Agile Management: Leading Teams with a Complex Mind

Agile Management
LeadingTeams with a Complex Mind
Jurgen Appelo
jurgen@noop.nl

Agile ManagementWorkshop (intro)
Explain to the other people at your table why
you are here (instead of somewhere else).

The Management 3.0 Model
Six organizational
views based on
complexity thinking

Emergent, self-organizing, unpredictable
http://www.flickr.com/photos/judepics/

Sometimes adaptive, sometimes not
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hdr400d/

Complex Systems
“A complex system is a system composed of interconnected parts
that as a whole exhibit one or more properties (behavior) not
obvious from the properties of the individual parts.”
Sometimes called the sciences of complexity (plural)
http://cfpm.org/pub/users/bruce/thesis/chap4.pdf

General SystemsTheory
Autopoiesis (how a system constructs itself)
Identity (how a system is identifiable)
Homeostatis (how a system remains stable)
Permeability (how a system interacts with its environment)
Ludwig von Bertalanffy
(biologist)
1901-1972
Study of relationships between elements

Cybernetics
Goals (the intention of achieving a desired state)
Acting (having an effect on the environment)
Sensing (checking the response of the environment)
Evaluating (comparing current state with system’s goal)
Norbert Wiener
(mathematician)
1894-1964
Study of regulatory systems

Dynamical SystemsTheory
Stability (stable states versus unstable states)
Attractors (systems getting sucked into stable states)
Study of system behavior

GameTheory
Competition versus cooperation
Zero sum games versus non-zero sum games
Strategies (including evolutionary stable strategies)
John von Neumann
(mathematician)
1903-1957
Study of co-adapting systems

EvolutionaryTheory
Population (more than one instance)
Replication (mechanism of making new instances)
Variation (differences between instances)
Heredity (differences copied from existing instances)
Selection (environment imposes selective pressure)
Charles Darwin
(naturalist)
1809-1882
Study of evolving systems

ChaosTheory
Strange attractors (chaotic behavior)
Sensitivity to initial conditions (butterfly effect)
Fractals (scale-invariance)
Edward Lorenz
(meteorologist)
1917-2008
Study of unpredictable systems

And more...
Dissipative systems (spontaneous pattern-forming)
Cellular automata (complex behavior from simple rules)
Genetic algorithms (adaptive learning)
Social network analysis (propagation of information)
Study of all kinds of systems

The Body of Knowledge of Systems
Complex systems theory
enables a descriptive approach
to the study of social systems

Complexity
“Complexity is that property of a system which makes it difficult to
predict its overall behavior, even when given reasonably complete
information about its components and their relations.”
http://cfpm.org/pub/users/bruce/thesis/chap4.pdf
“edge of chaos”
“chaordic processes”

System Dynamics
Circular feedback loops and time-delayed relationships
Analysis through simulations and calculations
Jay Wright Forrester
(computer engineer)
1918-
Study of non-linear behavior of systems

SystemsThinking
“Problems” are part of a system
View systems in a holistic manner
Not a science, but a “frame of mind”
Peter Michael Senge
(social scientist)
1947-
Approach to problem solving

Some Criticism
“The strength of systems thinking is its recognition that human
systems are messy, they frequently need focus and alignment; its
weakness is that it assumes that the design of that focus and
alignment is a top down objective based process. […]The ambiguity
of human systems is recognized, but the basic concept of central
control or planning remains at the heart.”
Multi-ontology sense-making - David Snowden (2005)
http://kwork.org/stars/snowden/Snowden.pdf

Some Criticism
“Systems thinking contains a fundamental difficulty right at its
roots.This is to regard human interaction as a system.This
assumption leads to thinking about that interaction as something
about which another human standing outside it makes choices.”
Complexity and Management – Ralph Stacey (2000)
http://www.amazon.com/Complexity-Management-Inorganisations-Ralph-Stacey/dp/0415247616/

“Traditional” SystemsThinking
observer
system

ComplexityThinking
observers
system

The Unknowns
Knowns Unknowns Unknowns Unknowns

ComplexityThinking
Don’t separate the designers from the system
Don’t ignore the human part (social complexity)
Don’t ignore the unknown unknowns
Don’t rely (too much) on linear cause and effect
ComplexityThinking = SystemsThinking++
Jurgen Appelo
(idea farmer)
1969-

View #1: Energize People
People are the most important parts of an
organization and managers must do all they can to
keep people active, creative, and motivated.

