We were having a discussion in my Moose Herd the other day about aspects of diversity in constructing your agile organizations and teams. And there were three key themes that came out of the discussions that I’d like to share.

Teams are where the magic happens

I mentioned the work of the team is the value proposition. Leaders need to serve the teams and that includes how they recruit, hire, and onboard folks into the culture.

The true magic of agile teams is NOT in the organizational structure, or the leadership experience level, or in the detail of your project plans, or whether they’re practicing Scrum or Kanban.

Instead, it’s pulling together an empowered, cross-functional team that—

• Has a focused mission or goal;

• Have matured their agile mindset;

• Have intentionally formed and established itself as a team;

• Has a diversity of skills & experience to deliver on their mission;

• Is strongly connected to the customer;

• Has the organizational trust to meet their commitments.

Then create the cultural ecosystem where they are supported, trusted, challenged, mentored, and encouraged to succeed.

If you get the balance right between leadership and team accountability, then magic can happen.