Stop Applying Makeup on Reality
No team can evolve until they learn how to deal with reality.
No team can evolve until they learn how to deal with reality.
Over the last decade, I worked with more than 50 Scrum teams, some of them were raw to the Agile world, and some mastered the game. What stuck with me is a common trait among the outstanding teams: they didn’t apply makeup on reality.
Facing reality allows us to fix the correct problems and progress. Imagine you have leakage on your ceiling. Would you try putting a tape on it and ignore the problem? This approach would only fool you, while the real problem would get even worse. Yet, many teams behave like that; they ignore reality and delude themselves.
You’ve got to deal with reality as tough as it is. Don’t try distorting it; DEAL WITH IT.
I’ve come across some common scenarios where teams and organizations ignore reality and miss the chances of evolving. Let me share them with you. Hopefully, it will help you address such issues as they are.
The Sprint Fails, and Nobody Cares!
Football is one of the most common sports in the world. It’s simple to understand, and almost everyone can play it. To win, you have to score more goals than your opponent. The coach’s mission is to help the team figure out how to win the game. If the team keeps losing games, the coach will address their issues to win the upcoming games. Scrum is just the same, you’ve got a Sprint Goal per Sprint, and you must reach it to win the game. Otherwise, the Sprint fails.
It’s not a problem to fail a Sprint. That can and should happen from time to time. Yet, it’s a real red flag if the team doesn’t talk about the failure. Without understanding it, the team cannot evolve.
If a team has never failed, it means they have never moved away from the comfort zone. Failing is part of the journey for high-performing teams.
I’ve noticed many teams couldn’t care less about the Sprint Goal. They only care about delivering more features by the end of the Sprint. When they miss the goal, they just move on as nothing happened. Sometimes the team blames external factors or comfort themselves by saying, “We did all we could! The result is not that bad.” Scrum is about inspecting and adapting; until the team is honest with themselves, they remain stuck.
It’s easier to blame external facts and be hopeless than accept the team is doing something wrong and change whatever it’s needed.
Tech Debt Is Piling Up, Quality Going Down but Everything Is Fine
After an intense Sprint Planning, a developer was irritated and couldn’t hold himself, he ran to the Product Owner, and with an aggressive voice, he asked:
“Sprint after Sprint, you promise us we will be able to take care of our shitloads of tech debt. And today, it was just the same story. You told us we just need to deliver these features to calm the stakeholders, and then we will get the time we need to fix our massive tech debt pile. I don’t believe in you any longer.”
The Product Owner was sweating and speechless for around a minute until she could say something.
Product Owner: “The stakeholders are pressuring me for the features, and I can understand their need. Their bosses are also pressuring them. We are helping them, and everything is actually fine. We simply need to be a little more patient, and then we can take care of our tech debt.”
Dev: “Last time, you said the same. I am tired of that. For six months, we only create features, our tech debt goes up, and our quality goes down. Are you fine with that?”
Product Owner: “I think we are doing a great job, and our stakeholders appreciate that. I am fine with this situation because I know we will address our issues when it’s the right time. For now, I see us on the right track.”
How do you perceive this situation? It’s a denial of reality. The Product Owner is not taking a stand for what is best for the product; meanwhile, the team is frustrated, but “everything is fine.” Some Product Owners lack product management skills, and once they bow to the pressure, the Scrum Team is trapped in a vicious circle. The result is ugly, and you can only expect bad things from this treadmill.
Denying reality guarantees mediocrity.
Everyone Is Leaving, and Nobody Does Anything
I’ve worked in some companies where I had a monthly Deja Vu. I would come to work, and before finishing the Daily Scrum, a developer would say, “Guys, I’ve got something to tell you.”, another person would interrupt, “Please. Don’t tell us you’re leaving.”, then the dev would confirm he’s indeed leaving.
Every month, at least one team member left us. And what did the company leadership do about it? Absolutely nothing. Instead of improving the situation for those who stayed, the leadership simply behaved like the victim of the circumstances. The fallacy was always the same, “People are mercenary! They get slightly more money and go” or “We cannot compete against this market. It’s insane paying such wages.”
The truth is everyone left for a higher salary, but the motivation to talk to another company didn’t come because they felt underpaid. Unfortunately, they lacked the purpose to stay. Nobody cared about their opinions, and everything was about pushing more boxes to customers. People didn’t have any motivation to stay. That’s why they decided to listen to the market. Yet, it was easier for the leadership to blame something instead of facing reality: the company sucked.
“For me, my emotions for any work costs more than any salary.”
― Sonal Takalkar
Final Thoughts
All teams and companies have problems; that’s normal. And you don’t have to fix all issues you identify with your team. As the saying goes, you’ve got to pick your fights. Some problems are just worthless to invest your energy. Yet, denying problems or distorting reality is a bad call.
Reality is what it is. You may not be happy when you face it, then you opt to create a fantasy world, and as a result, miss the chances of evolving. One of the most significant differences between ordinary teams and high-performing ones is how they deal with reality. Ordinary teams either deny or ignore it, while high-performing ones are honest. They don’t deny reality; they deal with it.
“Truth — more precisely, an accurate understanding of reality — is the essential foundation for producing good outcomes.”
― Ray Dalio
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