That f*%king gray zone…
Put a name on what’s wrong in our teams and organizations
Put a name on what’s wrong in our teams and organizations
Cet article est également disponible en français.
You’re in the gray zone when things are not running smoothly, but it’s not catastrophic either.
It’s when the situation is so bad that irritating problems occurs, but not bad to the point that said problems get taken care of spontaneously and immediately.
It’s also when the company hires an Agile Coach to improve the situation, while not ready to really change a thing.
This gray zone is really important for us facilitators, Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches.
Because what we are truly looking for, is for the people to take care of the problems by themselves. Because if we fix it for them, it won’t last. They need to own the solutions, it must be their solutions.
As a result it’s quite bothering to be in the gray. Because if the situation were not bearable, then they would act, they would answer to the issue, for sure.
But we are in the gray. So they don’t act. They moan, they waste time, they grouch, they live horrible days. The morale is desperately low. Because, in all honesty, these annoying problems, well, they are not that critical. They are circumvented easily. It takes some time, right, but things keep moving. We are not at the tipping point when people are fed up, when they are done with all this nonsense, when they just stop working to change things.
And so this gray zone is very important to us. Because in the end, everything is just about judgment.
Adjusting how the situation is understood would do the trick… So that people stop thinking that they are in the gray zone. No they are not. They can’t stand the situation anymore. They must act.
Which lead us to one of the basic principles of Agile coaching:
A sense of urgency must be created.
Indeed creating this sense of urgency is exactly what we are looking for: to adjust how the world is seen in order to get out of the gray zone, straight into the unbearable.
How do we achieve that?
By measuring the actual impact of being in the gray zone. How much cost these issues, how much effort must be wasted. Make everybody get that this gray zone is actually not that bearable at all; and switch from gray to the unbearable.
We can also push to the extreme the consequences of being in the gray.
To press where it hurts.
By displaying prominently the indicators that hurt, making sure that nobody can ignore them. By forcing people to respect dutifully the processes instead of letting them play around the nonsense of said processes. By setting up a clear, open communication path, making sure that failures can’t be ignored anymore and getting those who pay to see that their money is thrown down the drain.
Another simpler approach, is to discuss informally with those struggling to make them realize how much they struggle.
In the end, all these methods complement each other since they won’t reach the same people.
Moving out of the gray zone is going into the unbearable in order to get people to act and to fix things in the long run.
Moving out of the gray zone, it’s also grasping that there is a marvellous world out there, within reach, to be taken if they provide the means to do so.
Hell yeah, we are not just sadistic people. We are not trying to make people suffer even more. We want them to get that they can build for themselves a great environment, which would be void of unhealthy frustration. The thing is, making them suffer about their current condition is one of the best calls for action, ever.
Let’s just say that this pain will be an even better motivator when another, nicer world can bee seen at the same time. Not only a pain-free world, but also an enjoyable world.
Take action to stop the pain, but also to be happy!
That gets me thinking. Here is a novel name that would change from Scrum Master, Agile Coach, Agilist. Why not Gray Hunter?
In the end one of our goals is indeed to hunt ambiguity, to hunt the gray — at every level.
To have clear roles and responsibilities, and above all to have them assumed.
To have a vision, and that this vision is not only given but also lived by in full congruence.
That the teams are given a consistent set of means to reach the end they are tasked with.
That the teams show exemplary professionalism, and that the rest of the organization treats them as such, as professionals knowing their trade like no other.
That the basic rule is trust, because we are all in this together and sharing the same goals.
That communication is transparent, void of any hypocrisy, and the same at every level.
And this is the marvellous world that we are selling to everybody. A world where people trust each other and assume their roles, a world where everybody is transparent, consistent and congruent, a world where people act as professionals.
Gray Hunter: who presses very hard where it hurts to break habits and build a marvellous world instead.
Do you like this article?
Follow me to be notified of my other articles!
And don’t forget to click on the heart 💗 to support me, and to share the article: these like are what makes me putting my heart and soul into writing.
Thank you! 😄