How to Respond to Resistance to Agile Ways of Working with Ravi Verma

When I look back at 15+ years of experience with Agile adoption, one common theme seems to be ever-present– resistance to Agile ways of working. There were many “resisters” who were challenging to deal with – Developers, Product Owners, Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, Stakeholders. However, there is one person who stands out the most. The one who gave me the most ulcers. The most challenging resister of them all. Me!

I resisted Agile ways of working. Before I evangelized them 😊I was once on the other side – a Development Manager with a team of 25 developers, under pressure to deliver a long list of features. I spent most of my time struggling with an unmanageable Microsoft Project Plan Gantt chart that refused to stay “balanced” for longer than a few hours before something changed.

When my UI lead tried to introduce Scrum to my team, I was the biggest resister. I thought it was a silly fad. “This too, shall pass”, I remember thinking to myself. Right? Wrong. Pretty soon, I was humbled and brought down to my knees and I revisited my understanding of Scrum and Agile ways of working with a beginner’s mind. This experience of having been on the other side as a “resister” has given me an interesting perspective on how to respond to resistance to Agile ways of working. And I want to share some thoughts that might help you if you come across a “resister” like me.

In this session, I will share a 9-step framework to respond to resistance to Agile ways of working that draws upon my 15+ years of lived experience with Agile adoption. Whether you use my framework or not, my hope is that attending this session will spark some new ways of being for you.