The document discusses challenges of working in agile teams and provides suggestions for improving teamwork. Specifically, it notes that people may dislike working in teams due to unfair workloads, unclear expectations, and dependencies on colleagues. However, it argues that working in teams allows people to get more done, learn from each other, and find work more satisfying. The document recommends fostering long-term teams with trust and psychological safety to improve teamwork. It also suggests reflecting on challenges and getting coaching if teamwork is not working.

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Ben Linders Consulting
Why people hate working in (agile) teams
… and what you can do about it
Ben Linders – benlinders.com
Sofia, Bulgaria, Oct 1 2023
Organizer: Host:

2. 2 benlinders.com - @BenLinders
Ben Linders Consulting
Trainer / Coach / Adviser / Author / Speaker
Agile, Lean, Quality & Continuous improvement
Freelance Editor for InfoQ.com
BenLinders.com
Books: Valuable Agile Retrospectives Problem? What Problem?
What Drives Quality Self-assessments Continuous Improvement
Games: Agile Self-assessment Game Retrospectives Bingo Impediments
Quality Coaching Agile Testing Psychological Safety
Culture

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Ben Linders Consulting
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/management

4. 4 benlinders.com - @BenLinders
Ben Linders Consulting

5. 5 benlinders.com - @BenLinders
Ben Linders Consulting
Agile Team
people working close together to deliver valuable
products or services to users and stakeholders
Self-organized
Deliver value
Collaborative
Learn and adjust

6. 6 benlinders.com - @BenLinders
Ben Linders Consulting
Why people hate working in (agile) teams
• unfair workload
• find it hard to work together
• depend too much on colleagues
• too much unclearness
• not getting credits you deserve
• work with people you dislike
• unclear roles or expectations
• unsure how what you contributes
• slowed down by colleagues

7. 7 benlinders.com - @BenLinders
Ben Linders Consulting
Why people hate working together
• unfair workload
• find it hard to work together
• depend too much on colleagues
• too much unclearness
• not getting credits you deserve
• work with people you dislike
• unclear roles or expectations
• unsure how what you contributes
• slowed down by colleagues

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Ben Linders Consulting
Let’s face it
You can't do it alone!
Better get better
in working together

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Ben Linders Consulting
Why work in a team – WIFM?
 Get more done together
 Getting credit for what you do
 Give and get help
 Learn from each other
 Camaraderie, belonging
 Increased work satisfaction
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

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Ben Linders Consulting
Benefits of Agile teams
 No micromanagement
 Sustainable pace
 Limit outside interference
 Less unclearness
 Improved communication
 Better results
Making Agile Work for You

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Ben Linders Consulting
Fostering a teamwork culture
 Long-lived Teams
 Trust & Psychological Safety
 Embrace Diversity
 Modern Leadership
Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash

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Ben Linders Consulting
What if it doesn’t work?
• Reflect & discuss
• Speak up
• Team working skills
• Get team coaching
Agile Retrospectives

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Ben Linders Consulting
Advice to managers
Dont call people resources!

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Ben Linders Consulting
How to not manage agile teams
• Don't call people resources
• Don’t micromanage
• Don’t put pressure on teams
• Don’t be a jerk
When in doubt: don’t do it,
and see what happens

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Ben Linders Consulting
How to do manage agile teams
• Listen
• Value collaboration
• Trust people
• Give people what they need
• Reward team results
• Drive out fear, psychological safety

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Ben Linders Consulting
One last thing
Managers are people too!
Stop using the term “management”, “business”, or “them”
Call them by their name, respect them in the same way as
you want to be respected
Everybody comes to work
to do their job the best they can!

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Ben Linders Consulting
Thank you!
Thank you!
Ben Linders
Trainer / Coach / Adviser / Author / Speaker
Agile, Lean, Quality & Continuous Improvement
info@BenLinders.com
info@BenLinders.com
@BenLinders
www.linkedin.com/in/benlinders
www.linkedin.com/in/benlinders
www.facebook.com/BenLindersConsulting
www.facebook.com/BenLindersConsulting
www.benlinders.com
www.benlinders.com

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Ben Linders Consulting
Background Information

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Ben Linders Consulting
Teamworking
Purpose
Safety Autonomy

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Ben Linders Consulting
Assessing your Agility
Over 70 tools:
• Self-Assessment checklists
• Readyness checks
• Maturity assessments
• Agile health checks
• Measurements
• And much more!
Agile Self-Assessments

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Ben Linders Consulting
Services for Agile Self-assessments
Services for assessing your agility and increase delivered value:
• In-house workshop for playing the Agile Self-assessment Game
• Public workshops to experience the Agile Self-assessment Game
• Agile assessment for your team, department, or organization
• Facilitation for playing the game at your event (conference, meetup,
hackathon, game lab, etc)
• Tailoring the Agile Self-assessment Game to your specific needs
• Licenses for playing the game
• …
Contact: benlinders@gmail.com +31 6 2901 3863

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Ben Linders Consulting
Continuous Improvement
 Become aware of importance of continuous
improvement,
 Explore how it’s engrained in agile software
development
 Suggestions that you can use in your daily
work to improve continuously
Increase your organization's agility!
Leanpub.com/continuousimprovement
“Continuous Improvement is the act of continuously doing
whatever helps to become better and thus more valuable”