At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly

The first thing to check is that we are not reading the principle too quickly, but actually reading it and absorbing the detail that’s written.

At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behaviour accordingly

1. Regular intervals

2. The team reflects 

3. How to become more effective

4. Tune behaviour 

5. Adjusts behaviour

The 1990s

If this principle is about growth and improvement then what was it like around this time and why was this included in one of the 12 principles?

Performance was always measured but it would not be accurate to say that effectiveness was. The performance assessments in the 90s were already becoming governed by HR, linked to compensation and never at a team level. You would meet with your manager, manager one on one, and this would be perhaps once or twice a year, and you manager would tell you what you needed to do to improve. The team, well you might improve over time, but any kind of significant changes would need to be driven through the leader, or a motivated individual in the team, who would first need endorsement from the leader.

The intent of this principle

This principle, and we will unpack the details, set us up to improve and give the licence to the team and individuals to assess themselves as a team and “tune” or “adjust”. This change is massive! To not wait for direction, but rather to be empowered to change and why is this going to work? Because the intent is there; to behave as an effective team. And so, before we explore the practices that have come since, think about the culture change you need to drive this. You will need intent-based leadership. You will need team members who are motivated not just to do, but to do better. You need to be free of the HR constraints around individual performance. Above all these, you need a culture that allows vulnerabilities and failure to be openly discussed.

Today (+20 years on)

The most prevalent practice today is the Retrospective. A Scrum ceremony that has the purpose and agenda to support the principle. The idea is that the team first writes up on cards what went well and what might be better and then moves to discuss cards. There are 101 variations of the retro but rather than list what makes one Agile, we will list patterns that are not Agile.

• Not regular

• The that’s leaders talk and explain

• Not about effectiveness, but just good and bad things

• There isn’t time or desire to agree on what to tune or adjust.

The list isn’t difficult to recall, it’s all in the principle, but bad retrospectives are common.