Oct 31
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Alex Apenberg
The Agile Mindset: Rethinking the Role of Stakeholders in Scrum
One of the biggest shifts that happens when organizations adopt Scrum is the change in mindset. Stakeholders accustomed to traditional project management often find themselves asking: “What’s my role now?” In Scrum, the focus shifts from top-down control to collaboration and co-creation. This blog delves into the mindset shift required for stakeholders to thrive in an Agile environment and how they can adapt to this new way of working.
Main Points:
From Control to Collaboration
Adopting a Growth Mindset
Conclusion
In traditional project management, stakeholders often check in regularly to ensure that tasks are on track and approve milestones. Scrum, however, removes much of this control, encouraging stakeholders to collaborate with the team rather than direct it. For example, a stakeholder in a Waterfall environment might request weekly status reports to track progress. In Scrum, that same stakeholder is invited to a Sprint Review to see the product increment in action and offer feedback in real-time, fostering a more collaborative environment.
Trust the Process
A key element of the Agile mindset is trust—trusting that the Scrum team will deliver value without constant supervision. This can be difficult for stakeholders who are used to monitoring every step of the process. However, by trusting the process and allowing the team to self-manage, stakeholders will often see better results. For instance, instead of requiring detailed timelines for every task, a stakeholder could trust that the Scrum team's iterative process will allow for continuous improvement and timely course corrections.
Adopting a Growth Mindset
Scrum encourages an experimental approach to product development, meaning not every sprint will produce a flawless product increment. Stakeholders must adopt a growth mindset, understanding that mistakes are part of the learning process. For example, if a feature doesn't perform as expected, the response should be, "What did we learn, and how can we improve?" rather than "Why didn’t this work?" This approach fosters continuous improvement and innovation.
Conclusion
The Agile mindset requires stakeholders to shift from managing tasks to enabling collaboration. By trusting the Scrum process and embracing a growth mindset, stakeholders can become co-creators in delivering value, rather than simply overseeing project milestones. This mindset shift is critical to unlocking the full potential of Scrum.
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