Agile: Which comes first, the method or the culture?

There is a lot being written these days about agile projects and agile organizations, and it got me to thinking about the intersection of culture and project management.

Here’s the difficult circularity: organizations that are trying to become more agile need projects that are executed using agile principles which need organizations to support agile behavior and thinking which need…

Then it dawned on me that perhaps it was ever thus, and we were too lost in PM best practices to focus on the impact of organizational culture.

I have spent the better part of my career on deepening our understanding of methods and practices, determining “root cause” problems for failures, and best practices to avoid failures. But I never bothered to articulate “best cultures” to support project success, or cultural dimensions that doomed some projects to failure.

For example, here are some cultural aspects (and you or I could list many more) that can negatively affect a healthy outcome in terms of the framework of the Seven Keys To Success:

Success Key	Negative Culture Indicators
Stakeholders Are Committed	Stovepipe mentality
Business Benefits Will Be Realized	Competitive complacency
Work And Schedule Are Predicted	We love fire drills
Scope Is Realistic And Managed	Shoot the messenger
Team Is High Performing	Lack of trust
Technical Risks Are Mitigated	Hero mentality
Delivery Organization Benefits Will Be Realized	IT organizations and contractors are suppliers, not partners

My perspective on culture is influenced by the notion that culture is what people feel when they observe the behavior of their leaders. So my question now is not what culture does it take, but what role does the Project Manager play in shifting organizational behaviors toward supportive cultures.

“Wait, that goes way above my pay grade,” you say? Well, if the Project Manager is not ready to stand before a Steering Committee and tell them what they need to hear, not simply what they want to hear, then he or she is in the wrong profession. Expert level project managers lead with vision, develop trusted advisor relationships, embrace difficult conversations, and create a high-performing team based on mutual trust. They are effectively shifting organizational culture around them in directions that will support success.

I have always felt that Project Managers are in the business of managing change.

With respect to agile organizations and agile project methods, I now believe that the highest calling for Project Managers is to be agents of cultural change.

Are C-level executives ready to ask that of their Project Managers? Are Project Managers willing to take that mission on?

The answer is “yes” in organizations that are becoming more agile.