Many agile transformations restrict team autonomy, leading to control and compliance instead of true ownership, adaptability, and meaningful engagement in value delivery.
Here’s the dirty secret behind many “agile transformations”:
The organisation claims alignment, but what they deliver is control.
They dictate priorities, assign tasks, predefine solutions, and then slap a “self-managing” label on the team.
This is a lie.
In Scrum, autonomy isn’t about teams doing whatever they want. It’s about teams deciding how they will meet their goals.
Alignment defines the why and what.
Autonomy gives the team ownership of the how.
Without autonomy, you create learned helplessness.
Teams stop thinking, stop improving, and stop caring.
You get compliance, not commitment.
If you want adaptive value delivery, you must let go of the how.
Align on goals — and then get out of the way.
What parts of your system are still holding a death grip on the how?
If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
Microsoft
Hubtel Ghana
Qualco
Freadom
Teleplan
Healthgrades
Emerson Process Management
Lockheed Martin
Slaughter and May
Deliotte
DFDS
NIT A/S
Higher Education Statistics Agency
Cognizant Microsoft Business Group (MBG)
Genus Breeding Ltd
Boxit Document Solutions
MacDonald Humfrey (Automation) Ltd.
Milliman
Washington Department of Transport
Department of Work and Pensions (UK)
Washington Department of Enterprise Services
Royal Air Force
Nottingham County Council
New Hampshire Supreme Court
Schlumberger
Flowmaster (a Mentor Graphics Company)
Workday
Microsoft
New Signature
Kongsberg Maritime