How Small Signs of Cynicism Can Destroy Agile Team Cohesion | Richard

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile Storytelling from the Trenches
Episode: How Small Signs of Cynicism Can Destroy Agile Team Cohesion | Richard
Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Richard Brenner
Release Date: April 15, 2025

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Introduction

In this compelling episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte, a seasoned Agile Coach and Certified Scrum Master, delves into the subtle yet impactful issue of cynicism within Agile teams. Joined by guest Richard Brenner, an experienced Agile Coach, the discussion unpacks how seemingly minor negative behaviors can erode team cohesion and undermine Agile practices.

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The Subtle Onset of Cynicism in Agile Teams

Richard Brenner sets the stage by reflecting on his pivotal career influences, highlighting the book Solution Focused Coaching for Agile Teams by Ralph and Veronica. He explains how this book transformed his coaching approach by integrating solution-focused techniques into Agile environments, particularly in retrospectives and conflict resolution.

Richard Brenner [02:38]: "It’s really very practical and gave me a lot of tools at hand that I still use in almost any workshop nowadays."

Transitioning into the core topic, Richard shares a firsthand account illustrating how minor instances of cynicism can escalate into significant team issues. He recounts a retrospective meeting involving multiple Agile teams and a line manager present in the room.

Richard Brenner [03:26]: "Someone in the room, silent but loud enough to be heard, said no, but you will do anyhow. And in that context... there was already a lot of cynicism in place."

This incident, though seemingly trivial, created a palpable tension, signaling deeper disconnects between the management and the teams. Richard emphasizes that such moments are often the tip of the iceberg, revealing underlying issues that, if unaddressed, can lead to team disbandment or severe dysfunction.

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Identifying Passive Destructive Behaviors

Delving deeper, Richard discusses the concept of passive destructive behaviors—subtle actions that may not overtly disrupt meetings but significantly impact team morale and cohesion. He shares observations from his experience facilitating stand-ups:

Richard Brenner [06:25]: "There’s always this one person coming a bit late to the stand-up and not really standing in line... making faces."

Such behaviors, while minor, contribute to a negative atmosphere and can demotivate team members. Richard illustrates how these passive actions, though not confrontational, create an undercurrent of disengagement and dissatisfaction within the team.

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Strategies for Addressing Cynicism and Destructive Behaviors

When asked how he addresses these subtle disruptions, Richard highlights the importance of structured conflict resolution protocols. Drawing from his training with Lisa Atkins, he explains the categorization of behaviors into:

• Active Constructive
• Passive Constructive
• Active Destructive
• Passive Destructive

Richard Brenner [07:18]: "We did this in a retrospective where we said, let’s talk about some behaviors and let’s see where they are. And then we tried to agree on a joint conflict protocol."

By identifying and discussing these behaviors openly within retrospectives, teams can collaboratively develop strategies to mitigate their impact. Richard advocates for addressing issues promptly rather than ignoring them, fostering a culture of transparency and continuous improvement.

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Effective Communication: Avoiding Judgment and Encouraging Reflection

Vasco Duarte underscores the necessity of non-judgmental communication when addressing such behaviors. He suggests using open-ended questions that prompt self-reflection rather than defensiveness.

Vasco Duarte [09:02]: "Do you always do this, you never do that."

Richard Brenner [10:17]: "When you do this, this has the following impact on me because that's just my personal impression."

Richard elaborates on the impact feedback technique, which involves expressing how someone's behavior affects the team or himself personally. This approach avoids blame and encourages constructive dialogue.

Richard Brenner [10:48]: "I'm not trying to judge. Just say, look, this had the following effect on me and let’s talk about it."

Such techniques empower team members to take ownership of their actions and foster a collaborative environment where issues are addressed openly and respectfully.

