Top 10 Attributes that Good Agile Team Should Exhibit

What’s an Agile Team? The Top 10 Attributes that Good Agile Team Should Exhibit

Compare a highly functioning Agile team to a superhero squad. While each individual possesses a special skill, these heroes must ultimately work together to complete their mission and save the day.

Like this team of superheroes, your team in business must work together to achieve success. This teamwork sits upon a foundation of business agility, which comes as a result from a work culture and employees.

What makes a good Agile team?

A strong Agile team must demonstrate superpower vision to see the big picture clearly. After identifying an end goal, teams must think with conviction, generate out-of-the-box ideas, and adjust on the fly when a mission doesn’t go as expected.

Compare an exemplary Agilist with the superhero troupe of a hero swooping in at the right moment to save the day. Quick thinking results in a seamless rescue. When unexpected obstacles arise in business, an Agile team responds and works the same way to execute their mission.

What are the qualities of an Agile team?

A good Agile team should exhibit the following qualities:

1. Clear Goals

Why do Agile teams use iteration goals?

The renowned salesman and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar famously said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.” Agile teams avoid chaos by setting clear iteration goals. Similar to a driver who needs a map or destination for a road trip, iteration goals can help teams stay on a course heading toward an end goal. Iteration goals are small, focused objectives that keep every team member on track.

Iteration goals can help a team determine their priorities, allowing them to track progress throughout the sprint and decreasing the risk of becoming overwhelmed. For example, app designers might focus on building a user interface for the main screen before working on a premium feature within the app. Focusing on the most important parts of a project first can set the team up for success down the line.

2. Strong Teamwork

Agile teams often work in tandem with one another, occasionally reaching across multiple departments to get a project done.

What is one way to describe a cross-functional Agile team?

Cross-functional Agile teams create a hub for collaboration, similar to a jazz band riffing off one another to produce a perfect harmony. A cross-functional team nails this collaboration by blending different skills, using their varied expertise to tackle projects.

Ticket and resale company StubHub experienced the power of collaboration after tapping Hyperdrive for Agile coaching. The company had lost market share after struggling to launch new features. The slow movement was attributed to unaligned teams, further weakened by a rapidly changing market. Hyperdrive implemented an Agile approach and leadership coaching to align 40 separate teams delivering software within the company. New features finally built during Hyperdrive’s coaching term resulted in a 29 percent increase of StubHub’s quarterly revenue, equivalent to $1 billion annual revenue growth.

Members of various teams in an organization will likely see a project differently. When these perspectives come together, they create innovative solutions that wouldn’t emerge from a single viewpoint. This is the beauty of a superpower team.

3. Highly Adaptable

Disruptions impact organizations across every industry, and an adaptable way of working helps teams pivot quickly in response to threats.

Tom Perry, Hyperdrive Vice President, says outside disruptions can impact industries differently. Understanding potential disruptors to your organization can help teams anticipate where they may need to adapt to change fast.

“There are going to be times when the market changes. There are going to be times when the market gets tight,” said Perry. “For some organizations, these things are going to be critical. If you work in healthcare, governance, for example, is a big deal,” said Perry. “If you work at a startup, governance may not even exist, right? Governance may not even be a thing for you.”

Experienced teams know it’s not a question of “if” but “when” plans change during a project. A good Agile team huddles, reassesses, and pivots to come up with a better approach if necessary. This could mean scrapping work hours, rethinking a design, or even redirecting an entire project’s focus. Adaptability is a game-changer and creates a high performing team.

4. Creative

When should Agile teams make time for innovation?
As often as possible. While deadlines can be critical, dedicating time for creativity is crucial as well. Strong Agile teams schedule time for brainstorming, ensuring fresh ideas flow throughout the course of a project.

I’ve seen close-knit Agile teams achieve this beautifully, creating space for brainstorming in their sprint. This way of working boosts productivity without losing the spark. The work environment transforms into a playground for ideas, and the magic ensues when everyone has a seat at the table. New perspectives bring innovation.

5. Clear and consistent communication

Clear, frequent, and open communication is the heartbeat of Agile. Daily stand-ups, which are short focused meetings, keep everyone synced and motivated. They are key to preventing misunderstandings and keeping project progress on track.

In any team setting, imagine progress like planting a garden. You need to water, prune, and care for it regularly. Similarly, it would help if you communicated regularly to nurture your team’s growth and success.

6. Continuous Improvement

With today’s rapidly changing marketplace, a work culture that fosters continuous improvement is vital to remain relevant. Leaders point to standup meetings and retrospectives when determining which Agile team events support relentless improvement.

Teams use retrospectives to discuss what worked and what failed in a sprint. Lessons from a retrospective help teams grow as team members share experiences and insights to make meaningful changes. Regular check-ins at standups provide opportunities for teams to identify areas for innovation and improvement throughout the sprint.

This continuous improvement forms the backbone of Agile, creating the foundation for teams to adapt. By continuously tuning and improving, teams enhance their skills while delivering better results. Agile, after all, is a mindset of perpetual growth.

7. Trusting and Respectful

Agile demands trust in each other’s skills to complete tasks efficiently. This approach not only speeds up the process, but also makes the work environment much more pleasant.

Agile ways of working promote trust, preventing micromanagement from hindering a team’s workflow. In environments built upon trust, team members feel respected, valued, and confident to give their best. By trusting one another, we create a harmonious and efficient workflow where everyone’s contributions matter.

8. Quality Driven

Quality-driven work is a cornerstone of success. Agile teams prioritize high standards, ensuring the final product is not just quick but stellar. While speed is important, project completion should not hinder its excellence. By maintaining high standards and inspecting every detail, teams ensure work is done right. Each task is handled with care. Each piece of work mirrors their commitment to excellence.

9. Just the Right Speed

Burnout can tank a team’s motivation and workflow, but an Agile team that paces themselves can reduce the risk of running out of steam. Pushing too hard can lead to mistakes and stress, and working at a steady pace increases the likelihood of catching errors, maintaining quality, and keeping morale high. Agile teams should communicate when deadlines seem too short or spread out. Identifying the sweet spot helps a team work smarter - not harder - while maintaining a work-life balance and maintaining well-being.

10. Just the Right Size

What is the recommended size of an Agile team?

Maintain a Goldilocks approach when identifying the size of your Agile team - utilizing a “not too big, not too small” structure. Teams between five to nine individuals keep communication tight and productivity high. When Agile teams are too large, ideas can get lost in the chaos. Smaller teams ensure everyone’s voice is heard and plays an important role in the project. Like parts in a well-oiled machine, each team member is essential and works in tandem. Together, they achieve great things.

Final Thoughts on what makes a Good Agile Team

Agile teams should regularly check-in and relentlessly evaluate opportunities for improvement. After identifying which of these attributes might need a little polish, team members should hold one another accountable throughout a project. Being part of an agile team means embracing a mindset prioritizing collaboration, adaptability, and continuous improvement. When we exhibit these top attributes, we empower ourselves and our team to overcome challenges and deliver exceptional results.

Let’s prove that your Agile team is a superpower team!