Extrinsic Motivation
Desire to achieve goal G
Reward behavior B
Assumption B leads to G
Problems with non-linear effects

Intrinsic Motivation
Desire to achieve goal G
Reward behavior B
Where B = G
No non-linear effects

“16 Basic Desires”
Acceptance The need for approval
Physical Activity Or exercise
Curiosity The need to think
Power The need for influence of will
Eating The need for food
Romance The need for love and sex
Family The need to raise children
Saving The need to collect
Honor Being loyal to a group
Social Contact The need for friends
Idealism The need for purpose
Status The need for social standing
Independence Being an individual
Tranquility The need to be safe
Order Or stable environments
Vengeance The need to strike back
Steven Reiss. Who Am I? The 16 Basic Desires
That Motivate Our Actions and Define Our
Personalities. City: Berkley Trade, 2002

“16 Basic Desires”
Steven Reiss. Who Am I? The 16 Basic Desires
That Motivate Our Actions and Define Our
Personalities. City: Berkley Trade, 2002

“Self-DeterminationTheory”
Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan. The
Handbook of Self-Determination Research.
Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2004
Competence The need to feel capable
Autonomy The need to choose one’s own actions
Relatedness The need to be socially involved

“Self-DeterminationTheory”
Social Contact / Relatedness The need for friends
Independence / Autonomy Being an individual
Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan. The
Handbook of Self-Determination Research.
Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2004

10 Intrinsic Desires

“Drive”
Idealism / Purpose The need for purpose
Competence / Mastery The need to feel capable
Daniel H. Pink, Drive: The Surprising Truth
About What Motivates Us. Riverhead, 2009

Exercise: 10 Intrinsic Desires

View #2: EmpowerTeams
Teams can self-organize, and this requires
empowerment, authorization, and trust from
management.

Self-organization… a definition
“Self-organization is a process of attraction and
repulsion in which the internal organization of a
system, normally an open system, increases in
complexity without being guided or managed by an
outside source.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-organization

Organization without
management?

Self-organization has a dark side…

Self-organization… the dark side
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agder/2783124139/

But people care…
about value.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sukanto_debnath/504258852/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/suneko/92395757/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calliope/104661075/

“Self-organization requires that the system is
surrounded by a containing boundary.This condition
defines the "self" that will be developed during the
self-organizing process.”
http://amauta-international.com/iaf99/Thread1/conway.html

The containing boundary has a chance to
direct self-organization
towards value

Directed self-organization
Don’t go here! Go there!

Management is the special case

Self-organized
For example: a software development team
Self-selected (= self-designed)
Self-organized and system selects its own members
For example: founders of a start-up business
Self-directed (= self-governed)
Self-selected and no direction outside the system
For example: criminal organization
Three levels of
self-organization

The Darkness Principle
“Each element in the system is ignorant of the
behavior of the system as a whole [...] If each element
‘knew’ what was happening to the system as a whole,
all of the complexity would have to be present in that
element.”
http://iscepublishing.com/ECO/ECO_other/Issue_6_3_10_FM.pdf

Therefore, management requires…
Distributed
governance and leadership

Tell: make decision as the manager
Sell: convince people about decision
Consult: get input from team before decision
Agree: make decision together with team
Advise: influence decision made by the team
Inquire: ask feedback after decision by team
Delegate: no influence, let team work it out
Seven levels of
authority in empowerment

View #3: Align Constraints
Self-organization can lead to anything, and it’s
therefore necessary to protect people and shared
resources, and to give people a clear purpose and
defined goals.

The Game of Life
(JohnConway)
http://www.bitstorm.org/gameoflife/

The Game of Life
1. 3 neighbors = new life
2. 2 or 3 neighbors = stay alive
3. 0 or 1 or > 3 neighbors = death
simple rules, great results

management = simple rules, great results?
But does that mean...

management = simple rules, great results?
No.

