonder, what did I have to do to create the culture where sharing challenges was rewarded, was the norm, and not feared?