I've been a member of one agile team or another since 2006. I've noticed that organisations can get the impression that if they follow "the process", everyone starts acting like a team, and all businesses problems evaporate into thin air.
If only it were that easy!
I've come across two different models that may explain why collaboration is more challenging than just following the Scrum Guide (or any other agile approach for that matter). They are:
The Influencer Model (or The Six Sources of Influence) - Grenny, Patterson, Maxfield, McMillan, Switzler.
Westrum's Typology of Organisational Culture - Professor Ron Westrum.
The Influencer Model
The model describes six sources of influence: motivation and ability and subdomains called personal, social and structural. The authors describe the six subdomains as:
Make the Undesirable Desirable
Surpass Your Limits
Harness Peer Pressure
Find Strength in Numbers
Design Rewards and Demand Accountability
Change the Environment
Or as I would say:
Help people understand what's in it for them
Give people the skills needed to adopt the new behaviour
Start with the opinion leaders in the group
Make it a problem for the group, not an individual within it
Don't reward the old behaviour
Make it easy for people to work in the new style
If we don't help people understand the situation and how it benefits them, and if they cannot adapt because they lack the skills or "the system" prevents them, change is unlikely.
Westrum's Typology of Organisational Culture
The model describes three different. Here's how they're presented in the Accelerate book (by Dr Nicole Forsgren et al. ):
Pathological (Power-Oriented)
Low cooperation
Messengers "shot"
Responsibilities shirked
Bridging discouraged
Failure leads to scapegoating
Novelty crushed
Bureaucratic (Rule-Oriented)
Modest cooperation
Messengers neglected
Narrow responsibilities
Bridging tolerated
Failure leads to justice
Novelty leads to problems
Generative (Performance-Oriented)
High cooperation
Messengers trained
Risks are shared
Bridging is encouraged
Failure leads to inquiry
Novelty implemented
Westrum defines culture as "...the pattern of response to the problems and opportunities it encounters", which I think is delicious 🤤 !
In other words, how the organisations' leaders focus on personal needs, bureaucratic objectives, and the mission heavily influences the type of culture created.
If leaders ask their people to collaborate but foster a pathological or bureaucratic culture, folks are likely to keep their heads down and remain in their silos.