King of the Road: Stop, Look and Listen

Leaders and teams often make sweeping statements, especially in organizations that don’t really foster transparency. When people can’t see what’s going on, they can assume the worst. A lack of visibility will often lead to broad, negative conclusions, and the entire culture shifts towards frustration, confusion and often lethargy.

Let’s be honest, we’ve all heard it before… statements like:

• “These teams don’t know what they’re doing!”

• “They have no idea how complicated this is!”

• “I could do that faster and better myself!”

• “Management don’t have a clue what they’re doing!”

• “Scrum will fix this!!”

These broad statements are often knee-jerk reactions to a lack of visibility or understanding. When people can’t see what’s under the surface, and instead of digging in to understand they just assume something’s wrong.

As an Agile coach, in more than a few organisations I’ve worked with, my directive was simple:

“Roll out Scrum!”

The leadership team and the teams themselves had tried to work together, which was failing, both sides keep making sweeping assumptions, and come to the conclusion adopting Scrum was the only way to fix their issues. They think it’s an out-of-the-box solution for all their problems: faster delivery, more transparency, better collaboration… but that’s not how it works.

In the fast paced world we now live in, its easy to jump to action, without understanding what is actually going on within the teams. And I’ve got the experience to know… rushing to implement a framework before understanding the actual context is like crossing the road without the green cross code.

Discovery: Stop, Look and Listen

The way I work is I don’t dive straight into frameworks or solutions, my first step is simple but essential: meet the teams.

I introduce myself and speak with them on a level — both as teams and as individuals. I’ll often pitch in and help with some their tasks (having experience in project management, development, testing, analysis, etc…). And also use active listening to to understand what problems they have to get a real feel for what lies beneath, from a human perspective.

It isn’t about looking at metrics or timelines at the start; it is about listening. Some teams have their ceremonies in place—stand-ups, reviews, retros, sprint planning—but there usually is a lot of inconsistency in these events, and a lot of time wasted. But here’s the thing: inconsistency isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it often reveals a lot about where teams are actually at. It often a symptom of deeper issues, or it can simply mean teams are adapting in their own way… as empowered teams should. 

I want to hear is their stories first hand. What problems are they facing? What are their frustrations? And, more importantly, how do they feel about the work they are doing… is it valuable?… or actually, do they think it’s bullshit?

It’s funny how the human perspective is often overlooked, especially when there are so many different ways of seeing the same thing in the same organization. Everyone’s in the same building but looking out of different windows.

But no matter how varied the viewpoints are, what always stands out to me are the themes. Patterns begin to emerge—similar challenges, recurring frustrations, and shared obstacles. These themes are the real insight I need, because they are the key to uncovering the root of the problem.

Co-Creating Solutions and Defining Metrics

When it comes to metrics, there are plenty of frameworks to refer to. However, one of the fundamental truths in my way of working is this:

the teams are best placed to identify the metrics that will matter most.

They’re the ones on the ground, facing the challenges, and they know what needs to be improved. All too often an assumption is made of the problem without really listening to the team.

My next step is facilitating conversations with the teams — open sessions where we could tease out the insights I’d gathered during my discovery phase.

The goal here isn’t to create a space for blame or a list of grievances. It is about framing everything as challenges for us to solve together. We shift the focus from “what’s wrong” to “what can we do about it?” It’s a subtle but powerful difference. I keep the conversations productive, avoiding the traps of overthinking or endless debates that lead to analysis paralysis. Don’t go into detail, get them down first, then review.

As a team, we hypothesize potential solutions and explore quick wins. We keep things moving, focusing on action and experimentation rather than getting bogged down in too much talking.

Then, and only then, do we start to hone in on the key metrics—the ones that would help us observe whether our efforts are paying off, and we’re making real progress, or that we need to pivot. The teams choose metrics, and with these metrics in hand, we can hit the ground running.

Now this is a process whereby we focus on problems, issues, things that will stop us

completing work. Typically, these sessions are short, often, and with simple actions. I hate a long meeting, work out and fix what we can, quickly and efficiently.

experiment, learn, evolve, repeat

Uncovering the Root Problem: The Absence of Transparency

Once we have trimmed off a few outlying issues and annoyances, the real root of the problems will reveal itself. Very often it’s a simple lack of transparency.

There is a veil—a huge disconnect between what is actually happening and what leadership think is happening. As the teams start taking ownership of their metrics and their performance, it gradually becomes clear.

The teams gain confidence, they began to share more openly. The metrics they had chosen aren’t just numbers anymore; they became a way for everyone—teams and leadership alike—to see the real picture. With that, the veil is lifted and actions start to become SMART, we can take actions and see real results!

What was once hidden in frustration and uncertainty starts to come into the light. The business leaders and the teams will get sight of everything, and with that visibility, a new culture will take shape. It isn’t forced or dictated from the top; it is organic. The teams will feel empowered to share their progress, their setbacks, and their solutions. And with that openness comes trust. With trust comes collaboration. And with collaboration comes continuous improvement.

In each organisation this wasn’t some overnight miracle. It is a gradual transformation. But here’s the truth: I don’t come in with all the answers. The magic isn’t in imposing a framework or a rigid process—it is in placing human needs and perspectives at the heart of the method. By fostering an environment where people feel safe to communicate are listened to, have the freedom to experiment, the teams themselves drive the change. They evolve, and so do the organizations.

The Reward: Happy, High-Performance Teams

This journey I’ve shared is a glimpse into what I do… helping teams uncover their own potential and evolve into high-performing, self-governing units. If any of this sounds familiar, if you’re facing similar challenges, or this resonates with you, then I’d love to chat. There’s nothing more rewarding for me than working with people and teams to create real, lasting change.

It’s not just about solving immediate problems; it’s about building a foundation of trust, transparency, and continuous improvement that allows teams to thrive long after I’ve stepped away. The time to embrace change was 20 years ago… change is here, it happens constantly. To be effective teams and leadership must transition into this change evolution.

If you want to explore how to accelerate the potential of your teams and improve the relationship with them in your organization, get in touch. I’d love to partner with you on this journey.

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