Here’s the dirty secret behind many “agile transformations”:
The organisation claims alignment, but what they deliver is control.
They dictate priorities, assign tasks, predefine solutions, and then slap a “self-managing” label on the team.
This is a lie.
In Scrum, autonomy isn’t about teams doing whatever they want. It’s about teams deciding how they will meet their goals.
Alignment defines the why and what.
Autonomy gives the team ownership of the how.
Without autonomy, you create learned helplessness.
Teams stop thinking, stop improving, and stop caring.
You get compliance, not commitment.
If you want adaptive value delivery, you must let go of the how.
Align on goals — and then get out of the way.
What parts of your system are still holding a death grip on the how?
If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
Philips
Hubtel Ghana
Sage
Bistech
Workday
Graham & Brown
Microsoft
Healthgrades
Big Data for Humans
Trayport
YearUp.org
Xceptor - Process and Data Automation
CR2
DFDS
Cognizant Microsoft Business Group (MBG)
Lockheed Martin
Freadom
Genus Breeding Ltd
Royal Air Force
Department of Work and Pensions (UK)
Ghana Police Service
New Hampshire Supreme Court
Washington Department of Enterprise Services
Nottingham County Council
Hubtel Ghana
Boeing
Big Data for Humans
Healthgrades
Slaughter and May
Slicedbread