A few weeks ago a colleague and I were discussing why a team never had anything to show during the demo part of their sprint review. The team works on a large number of small to medium size enhancements. The work is important to the business, so as soon as it is ready they get approval and promote it into production. At the end of the sprint, there is nothing for show and tell. I suggested that the duration of the sprint was too long. A shorter sprint would afford a chance to gather broader feedback before moving the work into production.  The discussion went something like this:

Person 1: I still think Cohn is right — your sprint might be too long.  

Person 2: I don’t think that will change – the sprint duration.

Person 1: Isn’t that a choice? It is not like sprint length is one of the 10 Commandments. Nothing can happen unless it is discussed. 

Person 2: It’s an organization-wide decision, so “end-of-story” we will just have to live it, maybe we should cancel the sprint reviews.

Fatalism stops process improvement and agile transformations in their tracks. One of the definitions of fatalism is the belief that all events are predetermined anything that happens is inevitable. Reflecting on the earlier conversation, the statement that it is an organization-wide decision absolves the person in the conversation from any responsibility to act. Fatalism generates submissiveness. Phrases like “that is just the way we do it” or “or “that is just our culture” are a reflection of the same fatalism.

I am struck by the parallel between fatalism in behaviors and the fixed mindset described in Carol Dweck’s classic book Mindsets (Re-read recap and all links https://bit.ly/3Eu0qJu ). People with a growth mindset believe that their capabilities and attributes are what they are right now and can change and grow through application and experience. While the path to an end might not be obvious, someone with a growth mindset takes a step, tries an experiment, learns, and generates progress. Personal qualities and attributes are barriers to people with a fixed mindset. Any challenge to beliefs represents a threat of failure that will challenge their perception of their capabilities and value. Resistance rather than change is the outcome.

Change agents with a fatalistic or fixed mindset must change their beliefs and behaviors. You can not do your job in this position. I have occasionally struggled with a feeling that the outcome of a piece of work was inevitable, I think everyone occasionally does. Mindsets don’t have to be permanent. You can change, nurture, and maintain a mindset. It is hard work. If you’re not willing to spend the time and effort, coaching is the wrong business for you. 

The same warning applies to leaders of all stripes. Fatalism in leaders, a belief that outcomes are inevitable for people, projects, and tasks is problematic. Determinism might absolve you of any responsibility to act but it also absolves you from the right to lead those who want or need change. You owe it to yourself and those you lead to change your mindset.

Making the transition to a different mindset isn’t formulaic; it is context-dependent. In the next installment in this series, we will look at a few approaches to tackling this problem.  In the interim, I would like to suggest an experiment. Over the next two weeks, during your daily retrospectives capture your reaction when asked to change how you or your team should work.  Not doing daily retrospectives? (Daily Retrospectives)  Is your reaction, “That won’t/can’t work” or is your reaction “How can I/we make this idea work” (or “What can I learn from this idea?”) The experiment is not about the rationale behind your immediate answer, rather I am asking you to focus on what you can learn from the reaction.