Feeling stuck in slow, complicated processes? It’s time to bring the dynamic, innovative energy of an agile team in your organisation. Agile methodologies empower teams to deliver results faster, adapt to changes more seamlessly, and significantly boost employee morale.
Here’s a startling fact: according to Digital.ai’s 15th State of Agile report, agile adoption among software development teams skyrocketed from 37% to 86% between 2020 and 2021. But it doesn’t stop there. Agile is transforming IT, operations, marketing, HR, and many other sectors, proving its immense versatility and impact across all industries.
Imagine ditching those cumbersome, slow-moving processes and embracing the efficiency, collaboration, and innovation that agile frameworks bring. It’s not just about doing things faster; it’s about doing them smarter.
Therefore, in this blog, I’m going to share 10 proven tips to help you build a high-performing agile team. These strategies will allow your team to embrace change, work together more effectively, and deliver outstanding results consistently. But before we dive into these game-changing tips, let’s understand what truly makes an agile team and why it’s the secret sauce for your organisation’s success.
So ready to supercharge your team’s performance? Let’s get started!
What is an Agile Team?
An agile team is a cross-functional group of typically ten or fewer members with the diverse skills needed to work through the various stages of a project, from development to testing and beyond.
The idea is that functional roles are clear but also flexible, allowing team members to take initiative. Three key characteristics define an agile team:
- Autonomy: it has to do with collective decision-making in terms of “how” and “who” carry out tasks.
- Responsibility: the team is responsible for achieving the objectives set.
- Adaptability: the ability to respond to change and make the necessary adjustments.
Furthermore, flexible responsibilities can have enormous benefits, as the team is not dependent on external people to make progress. But, this flexibility can also create uncertainty and a sense of disorganisation, increasing the risk that the team will fail.
So, when creating an agile team, it is crucial to take into account the behavioural roles of its members. This helps the team succeed throughout the project.
For example, an implementer will likely follow an efficient process and document their findings. A finisher will focus on the details, while a researcher will test randomly, probably the most interesting parts or the latest trends. In this way, each member works for quality, and a good team should have the following qualities:
Agile Team Should Exhibit These Qualities:
- Ability to self-organise, make decisions, and take responsibility for their work.
- Results-oriented approach to delivering valuable results by prioritising features and testing thoroughly before each release.
- Team members should demonstrate clarity, show empathy, and have a high level of emotional intelligence when communicating.
- A team should be willing and able to adapt to changing requirements or priorities.
- Continuously improve by analysing their performance, identifying areas for improvement, and working to enhance their skills and processes.
- Agile team members take full responsibility for their work and the team’s successes and failures. They treat failures as learning opportunities and strive to avoid repeating mistakes.
- Alignment with business goals to ensure that their work contributes directly to the success of the business.
- These teams work closely together, support each other, resolve conflicts quickly, and avoid unproductive practices, such as office politics.
Now that we know what an agile team’s meaning is and what responsibilities it should have, the next question is how to create one successfully. Don’t worry, here are 10 proven tips for creating agile teams in your company.
10 Proven Tips to Create an Agile Team
1. Start with the End Goal
‘Before you can score, you must first have a goal.’
Start by clearly defining the end goal of the project. You should also be clear about the skills, technology, and resources required to achieve that goal. Additionally, it is best to visualise the desired outcome and work backwards to create a roadmap for how you are going to get there. If you don’t get the result you want, try to encourage the team to re-engage and re-commit.
2. Train and Empower Your Team
It’s essential to give your team the right guidance and training to promote sharing ideas, distributing work, and seeking support.
This way, your team will feel empowered and take ownership of their tasks. They will start understanding which activity is of the greatest importance and make decisions that align with the project’s goals. Provide constructive feedback to help them grow and improve.
3. Recognise the Power of Collaboration
According to a study by Stanford University, teams that work well together are 50% more productive.
This statistic emphasises that when team members collaborate effectively, they can get more tasks and projects done in less time. To facilitate effective communication and collaboration, you can use technology such as Skype, Microsoft Teams, or a personalised email application. These telecommunications apps keep the team engaged and updated on progress. You can also encourage team members to share their ideas, ask questions, and provide feedback openly. As a result, this idea will create an environment in which everyone feels valued and respected, regardless of their role or level of experience.
4. Failure: A Stepping Stone to Success
Debasish Mridha writes on Goodreads.com:
‘Success is a process, but failure is a forward step for success.’
Therefore, encourage a culture where failure is seen as a learning experience and a stepping stone towards improvement. Embrace the fact that mistakes are inevitable, and use them as a chance to learn and grow. Also, allow your team to take calculated risks and experiment with fresh approaches to solving problems.
5. Celebrate Achievements and Adapt to Change
Define success metrics and reward achievements (even if they are small)!
Encourage your agile team to continuously adapt to change and report progress at short intervals. Engrave the phrase, ‘Why not try? Why not fly?’ into the team’s motivation anthem. Celebrate your team’s successes, no matter how small, to boost morale and keep everyone motivated. Be flexible and adaptable to change, because change is the only constant thing.
6. Face-to-Face Communication
Prioritise face-to-face communication to enhance clarity!
Face-to-face conversations bring the spirit of teamwork and make problem-solving abilities stronger. While technology can be a powerful tool for collaboration, there is no substitute for in-person interaction. Therefore, schedule regular team meetings, brainstorming sessions, and one-on-one check-ins to keep everyone engaged and connected.
7. Monitor KPIs and Adapt
Continually monitor key performance indicators to leave nothing to regret in the future!
Engage a member of your agile team to review each task happening throughout the day. Effective monitoring will give you the eye to propose new paths to success based on trends within and outside the company. Additionally, use data and analytics to track progress and identify areas for improvement. It’s wise to be willing to adapt and change course as needed to ensure the project’s success.
8. Promote Experimentation
As the Arabic proverb goes, ‘Experimentation is the great science’.
You need to create an environment that supports learning, experimentation, and risk-taking. It enables employees to adapt to new challenges quickly. If you really care about innovation, encourage your team to explore new technologies, techniques, and approaches to problem-solving. This is the only way you can roar in the marketplace and stand tall. In addition, provide resources and support for ongoing learning and development to help them grow and improve.
9. Implement Effective Feedback Mechanisms
In a survey, 75% of employees believe that feedback is valuable. It means that employees want feedback, and in an agile team, it’s incredibly beneficial to give them constructive feedback.
Additionally, establish regular feedback loops to help team members improve their skills and performance. Encourage open and constructive feedback, both from team leaders and peers, to foster a culture of continuous improvement.
10. Spend Some Time with Your Agile Team
This is the most important method for creating an agile working culture and team. Spend time on team bonding before beginning any official work. Ensure that team members understand each other’s roles.
You can ask each team member what they think makes a great team or ask other questions unrelated to the work. Write down everyone’s perspectives, answers, and POVs. If you are good at remembering, just listen carefully and observe what they say! Because each person has their own views on what contributes to the ultimate team, and this exercise immediately demonstrates that we consider and value all input.
Final Words
Adopting elements of the agile procedure can help your team collaborate better and work more efficiently. Understand the agile practices your team could benefit from. Put them in place on a small scale first.
Want to create an agile team? Then Performance Management Software can help identify the best-performing employees. It has various features that are essential for making a team agile, such as:
- Facilitates continuous feedback loops,
- Identifies strengths and areas for improvement,
- Helps in implementing targeted training programmes, and
- Provides transparent and unbiased performance evaluations.
Contact NYGGS to learn more about this software.