Are we the baddies?

It's important to reflect on both the value we create and the harm we do. In order to improve we must scrutinise what isn't working or what may reduce the safety in organisations.

There’s a classic sketch from ‘That Mitchell & Webb Look’ Are we the baddies? The sketch features two German soldiers discussing the possibility that they may indeed be the baddies. One of them worries they may not have the moral high ground citing as evidence their Totenkopf, the skull and crossbones insignia, a common feature for German Military 19th and 20th century. I've always found this sketch hilarious but recently it took on a new relevance.

For some context, I’ve been involved in the adoption of practices which in many contexts are considered a significant change. For instance the introduction of agile and lean concepts, DevOps and other types of automation, product management and product development concepts and more.

Many times, I was the spearhead of the change, the change agent or the leader responsible to achieve and outcome and in a position to influence the way work would be done.

Sometimes the context we were in made it obvious to most people these practices were appropriate. This was when change was easier, and the benefits followed quickly. Sometimes, though, those who felt the change in question was the right one, were in the minority. Eventually we might succeed, and the doubt was replaced with an embrace of the new way. But to get there often meant pain and stress for people along the way.

And so with this context, I ask, with all our great intentions of a better tomorrow, ‘Are we the baddies?’. We must be careful to not fall in love with our ideas and be aware that sometimes our actions may cause harm.

An example might be the application ideas into a context that may have become mired in bureaucracy, too many projects and the feeling of frustration and futility has already set in. Such a setting may seem like an obvious candidate for the injection of agility and we the change agents are drawn to it like moths to the porch light.

We love the potential of our ideas and we believe that, with the ideas from the bodies of knowledge that are the foundation of our confidence, we can make a difference. The excitement of that potential can motivate us to engage in bold change.

In the sketch the other soldier predictably pushes back on the notion they may be the baddies. Its instinctual to do so when a challenge is presented to your belief system. After some debate he too has an epiphany; the extent of the deathly iconography pervades their livery and campsite and even the pastimes of their fellow soldiers; the skull and bones are suddenly everywhere he looks.

Introducing change can often feel like you are under siege. It can be easy to fall into the trap of always defending or making the case for the path you are advocating but with this comes the risk of a blind spot. It’s important to always look with a critical eye. When we do, like the soldier, we start to see the potential for harm everywhere.

And it can be with transformational change. How often are you truly scrutinising not just whether your change is working but whether it is improving the lives of the people its intending to help?

Here are a few ways we may, in our enthusiasm, be doing harm:

• Are we asking people to engage in high degrees of friction, causing stress and worry?

• Do we understand enough of the domain to avoid guiding towards destructive pathways?

• Are we listening closely enough to understand when someone is telling us something that may keep them or the team safe?

• Are we applying ideas that worked in another context without assessing the appropriateness in our new context?

• Did we set the expectations on the size of the change involved?

• Is there the commitment to the training on new skills and roles we expect people to shift to?

• Are we making it harder for people to contribute the value in the present for a distant future state which promises to be better?

• Are we agile-washing a destructive change?

• Are we guilty of ‘agile everywhere’ thinking when other approaches maybe more appropriate?

• Are we treating agility like it’s the destination rather than a means to achieve value?

• Is there an adequate theory of value present or are we helping people deliver waste more quickly?

• Are we attempting change where the pre-requisites for success are missing?

• Are we weaponizing accusations of wrong mindset?

• Are we not following the values we espouse in what we expect of others?

I could write a post about each of these - providing examples of when I’ve seen these issues in action and how to detect these situations and guard against them. Let me know in the comments which you’d be interested in me writing about first.