AGILE COACHING LESSONS
The Open Space meeting format provides a wonderful way to get a rapid and lasting Agile adoption. The basic idea here is that Open Space provides a direct experience in self-management and self-organization. Instead of talking about it, we simply DO IT. After an experience in Open Space the executives get a sense of how a great Agile adoption looks, and a sense of how a great Agile adoption actually feels.
You may be familiar with Open Space events that are part of public conferences. Believe me when I tell you that private Open Space events are very, very different from what you may be familiar with.
In public conferences such as Agile conferences, the binding or cohesion in the social system is usually very low. Organizations, on the other hand, have much more cohesion and operate and behave more like a family or clan. These folks are familiar with each other. They do after all work with and for each other 5 days a week. And they earn a living from this. The stakes are high.
By starting the Agile adoption in Open Space, everyone gets an opportunity to say what they want, think and feel about it. They identify solutions- and problems. There is laughing- and some moments when there is obvious and tense conflict. There is passion and responsibility present. The not-so-obvious (informal) leaders that can take the Agile adoption forward will clearly identify themselves in Open Space.
Starting the Agile adoption in Open Space is an extremely leveraged use of time, if what you are seeking is a rapid and lasting Agile adoption.
Some of the advantages include:
- Identification of key issues that will impede the adoption
- Identification of the people who can help
- A sense of whether the timing is good
- The opportunity to see what “self-organizing” actually looks like
- The creation of crucial conversations with teams, executives and other leaders
And so: if you start your Agile adoption in Open Space, “be prepared to be surprised“, because you are in for many pleasant (and extremely useful) surprises.
Start in Open Space.
Agile Coaching Lessons:
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