The actual rules => complicated code
The Game of Life

The constraints => a grid, 1 player
The Game of Life

Settlers of Catan
It took minutes to define the constraints
It took years to create and tune the rules
(KlausTeuber)
http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/magazine/17-04/mf_settlers

complex
non-adaptive
system
we adapt the rules

complex
adaptive
system
the system adapts itselfwe adapt the rules
complex
non-adaptive
system

A manager / team leader
is not a game designer
Don’t create rules

Define constraints (playing field, players)
Let the system create its own rules

Let’s ignore the (subtle) differences for now…
goal
vision
mission
objective
intent
target
aim

Keep it simple
Commander’s intent
A goal in just a few
lines of text

Goal checklist
specific and understandable
simple and concise
manageable and measurable
memorable and reproducible
attainable and realistic
ambitious and stimulating
actionable and assignable
agreed-upon and committable
relevant and useful
time-bound and time-specific
tangible and real
excitable and igniting
inspiring and visionary
value-based and fundamental
revisitable and assessable

Bad example 1
We are committed to providing
outstanding customer
experience, to being a great
place to work, a thoughtful
steward of the environment and
a caring citizen in the
communities where we live and
work.We are passionate about
sustainably connecting people
and places and improving the
quality of life around the world.

Bad example 2
As a company, and as individuals, we
value integrity, honesty, openness,
personal excellence, constructive self-
criticism, continual self-improvement,
and mutual respect.We are
committed to our customers and
partners and have a passion for
technology.We take on big challenges,
and pride ourselves on seeing them
through.We hold ourselves
accountable to our customers,
shareholders, partners, and employees
by honoring our commitments,
providing results, and striving for the
highest quality.

Good example 1
Our mission is to organize the world’s
information and make it universally
accessible and useful.

Good example 2
We help people save money so they
can live better.

Do not allow individual stakeholder goals to
replace extrinsic and emergent goals

Goals are not meant to...
Intimidate people if they cannot achieve them

Impress shareholders or others on the sideline

Confuse short-term wins with long-term losses

Distract people from outcomes with action plans

Distract people from outcomes with action plans
Overload people with too many objectives

Goals should not be pushed
with financial rewards
And...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594488843?ie=UTF8&tag=noopnl-
20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594488843

View #4: Develop Competence
Teams cannot achieve these goals if team members
aren’t capable enough, and managers must therefore
contribute to the development of competence.

Safest traffic in the world
1. Marshall Islands
2. San Marino
3. Malta
4. Iceland
5. Netherlands
6. Sweden
7. United Kingdom
8. Switzerland
9. Japan
10. Singapore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bobjagendorf/4122137519/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quimbo/20555416/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilidelamora/5320093/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12386296@N08/4055379221/

We can learn how to
manage software teams
by studying management
of similar systems
(like traffic management)

Subsidiarity principle
“The dictionary defines subsidiarity as the idea that a central
authority should have a subsidiary function, performing only those
tasks which cannot be performed effectively at a more immediate
or local level.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsidiarity

Subsidiarity principle
And thus…
Delegate decisions until you’ve hit a competency problem
(team members decide unless there is some lack of competence)

Precautionary principle
Assuming that things are risky, in
the absence of evidence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Precautionary_principle
http://kwebble.com/blog/tag/haarlem

Precautionary principle
And thus…
Decide who has the burden of proof for competency
(assume team members are competent, unless proven they’re not)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/38607288@N03/4087457751/

Shared space
Increased risk perception
People are less mindful when they see no risks
Reduced false security / risk compensation
People show riskier behavior when they think they are safe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_space

Shared space
And thus…
Remove rules to increase risk perception and reduce false security

But how do we
develop competence?

