Meta-practices for Agility

"Practice means to perform, over and over again in the face of all obstacles, some act of vision, of faith, of desire. Practice is a means of inviting the perfection desired." — Martha Graham

Description

In the world of Agile coaching, consultancy, transformation there has always been a focus on frameworks, models, tools, techniques and other concepts and activities concerned with the immediate implementation of agility.

What is often missing is a sense of practice, and by this I do not mean the day to day practice of doing the work we need to do—although that as well, without a doubt—but something more like meta-practice, ways of operating, ways of engaging that encompass not only the action of doing but a spirit of being.

The Meta-practices

1. Listen — take time to hear the needs and ideas of others; ask open, exploratory questions; practice dialog beyond discussion
2. Reconceive — embrace conflict, rise above compromise
3. Collaborate — cultivate a yes-and, because-of-that, help-me-to-see-it mindset; learn to play
4. Radiate — visualize the work, share openly, exude warmth
5. Pause — be still; maximize the amount of work not done; breathe

These practices have been vital to my own understanding and implementation of scrum and other agile approaches when engaged as a change agent or facilitator. I believe them to be important ideas for the field of organisational transformation as a whole, each holding great riches to be mined.

Workshop Structure

Using a blend of presentation and group dialog, this workshop, will encourage participants to gently explore the five meta-practices, blending the base ideas with their own experiences to develop a deeper understanding, and create a sense of ownership for themselves, to live out in their own contexts.

Comments from the pilot session

"I must say, for me it was quite an experience! Much food for thought and the way Tobias facilitated the dialogues was really powerful, but in the same time smooth and natural. Like a breath of fresh air in the morning. The (meta)practices are quite simple, yet in today's busy work routine kind of hard to achieve"
— Octaviana Diaconu , Product Owner, Romania

"Among all the agile sessions, I've experienced the most flow in Tobias's. I'm so happy to see many disciplines connecting with each other. The essence of agile connecting with the essence of human collaboration. And beyond all this, the absence of ego seems to permeate these meta-practices. As a scrum master, letting go of our own ego will create beautiful spaces wherever needed."
— Chunfeng Dong, Agile Coach, Switzerland