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An agile mindset - what is that actually?

Agile transformations are not always easy. A frequently heard challenge of agile coaches is that the organization lacks an agile mindset. This then applies to employees in teams as well as to (still classically organized) management. But what is that agile mindset?
Door: Basile Lemaire op 23 September 2020.
Read in: 2 minutes.

The agile mindset should be the foundation of "being agile" - being agile. If people have an agile mindset, every organization is ready to transform into an agile organization. If you google "agile mindset" you get many possible meanings. Most descriptions are unfortunately very vague: "It is what the agile values ​​and principles are based on." That sounds good, but what does that mean?

Another description: "An agile mindset is about values ​​and thinking styles that ensure that you want and can be agile at work." Sounds good too. But unfortunately says nothing just as well. 'It is a way of looking, doing, acting and feeling.' Isn't everything we do a way of looking, doing, acting and feeling?

Do you sometimes get the feeling that the agile mindset as a term is more of a hype? Or that it is even used as an excuse for faltering transformations; When an agile coach does not change within a traditional organization, it is devoted to the lack of an agile mindset among people.

Agile mindset: attitude & behavior

Mindsets come in all colors and sizes: social, growth, positive thinking, creative, agile, etc. A mindset is your personal attitude towards and your reaction to situations. For example: people with a social mindset want to be with others, are curious about new people and are open to new contacts. People with a growth mindset mainly want to keep developing themselves.

A mindset can be measured by the behavior that people display. The social mindset seeks out other people. The growth mindset challenges itself every day. That way you can make a mindset concrete and tangible. How about the agile mindset? What do people who have an agile mindset do?

Indicators

The following points are concrete indicators that show to what extent a team has an agile mindset:

• For the team, failure is an opportunity to learn.
• Team members embrace different approaches and ideas.
• People have fun.
• The work pace is manageable.
• Team members accept changes and adapt easily.
• Everyone is open and transparent, even when they make mistakes or have difficulty with a task.
• People want to work together.
• The team is vigilant against the pitfall of anti-patterns: the (continued) application of a solution to specific problems while that solution is not effective.
• People want to share knowledge and experience with each other.
• People and teams are focused on tangible value creation.

Develop teams

As an agile coach I can handle this. By looking at attitudes and behavior, the agile mindset is no longer a vague slogan or a lame excuse. It is now something concrete, something tangible. Developing the agile mindset is part of our training NLP for Agile Coaches. It is something you can get started with as a transformation coach. Something in which you can develop organizations and teams and with which you can test whether people are moving towards an agile mindset.

The agile mindset should be the foundation of "being agile" - being agile. If people have an agile mindset, every organization is ready to transform into an agile organization. If you google "agile mindset" you get many possible meanings. Most descriptions are unfortunately very vague: "It is what the agile values ​​and principles are based on." That sounds good, but what does that mean?

Another description: "An agile mindset is about values ​​and thinking styles that ensure that you want and can be agile at work." Sounds good too. But unfortunately says nothing just as well. 'It is a way of looking, doing, acting and feeling.' Isn't everything we do a way of looking, doing, acting and feeling?

Do you sometimes get the feeling that the agile mindset as a term is more of a hype? Or that it is even used as an excuse for faltering transformations; When an agile coach does not change within a traditional organization, it is devoted to the lack of an agile mindset among people.

Agile mindset: attitude & behavior

Mindsets come in all colors and sizes: social, growth, positive thinking, creative, agile, etc. A mindset is your personal attitude towards and your reaction to situations. For example: people with a social mindset want to be with others, are curious about new people and are open to new contacts. People with a growth mindset mainly want to keep developing themselves.

A mindset can be measured by the behavior that people display. The social mindset seeks out other people. The growth mindset challenges itself every day. That way you can make a mindset concrete and tangible. How about the agile mindset? What do people who have an agile mindset do?

Indicators

The following points are concrete indicators that show to what extent a team has an agile mindset:

• For the team, failure is an opportunity to learn.
• Team members embrace different approaches and ideas.
• People have fun.
• The work pace is manageable.
• Team members accept changes and adapt easily.
• Everyone is open and transparent, even when they make mistakes or have difficulty with a task.
• People want to work together.
• The team is vigilant against the pitfall of anti-patterns: the (continued) application of a solution to specific problems while that solution is not effective.
• People want to share knowledge and experience with each other.
• People and teams are focused on tangible value creation.

Develop teams

As an agile coach I can handle this. By looking at attitudes and behavior, the agile mindset is no longer a vague slogan or a lame excuse. It is now something concrete, something tangible. Developing the agile mindset is part of our training NLP for Agile Coaches. It is something you can get started with as a transformation coach. Something in which you can develop organizations and teams and with which you can test whether people are moving towards an agile mindset.

By Basile Lemaire

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One comment on "An agile mindset - what is that really?"

  1. Nice article. Perhaps also a sign of an agile mindset: respecting and perhaps even striving for diversity of opinions and people within the team.

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