This pandemic has created a lot of changes not only in my work-life but even in my personal life. One of the noteworthy changes in the usage of my cruiser bike. Mostly left untouched and idle these days with just basic care to keep it clean and check air levels in the tires.

I still remember the level of argument I had with my mom and spouse convincing them of going ahead with my decision to buy a cruiser bike of my choice a few years ago.

A lot of good memories traveling to distant places both with my spouse and with my friends for food joints, worship, and visiting heritage sights around my place.

With more than 6 months of standing idle, I personally didn’t get the confidence to take the bike to long distances all of a sudden. Hence I approached a bike mechanic.

His immediate recommendation after giving a general service was to fulfill the engine’s thirst with a strong purpose to travel regularly. He continued stating, in the absence of fulfilling that purpose, the parts would get worn out soon fighting among them increasing malfunctions on my future occasional rides.

Absence of Purpose and Development Teams

Remembering the story of my cruiser standing in my backyard, let us go figure out something around what is happening with Development Teams.

For a Development Team part of the Scrum Team to be successful we need multiple factors in place viz., trust, professionalism, alignment, transparency, craftsmanship, and ultimately a compelling reason to come together (I call that a Purpose).

Purpose in the context of Scrum gets expressed in various forms:

1. Product Vision
2. Product Roadmap / Mission aligned to the Vision
3. Business Goals / Drivers
4. Business Value
5. Release Objectives
6. Sprint Goal and
7. Team Goals & Alignment to name a few.

Even though the list seems to be long enough with multiple alternates, not every Development Team has the luxury to get driven by a purpose. And that is the reason why despite the amount of fun, craftsmanship, fat packages, this all will also be affected if the purpose is not embedded in everyone involved.

I believe that the lack of good purpose is one of the most important reasons for Development Teams to fail and one of the most neglected problems. With this unspoken taboo at the rock bottom of all the other symptoms surfaced, any attempt to work at the surface does only promote bikeshedding.

What should have been done in the first place while forming teams?

Come up identifying a purpose sooner than later and while doing so, stay mindful of the anti-patterns listed below:

1. The purpose being vague and always open to individual interpretations
2. Leaders’ purpose pushed to the team as their purpose
3. Purpose identified has a huge disconnect with the reality on the ground
4. Purpose becoming more comprehensive instead to inspire the team
5. Changing the purpose frequently due to multiple agenda for the team

What remains common as an impact in all the above scenarios is a lack of:

1. Trust
2. Alignment
3. Energy
4. Motivation
5. Commitment

It should start from a Product Vision and come down translating to Sprint Goals for every Sprint backed with Team working agreements.

The role of Scrum Master in driving these conversations early and in a candid format acts crucial for the success of the Scrum Team.

The Scrum Master creates a trusting environment with quality interactions between the team members and helps to support them in achieving both their team objectives and aligned personal objectives.

“A Scrum Master should facilitate by creating a ‘container’ for the team to fill up with their ideas and innovations. The container, often a set of agenda questions or some other lightweight (and flexible) structure, gives the team just enough of a frame to stay on their purpose and promotes an environment for richer interaction, a place where fantastic ideas can be heard. The coach creates the container; the team creates the content.” — Lyssa Adkins

Wrap Up!

Remembering a wonderful quote from Dr. Steve Maraboli, “If you hang out with chickens, you are going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you’re going to fly”.

“If you hang out with chickens, you are going to cluck and if you hang out with eagles, you’re going to fly” — Dr. Steve Maraboli

Lack of common purpose is a hidden impediment for the Development Team. It must be made visible and discussed openly with the help of the Scrum Master.

The Development Team facilitated by the Scrum Master should be able to give feedback, or even better, formulate a vision statement together with the Product Owner and stakeholders if not made available.

Don’t let a wonderful group of intellectuals never become a team without a purpose and struggle to achieve great heights coming together.

Share your views and feedback in the comments section.