Agility and Values-Based Leadership (Part 5): Respect

Andrew Burns, PMP, PMI-ACP is a Chief ScrumMaster in Edgewood, Kentucky.

  Agile   Leadership   Scrum  

Focusing on respect, this final installment of five articles offers techniques to scrutinize agile project management frameworks based on values, principles and practices. Looking at the five stated Scrum values (courage, focus, openness, commitment and respect) offers a conceit for examining how individual and organizational values impact our understanding of natural principles at play in project management. These principles include things like the need to inspect work and to adapt to changes, be they in project climates or incremental outcomes.

Projects appreciating stability may mistakenly “devalue” these natural principles. This is risky business. History proves the principles of inspection and adaptation truly outperform. Practices aligned to inspection and adaptation outclass other methods. Several decades of experience in industry after industry—from automotive to software engineering—prove the point.

Yet practices like the Daily Scrum that offer excellent inspection opportunities get overlooked. Understanding individual and organizational values becomes a leverage point. This vantage fosters adoption of good practices. Numerous agile frameworks offer dozens upon dozens of great practices. How to choose the best of breed? Group practices by the principles they serve. Then choose principles aligned to values. So let’s complete the …

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