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Conclusion

This episode provides invaluable insights into the often-overlooked subtle behaviors that can undermine Agile team cohesion. By sharing real-world experiences and effective strategies, Richard Brenner equips Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches with the tools needed to identify and address cynicism within their teams. The key takeaway emphasizes the importance of open communication, structured conflict resolution, and fostering a culture of continuous reflection and improvement.

For Agile practitioners looking to maintain a positive and productive team environment, this conversation serves as a crucial reminder of the power of addressing small issues before they escalate into larger problems.

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Notable Quotes:

• Richard Brenner [02:38]: "It’s really very practical and gave me a lot of tools at hand that I still use in almost any workshop nowadays."

• Richard Brenner [03:26]: "Someone in the room, silent but loud enough to be heard, said no, but you will do anyhow."

• Richard Brenner [06:25]: "There’s always this one person coming a bit late to the stand-up and not really standing in line... making faces."

• Richard Brenner [10:17]: "When you do this, this has the following impact on me because that's just my personal impression."

• Richard Brenner [10:48]: "I'm not trying to judge. Just say, look, this had the following effect on me and let’s talk about it."

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This detailed summary captures the essence of the episode, providing listeners and readers with a comprehensive understanding of how small signs of cynicism can negatively impact Agile teams and offering practical strategies to combat these challenges.

Transcript

[Vasco]

Have you ever wondered what it really.

[Unknown Host]

Takes to make Agile work well? At the Global Agile Summit, we're bringing you real life first person stories of Agile succeeding out there in the real world that will inspire you to take action. Whether you're a leader, a product innovator, a developer, you'll hear practical insights from those who've done it. They'll be telling their own stories from the stage. I'll tell you more about this at the end of this episode. So stay back and listen to the full detailed description of what we have in store for you at the Global Agile Summit. But if you can't wait, you can go right now to globalagilesummit.com and check out our full schedule for now onto the episode. But I'll see you at the end of this episode with more details on the Global Agile Summit. Talk to you soon. Hello, everybody. Welcome to our team Tuesday. This week we have with us Richard Brenner.

[Vasco]

Hey, Richard, welcome back.

[Richard Brenner]

Hi, Vasco.

[Vasco]

So, Richard, on Tuesday we talk about teams and how they create their own problems every now and then. But before we dive into that, share with us what was the book that most inspired you in your career as an Agile coach? As we heard yesterday.

[Richard Brenner]

There were many good books, but I reflected a bit on that question and I think the book that really changed my approach and my day to day behavior up until now is called Solution Focused Coaching for Agile Teams. It was originally a German title, it's also now translated into English. It's from Ralph and Veronica. They have a company together which is called in German Sinful. And basically they describe a coaching approach, Solution focused Coaching, and also go into solution focused retrospective formats and how you can, for example, do solution focused conflict resolution, moderation. So it's really very practical and gave me a lot of tools at hand that I still use in almost any workshop nowadays.

[Vasco]

Absolutely. And it's interesting that you describe the book as applying the solution focused coaching approach, which is something that exists outside Agile, but applying it to environments and to contexts that we face on a regular basis. So that's a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing that.

[Richard Brenner]

Welcome. Yeah.

[Vasco]

And talking about solutions. Sometimes the teams that we work with, we may try to help them find solutions, but end up in trouble. And this is because very often what happens is that we don't necessarily cause problems, but the teams themselves start creating these problems. And they don't usually start as like big issues, they start small.

[Unknown Host]

So we want you to tell us a story about that development.

[Vasco]

Right, like how we went from like These small little behaviors in the team to eventually a flu fluid full blown problem that might have ended up with the team being disbanded, for example. So share that with us, Richard.

