How Performance Reviews Killed a Great Agile Team | Joel Bancroft-Connors

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile Storytelling from the Trenches

Episode: How Performance Reviews Killed a Great Agile Team
Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Joel Bancroft-Connors
Release Date: June 3, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte welcomes Joel Bancroft-Connors, a seasoned Agile Coach and Scrum Master, to discuss a critical topic: how traditional performance reviews can undermine Agile team dynamics. Joel shares his extensive experience and insights, drawing from real-world examples to illustrate the detrimental effects of performance review systems on Agile practices.

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Inspirational Reads: Shaping Agile Practices

1. "Start With Why" by Simon Sinek

Joel credits Simon Sinek’s seminal work, Start With Why, as a transformative influence on his approach to teaching Scrum. Despite being 15 years old, the book's core message resonates deeply with him:

“People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” (01:36)

This revelation prompted Joel to shift his teaching methodology from focusing solely on Scrum mechanics to emphasizing the underlying reasons and values that make Scrum effective. By starting with "why," Joel found that his students were more engaged and committed to adopting Scrum principles meaningfully.

2. "Coaching Agile Teams" by Lisa Adkins

Joel also highlights Coaching Agile Teams by Lisa Adkins as a pivotal resource. He admires how Adkins transitioned from a traditional command-and-control project manager to a respected Agile coach:

“If this person who is one of the leading voices in the Agile community today can go from being a command and control project manager, then maybe there's hope for me as well.” (03:05)

This book not only provided practical guidance but also inspired Joel by demonstrating that transformation in leadership style is achievable and essential for fostering Agile environments.

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Case Study: The Collapse of an Agile Team Under Performance Reviews

Context and Initial Success

Joel recounts his experience working with a high-performing team at a large insurance company undergoing a scaled Agile transformation. The CTO had enthusiastically mandated the adoption of Agile, but his commitment waned quickly:

“The CTO went, we're going to go agile, it's going to be wonderful. And then quite literally it was almost like he just said, tell me how it goes, I'm going to go golfing. And then he completely checked out.” (04:55)

Despite the lack of ongoing support from leadership, the team demonstrated remarkable initiative. They took charge of their workspace, redecorated their environment, and established effective collaborative practices, fostering a positive and productive atmosphere.

Emerging Problems: Lack of Purpose and External Interruptions

However, the absence of a clear "why" behind the Agile implementation and a focus solely on output metrics began to erode the team's cohesion:

“They didn't know why... their measures were things like number of teams trained and these metrics that were just really all about did they get any work done. It was all connected to output.” (04:55)

The team’s autonomy was frequently disrupted by external directives and shifting priorities, preventing them from maintaining a sustainable workflow. This constant interference led to frustration and fractures within the team as members struggled to align their efforts with conflicting expectations.

The Unraveling: Performance Reviews and Individual Focus

Joel emphasizes that the introduction of performance reviews exacerbated the situation by shifting the focus from team success to individual achievements:

“The moment we start creating this kind of performance review driven management strategies... we kind of create this focus on individual performance.” (07:45)

Team members began prioritizing their personal goals over collective objectives, leading to a decline in collaboration and trust. This shift mirrored Joel’s observations from other organizations where performance-driven environments resulted in siloed work and internal competition, ultimately harming the team’s overall performance.

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Insights on Performance Reviews and Team Dynamics

The Pitfalls of Individual Performance Metrics

Joel draws parallels between traditional performance reviews and their harmful impact on Agile teams. He argues that when employees are evaluated primarily on individual metrics, it undermines the collaborative ethos essential to Agile methodologies. This focus can lead to:

• Reduced Collaboration: Team members may hoard information or avoid helping others to safeguard their performance ratings.
• Increased Stress: Constant pressure to perform individually can lead to burnout and decreased job satisfaction.
• Erosion of Trust: Competition for individual accolades can damage relationships and team cohesion.

A Bull Riding Analogy for Performance Evaluation

To illustrate an alternative approach, Joel introduces a bull riding analogy, suggesting a balanced evaluation system:

“50% of your performance is the team itself... The other 50 points is focused on you. However, it's not on your work product. It's on how are you doing to grow to better help the company.” (09:10)

In this model:

• 50% Team Performance: Each team is collectively assessed, encouraging mutual support and shared responsibility.
• 50% Individual Growth: Personal development is evaluated based on how individuals contribute to the team's success and their own professional growth, rather than solely on deliverables.