Three maturity levels (for skill)
Shu traditional wisdom, learning fundamentals (apprentice)
Ha detachment, breaking with tradition (journeyman)
Ri transcendence, everything is natural (master)
(last column: three similar levels in medieval European guild system)
Note: the Dreyfus Model lists five levels of skill acquisition:
Beginner,Advanced Beginner, Competent, Proficient, Expert
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuhari
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_craftsman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_model_of_skill_acquisition

Six maturity levels (for discipline)
Oblivious “We don’t even know that we’re performing a process.”
Variable “We do whatever we feel like at the moment.”
Routine “We follow our routines (except when we panic).”
Steering “We choose among our routines by the results they produce.”
Anticipating “We establish routines based on our past experiences.”
Congruent “Everyone is involved in improving everything all the time.”
Gerard Weinberg, Quality Software Management: SystemsThinking
(Alternative: six similar levels in “Agile Made Us Better…” by Ross Petit)
http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Software-Management-Systems-Thinking/dp/0932633226/
http://www.thoughtworks.com/agile-made-us-better

Competence = maturity in 2 dimensions

1. Self-development
People must learn...
urgence vs. importance
time management
boosting memory
finding motivation

2. Coaching
Hire external coaches
Develop competency leaders
Note: manager != coach

3. Certification
By itself a certificate doesn’t mean anything, but...
it can catalyze all other competency measures

4. Social pressure
Let people identify with a small group
Give them shared responsibility for shared goals

5. Infrastructure
Tools must be adaptable, not just customizable
Open databases, APIs, scripts, plug-ins, reports

6. Supervision
Have someone sample/check the products of teams

7. Management
One-on-ones to assess problem situations
360 degree meetings to assess collaboration

1. Self-Development
2. Coaching
3. Certification
4. Social Pressure
5. Infrastructure
6. Supervision
7. Management
7 Approaches to competency development

Exercise: Competence Development

View #5: Grow Structure
Many teams operate within the context of a complex
organization, and thus it is important to consider
structures that enhance communication .

Individual competence
“We learned that individual expertise did not
distinguish people as high performers.What
distinguished high performers were larger and
more diversified personal networks.”
Cross, Rob et.al. The Hidden Power of Social Networks. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2004

Individual competence
“Engineers are roughly five times more likely to
turn to a person for information as to an
impersonal source such as a database.”
Cross, Rob et.al. The Hidden Power of Social Networks. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2004

Scale-invariant networks (fractals)
Best communication across all scales
http://gut.bmj.com/content/57/7.cover-expansion

<- preferred
Segmentation of teams

Design Principle 1 (DP1)
(through a manager)
Design Principle 2 (DP2)
(not through a manager)
Communication across teams
(Fred Emery)
<- preferred

Style Structure DP
1 Functional 1 (through manager)
2 Functional 2 (through team)
3 Cross-functional 1 (through manager)
4 Cross-functional 2 (through team)

Value units
System administrators
GUI designers
Project Mgt Office
Community of Practice
Center of Excellence
Human Resources
...
Delivering value to teams

Functional
(DP1)
Functional
(DP2)
cross-
functional
(DP1)
cross-
functional
(DP2)
A
D
C
E
B
Draw a
value network

Panarchy... network of hierarchies and anarchies

View #6: Improve Everything
People, teams, and organizations need to improve
continuously to defer failure for as long as possible.

Fitness Landscape
system configuration
performance

The Red Queen’s Race
“It takes all the running
you can do to keep in
the same place.”

Three Drivers of Improvement
Adaptation
Looking backward, reactive, responding to change
Exploration
Trying things out, interactive, experience feedback
Anticipation
Looking forward, proactive, imagining improvement

Ruggedness of Fitness Landscapes
Complexity
catastrophe
Normal
situation
Ideal
situation

Most Improvement Models Look Linear

Stuck in the Fitness Landscape
What now?

Nonlinear Improvement
1, 3, 5
Kaizen
Gradual improvement
2, 4
Kaikaku
Radical improvement

The Strategy of Mutation
Disturbing the system

The Strategy of Crossover
Mix multiple good performers

The Strategy of Broadcasts
Copy innovations

Exercise: Improvement Strategy Game

Agile ManagementWorkshop (outtro)
Explain to the other people at your table
what you will take away from this session.

@jurgenappelo (twitter)
slideshare.net/jurgenappelo
jurgenappelo.com (site)
noop.nl (blog)
management30.com (book)

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/
This presentation was inspired by the works of many people, and I cannot
possibly list them all.Though I did my very best to attribute all authors of texts
and images, and to recognize any copyrights, if you think that anything in this
presentation should be changed, added or removed, please contact me at
jurgen@noop.nl.

Agile Management: Leading Teams with a Complex Mind

Agile Management: Leading Teams with a Complex Mind

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