[Richard Brenner]

Yeah, I think as you mentioned, it's not that there's one big thing and it explodes. Usually there are small steps and you have some small little things that come into that are doing conversations that you recognize and gets more and more the self destruction patterns. And of course there are many. But one concrete story I had was for me as a moderator of that meeting also like a crucial moment where I also learned a lot was that I had I think three agile or four agile teams in a room and we had a bigger retrospective about the way of working and the manager of that team was the line manager was also in the room and he said may I ask a question? And someone in the room, silent but loud enough to be heard, said no, but you will do anyhow. And in that context sometimes this might just be a joke, but in that context it was really like a thick air. You know, there was a lot of cynicism already in place in that teams and there was also this like the think okay, our management wants something from us but we are not really buying into it. So there was a bad relationship between the management and the teams. And this was just one sentence or one small situation that was very intense. For me also as a moderator, the problem I didn't stop there nowadays I would address this elephant in the room nowadays but I went on and ignored it and also the manager ignored it and just asked the question. So we didn't really take it up from that point. And I, I think this is cynicism is that is one of one big problem if that happens like as a destructive pattern. And also what I realized is like and I come to the patterns then that I learned but like passive destructive behavior. So what I've seen is for example when I started in with stand ups in companies and we started with scrum and standups and there's always this one person coming a bit late to the stand up and not really standing in the line. This was on site stand up. So not remote, but remote could be similar. Always a bit late and not really involved. And also this person stood a step behind everyone else and was not really actively participating, was doing something else, looking around, making faces. And this passive destructive behavior has a huge effect on the team. And even if you might think that's a small thing but it can have a huge impact on the general mood that you have within the team.

[Vasco]

And how would you address that? Because obviously they are not necessarily ostensibly disrupting the meeting. They're just not paying attention or browsing their phone or whatever that might be. How would you address that these days?

[Unknown Host]

Richard?

[Richard Brenner]

One of a very good training I had, and that was I was lucky because I had this right after that situations was with Lisa Atkins, also a coaching training. And she had a format where you actively talk about the conflict resolution, your conflict protocol in the team. And for example, there are four different behaviors that you can talk about, like active constructive, passive constructive, active destructive and passive destructive. And I did this in a retrospective where we said, look, let's talk about some behaviors and let's see where they are. And I reflected on what I've seen, like this stand up behavior or some other things people came up with. And then we tried to agree on a joint conflict protocol. And how do we deal with that from now on? Please let's address this when it happens and let's talk about it and not just ignore it. For example, talk to the person, let's see what's, what's going on. And that's usually when I'm as a natural coach there. Also for scrum masters, I think if you realize something like this, talk to the person and reflect what you just what you've just seen and what you think is.

[Vasco]

Yeah, without judgment, by the way.

[Richard Brenner]

Without. Sure, without judgment and without generalization. Because I could easily say, look, you are dragging the whole team, which is probably not true, but trying to find.

[Vasco]

Out, you always do this, you never do that.

[Richard Brenner]

Exactly, exactly. So there's usually what I found out. There's usually a good reason or something behind which is important to talk about and find out.

[Vasco]

Yeah, there's always a good reason, even when the behavior isn't a good behavior. That's a very good point. And when we enter a conversation like that, with judgment, then we are immediately forcing the other person to take a defensive stance, which closes the communication instead of opening the communication. Right. But if we ask, hey, you know, how, how do you think the daily meeting went from your perspective? Right. Like this, open questions and then maybe sharing an observation. So I heard this phrase, what did you mean by it? Right, Like I heard no, but you will ask anyway. Does that happen often? What do you think about that? Like that kind of question opens the other person to their own reflection, which in the end is what we're there to do to help people find their own reflections. And of course at the end of the day they are going to work independently. We will not be there telling them what to do and how to do it right. So we want to emphasize and amplify their ability to reflect.

[Richard Brenner]

Exactly. And I think one tool that I could share also is giving impact feedback. And because you said not be judgmental, I often approach this by saying, listen, when you do this, this has the following impact on me because that's just my personal impression that's can never be wrong. It's also not aggressive. I'm not trying to judge. Just say, look, this had the following effect on me and let's talk about it.

[Vasco]

Absolutely. Impact feedback without judgment. A very good point. Thank you for sharing that story, Richard.

[Richard Brenner]

Thank you.

[Unknown Host]

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