A fundamental ingredient for high-performing teams is self-organisation. And what better example of high-performance teams in action than the Navy SEALs! Many see the military as a bureaucratic, command and control, top-down organisation. Yet, elements of military leadership align to Agile principles, like: small teams, decentralised decision making, discipline as a mechanism for autonomy, a common shared vision and purpose Join me as we walk through practical application of how to: - Recognise the importance of clarity and direction for teams - Determine the boundaries and constraints required to operate as a self-organised team - Apply practices and tools to create the environment needed for high-performance Are you ready to become a Servant Leader Navy SEAL style? HOOYAH!

1. @biased77
@agilityIQ
AGILE
ARMIES –
Self-Organisation
as a supporting
model in the
military
Biase De Gregorio
Regional Scrum
Gathering
08 November 2018

2. @biased77
@agilityIQ

3. EXTREME OWNERSHIP
@biased77
@agilityIQ

4. @biased77
@agilityIQ
https://youtu.be/ljqra3BcqWM

5. CLARITY
People know what to work on
They know how their work
fits into the bigger picture
They know who their
customers are and how their
work makes a difference to
their customers
CONDITIONS
People have the means to do
the work
Organisational policies and
structures must support the
work
CONSTRAINTS
People know what always
should be done…and what
should never be done.
People can articulate their
bounded autonomy
Esther Derby – Designing environments for Agile success
Moving from LEADER-FOLLOWER to LEADER-
LEADER
In order to achieve Leadership at all levels:

6. CLARITY
1. Believe in the
purpose
2. Prioritise and
execute
3. Planning vs
the Plan
4. Decisiveness vs
uncertainty
5. Keep it simple
@biased77
@agilityIQ
CONSTRAINTS
1. Decentralised
command
2. Leading up &
down the
chain of
command
3. Discipline
equals
freedom
CONDITIONS
1. Breaking
down the silos
2. Check your
ego
3. No bad teams
only bad
leaders

7. CLARITY
@biased77
@agilityIQ

8. EXERCISE
@biased77
@agilityIQ
• Break into pairs and discuss for 3 minutes
WHY clarity is important in Agile teams?
• Then in your larger group debrief your
discussion with a focus on why clarity is
important, and what practices and tools can
be used to create clarity - 7 minutes
• Debrief on conversation - 5 minutes

9. Believe in the purpose
CLARITY
@biased77
@agilityIQ

10. Observe.
Prioritise.
Execute
Jocko Willinck
CLARITY
@biased77
@agilityIQ

11. Planning vs.
The Plan
CLARITY
@biased77
@agilityIQ

12. Keep it Simple
CLARITY
@biased77
@agilityIQ

13. Decisiveness vs Uncertainty
CLARITY
@biased77
@agilityIQ

14. CONSTRAINTS
@biased77
@agilityIQ

15. Decentralised Command
CONSTRAINTS
@biased77
@agilityIQ

16. Discipline
equals
freedom
Jocko Willinck
CONSTRAINTS
@biased77
@agilityIQ

17. Leading up and down the
chain of command
CONSTRAINTS
@biased77
@agilityIQ

18. EXERCISE
@biased77
@agilityIQ
DELEGATION POKER – M30

19. The Seven Levels of Delegation
20

20. 1. Tell
You make a decision
for others and you
may explain your
motivation. A
discussion about it is
neither desired nor
assumed.
@biased77
@agilityIQ

21. 2. Sell
You make a decision
for others but try to
convince them that
you made the right
choice, and you help
them feel involved.
@biased77
@agilityIQ

22. 3. Consult
You ask for input
first, which you take
into consideration
before making a
decision that respects
people’s opinions.
@biased77
@agilityIQ

23. 4. Agree
You enter into a
discussion with
everyone involved,
and as a group you
reach consensus
about the decision.
@biased77
@agilityIQ

24. 5. Advise
You will offer others
your opinion and
hope they listen to
your wise words, but
it will be their
decision, not yours.
@biased77
@agilityIQ

25. 6. Inquire
You first leave it to
the others to decide,
and afterwards, you
ask them to convince
you of the wisdom of
their decision.
@biased77
@agilityIQ

26. 7. Delegate
You leave the
decision to them and
you don’t even want
to know about details
that would just
clutter your brain.
@biased77
@agilityIQ

27. EXERCISE
@biased77
@agilityIQ
• At your table create a grid such as the
example
• For each decision, I have provided you will
need to play delegation poker and agree
what level of decision making is required
• Discuss the decision
• Anonymously pick a card that you feel is the right level of
delegation
• Show your cards
• Discuss outliers
• Re-vote and get agreement

28. EXERCISE
@biased77
@agilityIQ
Who Hires our team members?
Who decides performance
bonuses?
Who decides which tools to use?
Who decides core hours?
Who approves leave?
Who decides team goals?

29. CONDITIONS
@biased77
@agilityIQ

30. EXERCISE
@biased77
@agilityIQ
• In your groups complete the partially
completed mind map that provides examples
of conditions that the teams require in order
to be self-organised - 7 minutes
• Debrief on conversation - 3 minutes

31. AGILE ARMIES – MIND MAP EXERCISE
@biased77
@agilityIQ
CONDITIONS
ENVIRONMENT
TEAM DESIGN

32. Breaking down the silos
CONDITIONS
@biased77
@agilityIQ

33. Check your ego
CONDITIONS
@biased77
@agilityIQ

34. No bad
teams only
bad
leaders
CONDITIONS
@biased77
@agilityIQ

35. How does this apply
to Agile teams and
Scaling Agile?
@biased77
@agilityIQ

36. GOOD LEADERSHIP PRINCIPLES IF USED AS A
POINT OF DEPARTURE, SCALES ACROSS THE
ORGANISATION
@biased77
@agilityIQ

37. TAKE EXTREME OWNERSHIP
@biased77
@agilityIQ

38. Email: bdegregorio@iqbusiness.net
Twitter: @biased77
Website: http://www.iqbusiness.net
Phone number: +27 11 259 4000
THANKYOU
REFERENCES:
https://www.slideshare.net/estherderby/leaders-at-all-levels-47625295
Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win – Jocko Willink
and Leif Babin
Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders – L.
David Marquet
Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World - Chris
Fussell, David Silverman, Stanley A. McChrystal, and Tantum Collin
https://www.slideshare.net/serenasoftware/creating-high-performance-
teams-by-using-a-devops-culture
https://youtu.be/ljqra3BcqWM
https://management30.com