This balanced approach fosters a culture where both team achievements and individual development are valued, promoting a healthier and more productive work environment.

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Concluding Thoughts

Joel Bancroft-Connors’ insights shed light on the critical interplay between performance evaluation systems and Agile team dynamics. His experiences underscore the importance of:

• Starting with "Why": Establishing a clear purpose aligns team efforts and fosters deeper commitment to Agile principles.
• Focusing on Team Over Individual Metrics: Prioritizing collective performance encourages collaboration and trust, essential for Agile success.
• Balanced Performance Reviews: Implementing evaluation systems that recognize both team achievements and individual growth can mitigate the pitfalls of traditional performance metrics.

By rethinking how performance is measured and emphasizing both team and personal development, organizations can create environments where Agile teams thrive and deliver sustained value.

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Notable Quotes

• Joel Bancroft-Connors on "Start With Why":
  “People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” (01:36)

• Joel on Team Disruption:
  “The moment we start creating this kind of performance review driven management strategies... we kind of create this focus on individual performance.” (07:45)

• Bull Riding Analogy for Performance Reviews:
  “50% of your performance is the team itself... The other 50 points is focused on you. However, it's not on your work product. It's on how are you doing to grow to better help the company.” (09:10)

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Timestamp References

• 01:36: Discussion on "Start With Why" and its impact.
• 03:05: Mention of "Coaching Agile Teams" by Lisa Adkins.
• 04:55: Case study introduction and initial team success.
• 07:45: Impact of performance review-driven management.
• 09:10: Bull riding analogy for performance evaluation.

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This episode serves as a crucial reminder for Agile practitioners to critically evaluate their performance management systems. By prioritizing team success and individual growth, organizations can cultivate environments where Agile teams not only function effectively but also continuously evolve and excel.

Transcript

[Vasco]

Hey there, agile adventurer, just a quick question. What if, for the price of a fancy coffee or half a pizza, you could unlock over 700 hours of the best agile content on the planet? That's audio, video, E courses, books, presentations, all that you can think of.

[Joel Bancroft Connors]

But you can also join live calls.

[Vasco]

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[Joel Bancroft Connors]

Hello everybody. Welcome to our team Tuesday and this week we have with us Joel Bancroft Connors. Hey Joel. Welcome back.

Thank you, Vasco. It is great to be back. Love being on the Scrum Master Toolbox.

[Vasco]

Pleasure to have you.

[Joel Bancroft Connors]

And of course, today is a team Tuesday. We'll talk about teams in a second. Before we go there, do share with us what was the book that most inspired you in your career as the Scrum Master?

So this is very tough question. I know you hear that all the time. The books that inspired me when I got started are different. I've been inspired so many times. So I think what I want to do is I want to talk about the book that is most inspiring me right now, even though the book is literally 15 years old. And that is start with why by Simon Sinek. Simon Sinek says people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it. A couple of years ago I was working on my property and I was listening to the book, because I listened to the book at least every year and I came to a realization that I was teaching Scrum wrong. And I realized that people won't use Scrum when you teach them how to do it. People will use Scrum when you teach them why it matters, why they care, why it makes a difference. And I completely shifted my whole mindset on how I was teaching my classes. And I used to be, oh yeah, the values and the principles and all that fuzzy stuff. We don't need to talk about that. And realize that that was really the ultimate reason why we're doing all of this. And so now so much of what I do, literally I start with why. And I'm thinking about that. I just finished listening to the 15th anniversary edition of the book and I'm just, I'm so inspired again. And there's so much I'm wanting to do about changing how I'm building my classes and working with my clients and even how I'm creating content.

Absolutely. And that's a very important point also because it is, as you say, a realization that just grows with us because always when we start, of course, we have to start with the mechanics. There's no other place to start. We don't yet know the reasons why, we don't yet know the depth of knowledge we will get over the years. But I hear that for you it was about listening to the book over and over again that got you to understand. Okay, I already know this is necessary, but the book just triggered it, right? It really is necessary. I really should change how I teach Scrum. I think that's a great insight. And of course the book link will be in the show notes for everybody to go and check it out. And we do mention go for it.

So as to two former project managers, I have to give an honorable mention to the book that got me going, and that was Coaching Agile Teams by Lisa Adkins. And it wasn't because it's just such an incredible book. What got me going was when Lisa talked about being this commanding control project manager, this high price project manager and how she transitioned. And it's like, if this person who is one of the leading voices in the agile community today can go from being a command and control project manager, then maybe there's hope for me as well. And so just an honorable mention to Lisa's book.

