Wake Up and Smell The Coffee

You’ve heard that I’m sure. What does it mean to you? Many people drink coffee for the caffeine; some drink it out of habit; others may have different reasons.

Possibly the ritual of making it is a comfortable and pleasurable experience. A way to create some certainty and predictability and control in a world that offers less and less.

In fact creating a ritual can enhance the pleasure of an activity. Slowly positioning the bar of chocolate, gently unwrapping the packaging, taking a few seconds to look at it, to smell the specific aromas, carefully breaking off a small piece and delicately placing it on your tongue, slowly tasting it, possibly with your eyes closed…

Or maybe you just stuff it all in your mouth and devour it as quickly as possible?

Many times I have found myself eating my dinner, reaching for a bottle of water to fill my glass and actually forgetting to drink it. The act of filling my glass has had the effect of sating my thirst.

Why am I writing about rituals? Well I think they are important for a few reasons. Here are just three:

1. They help us cope with the world

2. They can help enhance our experience

3. They help us make changes and build habits

Rituals help us cope with the world

When faced with factors outside of our control, situations of uncertainty, complexity, unpredictability and ambiguity we naturally feel anxious. It has similar effects on us as physical pain does.

Having some rituals that are predictable, repeatable and within our control provides an antidote to those feelings. Rituals can center us, help us feel and be more resourceful.

This is one reason that Scrum became so popular for people transitioning from a more predictive approach to a more empirical one. Accepting the need to operate in a VUCA context can be offset by the knowledge we are going to have the same format meeting at the same time with the same people every day. Every two weeks we will have planning and retrospective sessions etc. This is very calming and reassuring.

Rituals Enhance Our Experience

Beyond helping us cope, rituals significantly enhance our experience of everyday activities, turning the mundane into something special. The chocolate bar scenario isn't just about enjoying chocolate; it's about savoring a moment, fully engaging our senses, and transforming a simple act into a rich experience.

Similarly rituals like sprint reviews or retrospectives aren't merely procedural. They're opportunities for teams to celebrate successes, learn from setbacks, and collectively evolve. These rituals enrich the team's journey, making each step more meaningful and rewarding.

Rituals Help Us Make Changes and Build Habits

Perhaps one of the most powerful aspects of rituals is their role in fostering change and facilitating the formation of new habits.

They provide a framework within which change can occur more smoothly. For instance, the consistent use of stand-ups and retrospectives creates a rhythm, making it easier for teams to adapt their ways of working.

Over time, these rituals become habits, seamlessly integrated into the team's way of working, promoting continuous improvement and agility.

Rituals in Agile Leadership

For agile leaders, understanding and thoughtfully implementing rituals is key. It's about more than just following a set of practices; it's about cultivating a culture that values mindfulness, adaptability, and continuous growth.

Rituals can be incredibly powerful in addressing challenging aspects of organizational culture, especially those that are crucial for fostering an agile environment.

Effective leaders use rituals to:

Encourage learning

Organise periodic "Fail Fairs" where teams present projects or initiatives that didn't go as planned, focusing on what was learned rather than what went wrong. This ritual not only normalizes failure but celebrates it as a valuable source of insight and growth. By making these events regular and celebratory, leaders can shift the perception of failure from something to be avoided to a stepping stone towards innovation.

Strengthen psychological safety

Hold regular "I Wonder" sessions where team members and leaders openly discuss questions or challenges they don't have answers to. These sessions can be framed around specific themes or projects and encourage a culture of curiosity and humility. This ritual reinforces the idea that it's okay not to have all the answers and that asking questions is a critical step in finding solutions.

Focus ruthlessly

Implement "Workload Wednesdays" (or any day that fits) where teams review their current workload to identify and discuss what can be paused, stopped, or delegated. This ritual helps teams become more conscious of their capacity and the importance of focusing on priorities to enhance productivity and reduce burnout. It also reinforces the principle of sustainable pace, a key aspect of agility.

Finishing Thoughts

So, as you "wake up and smell the coffee," consider the rituals in your life and work. How do they help you navigate complexity? How do they enrich your experiences? And how can you design or refine these rituals to better support your journey toward agility and growth?