From Agile Mindset to Agile Behavior

How can organizations maintain a thriving agile environment? How do we ensure that our team members and leaders perform with agile behaviors to execute their responsibilities effectively? In this article, we shall define the agile mindset, agile behavior, and agile teams, and discuss the benefits of these in an organization.

By
Visual PMP Academy
,
on
February 26, 2024

 How can organizations maintain a thriving agile environment? Generally, we know that an agile environment is an organization, workspace, or project setting that incorporates flexibility, teamwork, innovation, progressive development, and quick adaptation to changes as the defining characteristics of project management. This brings us to the next question, how do we ensure that our team members and leaders perform with agile behaviors to execute their responsibilities effectively? We start by developing an agile mindset among our peers. When we achieve this, we then reflect this mindset through our behaviors that become more agile in performing tasks and carrying through projects.

In this article, we shall define the agile mindset, agile behavior, and agile teams

What is an Agile Mindset?

An Agile mindset is a set of values that, when put into actions and behaviors, result in an agile culture. These values include guidelines and a deliberate, targeted approach to integrating the agile framework into a modern workplace. It is a move away from rigid, plan-driven methods of operation and toward a more flexible, value-driven, customer-focused strategy.

Agile teams thrive in an atmosphere that supports this way of thinking.  It is not necessary for an agile team to function or as a precondition for adopting agile.  However, when the agile mindset is adopted, developed, and maintained, the teams—and consequently the business—will see incredible outcomes, with contented workers providing excellent value and delighted clients.

What is an Agile Behavior?

An agile mindset is nothing without behavior and active application. To have an agile behavior means living the agile values through taking action.  To succeed in an agile environment, teams must not only cultivate an agile mindset but also act on it. This is what it means to have an agile behavior.  The following behaviors are actively displayed by someone with agile behavior: they comprehend, work with others, learn, and remain adaptable to produce high-performing outcomes.   Teams can function well, adjust to change, and provide incremental value to their clients by fusing the agile mindset with established procedures and technological resources.

Agile Behaviors of High-Performing Agile Team

Because being agile requires these behaviors to create a successful team and product, successful agile team members tend to display specific behaviors more frequently than non-agile project team members. 

The following are essential traits that members of effective agile teams display, should you find yourself in charge of forming one.

1. Collaborate

People who have the ability to collaborate effectively are far more valuable than those who must work alone. Collaborating on features is the first obvious sign of an agile team. Determining, initiating, and completing features is a collaborative effort.  Because they work together to finish features, effective agile teams can avoid the issue of having many features started but none completed after the iteration.

2. Open to Feedback

Providing and accepting peer coaching and feedback in order to foster psychological safety.  When team members feel free to express their thoughts and provide feedback, and know that their ideas will be taken into consideration, that's when openness thrives.

3. Ask for Help

Each of us has some knowledge about the project, but none of us is an expert, so, we must be able to ask for help.  We need to do this from a standpoint of strength rather than weakness.  Agile prioritizes the timely delivery of all features promised by the team at the end of the erasure, rather than allowing individuals to become stuck before seeking assistance.

4. Adaptable

Like all project types, agile initiatives don't always start with ideal circumstances. Even without a team room, without approval criteria for every feature, and without the ability to eliminate barriers, we still need to complete the task at hand. Even in unfavorable circumstances, we want people to complete the work.  

5. Willing to Work Outside Their Expertise

When individuals cooperate to swarm around a feature in agile teams, we observe this willingness to work outside their expertise. This does not imply that one should abandon their area of competence or become an expert in another.  People are willing to work outside their expertise but not far from it.  This translates to learning a few related subjects outside of their area of expertise, which may even enable them to work more efficiently.

Want to build a successful career in Project Management, Agile and Scrum? Or you need free templates, ITTO Games, or Electronic Books?

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