Agile Development

Eliminating "That is Not My Job" Thinking in Agile teams

Everyone thinks of himself or herself as a specialist who is only required to do “His or her own job.” But everyone knows that for an organization to be successful and productive, everyone must work as a team, be flexible, and pitch in where necessary. To be truly successful, we must have a team where every person says “What can I do to help?”

However, this is not always as easy to put in to practice as it sounds. Here are a few practical ways to put this idea into action:

Lead by example: If people are told how to act, they will not ever do it, but if they are shown, they will follow suit. Good leaders take responsibility and are not afraid to do a little work to get things done. Standing around and giving orders is not leadership. Jumping in and getting your hands dirty, especially when it is needed most, is the mark of a true leader.

Brainstorm with your team: Get together and talk about ways that things can be improved. Involving everyone in decisions and changes will usually help them go smoother.

Training: Whenever possible, train and make this new behavior known to everyone. You can use role playing, training to help people realize when they should step in and help, and you can make sure that all new employees are trained during orientation to work with a helping mindset.

Make it transparent: Be sure to recognize those that are doing a good job helping others and practicing teamwork.

Creating a culture of teamwork may take a little time and effort, but eventually everyone will see how these changes will work to help them as well, and a little at a time real teamwork will replace “That is not my job.”