Absolutely. There's hope for all of us. If there's one thing we've learned, it's that there's hope for all of us. And talking about hope, sometimes teams do get themselves into so much trouble that there's very little hope left. I don't know if that's one of the stories that you have to share, but let's dive into it. Tell us a little bit about the context of that team and then how those little behaviors approaches, the things they did kind of developed over time and became a problem for the team.

Yeah, so I had a hard time picking one of these. I've worked with a lot of different teams over the last 15 years of my Agile journey, and it was a real challenge to pick ones because a lot of times I come in and I fix Failed teams already, so they've already fallen off the rails. So what I picked was a team that really kind of ties into a little bit into leading change as well because a lot of what happened to the team was outside of their control, but how it impacted them. So I was working at a very large insurance company and they were trying to do a scaled Agile implementation. The CTO went, we're going to go agile, it's going to be wonderful. And then quite literally it was almost like he just said, tell me how it goes, I'm going to go golfing. And then he completely checked out. And so this organization is trying the, it is trying to implement Agile and they didn't know why to start with. So right back to Simon Sinek start with why they didn't know why. And their measures were things like number of teams trained and these metrics that were just really all about did they get any work done? It was all connected to output. And I worked with this one team and they were a really great team, the really supportive manager. They literally, without even talking to facilities, basically upended all of their cubes and everything, rebuilt the stuff by themselves, brought in their own drills and everything, created their own team workspace, hijacked whiteboards and they were working in these long, these long tables, working together and it was really working well. The problem was that every time they started to get into a flow, they got pulled out of that flow because somebody would come in and tell them they had to do something different or they were redirected and then the review cycles and suddenly it's like you're being asked, well, what did you do and how did you improve the company? And suddenly you've got this, this group of people that were supposed to be working together that's all fighting for their own little slice of the pie. And you just started to see the fractures in the team as they realized that even though their manager wanted to create the space and they really were enjoying it, the organization didn't let them do it. And so the cracks just happened more and more and they fell back into the, to the old traps. And that just was mirrored by all the other teams in this is all these teams getting trained. But then when we went back months later and I did an assessment and I started asking questions and doing large scale retrospectives, we just found that everything that they've been taught they weren't actually allowed to use.

Yeah, that of course, if you get, if you measure how many teams are trained, every team will be trained and. But if you measure Nothing related to how they work or how they feel, then the rest isn't going to matter, is it? I do want to highlight one point. I don't know if this is the point that you would highlight from the story, but one that really struck me was this idea that the moment we start creating this kind of performance review driven management strategies, like we're going to review all of you and then some of you will get a bonus. We kind of create this focus on individual performance. And in order for an individual to perform to a certain level that was probably planned a year ago, they will have to make tough choices. I remember working at a very large organization where everybody was available and happy to talk to for the first two months of a quarter, but the last month of a quarter, you couldn't get anyone into a meeting. And if you had something urgent to do, too bad, because everybody had something urgent to do in that third month of the quarter. And it sounded to me that you were describing a little bit of a similar dynamic where the team members realized that for me to succeed, I have to focus on my things. And it's not that they were mean or bad or anything, but just there wasn't any availability for collaboration anymore.

Right. Because it was the. Everybody had to be looking out for themselves and they literally throwing each other under the proverbial bus to take credit for work that they'd all done together. So I'm from the United States, and in the United States we have bull riding. And in bull riding, a crazy person gets on top of a wild bull and tries to stay on for a long time. The scoring though, is you give 50 points for the bull and 50 point for the rider. And I kind of like that idea for a team is 50% of your performance is the team itself. Whatever the team is, everybody gets the exact same score. So if the team gets 45 points, everybody gets 45 points. And then the other 50 points is focused on you. However, it's not on your work product. It's on how are you doing to grow to better help the company. And that's what I would really love to see more organizations do.

Yeah. Okay. I think this would be a great episode to have as a bonus episode because now I have the, how do you say, the urge to dive into a very long monologue about Deming's work on systems performance and performance reviews. But we don't have the time, unfortunately. So. Joel, thank you very much for sharing that story with us.

Absolutely, Bosco, thank you.

[Vasco]

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[Joel Bancroft Connors]

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[Vasco]

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[Joel Bancroft Connors]

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