Fear is the real enemy of agility

TL;DR; Fear blocks true agility and leads to stagnation, regardless of how many Agile practices you follow. The main job of leaders is to remove fear so teams can learn, adapt, and deliver value. Focus on creating an environment where people feel safe to speak up and take risks.

Published on 7 May 2025

Written by Martin Hinshelwood

1 minute read

https://nkdagility.com/resources/JwMLCNODuls

Fear is the real enemy of agility.

Fear of raising an issue.
Fear of stopping the line.
Fear of being wrong.
Fear of change.

Agile, Scrum, and DevOps are about enabling continuous delivery of value through learning, adaptation, and trust.

But if fear rules your workplace, all you’ll get is stagnation, no matter how many “Agile ceremonies” you run.

The real work of a Scrum Master, Product Owner, or leader isn’t in running events or building roadmaps.
It’s in systematically removing fear from the system.

Courage is the first Scrum Value for a reason.

Are you building a system where courage thrives—or where fear festers?

Also published on: LinkedIn

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