One thing binds Agile, Scrum, Strategy & Great Cultures
Channel: Jak
Date: 27/10/2015

In 90-minutes you can distil your team's Essence (affinity) & Survival Modes (fear) (10 qualities). With this, a culture and results shift dramatically. Here is why:

Exemplary communication is the foundation of high performance. Agile coaching (and agile cultures), as well as effective Scrum, and strategy all require it. Communication happens on a foundation of trust. The easily measurable level of a team's trust is the presence of Essence versus Survival Mechanism in conversations. Know which prevails conversations, and you know the culture (and predictable results). 

Agile and Scrum demand empowerment. A culture of Essence supports the end-goal of empowerment: quick and high-quality communication and decision-making. Shifting markets, and adapted customer priorities demand agility; and teams and communications that are 'in flow'. Being "in Essence" allows for effective listening and prioritization. Survival Mechanism and related fears do the opposite. And this greater degree of empowered decision-making demands that individuals work from Essence vs. Survival Mechanism. Even with great efforts to the contrary, people's emotions drive many decisions and much action. Teams that can support each other to stay in Essence are teams that will make decisions and take action from emotions grounded in the best values. From this, they will do excellent work.

For HR Executives and leaders, the degree of Essence present on a team-level is what you must track to increase employee engagement. There are physical devices that can help with this, and good managers can report on the trends in simple yet impactful ways.  

The Frame is a cultural reality. Winning means having more Essence present. This is the only requirement for powerfully self-generated teams. Weaving support for Essence (as the container for skills training & application) into your highest initiatives. With this, you mitigate the greatest aspects of your company's negative cultural aspects (Survival Mechanism). Agile is a hot topic, and it is a relevant topic -- as it is designed to open ways of being to leadership and a focus on results.  SCRUM a process that can be fed by good ways of being including Agile. BOTH (being & doing)  are the unavoidable soft/hard combo of results production. But the soft side is invisible and inaccessible to too many managers. It is the simple difference between managers and leaders. 
Despite the fact that some workers see physical (or digital) output as the only valid measure of value. Both are vital -- as there is no production at scale without a cultural container... and an Essence based container produces more and better results over the long term.

Agile as an expression and opportunity for Essence based cultures are a great way of behaving -- and it gets crushed by many cultures. Why? Because Survival Mechanism (Fear) rules most people, and as a result dominates most cultures. Although shorter cycles of planning and action -- and espousing innovation-oriented values can help  -- shifting a culture requires addressing trust, communication, leadership, and accountability issues on an enterprise, team, and individual basis. More on this in a later training. And all these items must be dealt with in parallel -- and the shift must be focused and strong. This is why culture can only be shifted effectively on a team (and individual leader) basis.  

Do this, step by step in key groups including high-potential managers, executives, in key business units and functions. Where to start is a key question, as you need early wins -- and they need to feel relevant for the follow-on groups.  As you do this work, each step will cultivate an innovative organization. I say cultivate because the work is never done - the seeding of greatness is never done it must be tended to.

Give a tweet to if you have any questions -- or you can give me a call.

--Jak
 @bizdevjedi
(415) 683 double zero fourteen

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