Teams today are tired of the “transformation of the day.” After years of navigating shifting priorities, reorgs, and a revolving door of new methodologies, many have grown skeptical of the next big change—no matter how well-intentioned.
One of the first thingsI learned as an agile coach: not every team member gets excited when you start talking about “agile” And not every leader is ready to embrace it—at least not by name.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t open to better ways of working.
I’ve had the most success in environments that didn’t start with the labels. They started with the problems. And that’s where “stealth agile” comes in.
I once worked with a team who told me, straight out: “Agile won’t work for us. It doesn’t apply to our work.”
So, I skipped the Agile talk and simply asked:
We looked at their milestones. We started to visualize their work. We started a planning cadence. We introduced retrospectives. None of it was labeled. It was just a better way to get the work moving.
Eventually, we brought in formal Agile training to solidify what they had already begun to adopt informally. But it wasn’t about introducing a new methodology - it was about giving it structure, and helping them improve it.
That’s the power of starting with the pain, not the process.
There are plenty of valid reasons why teams resist “agile.” Some have been burned by failed rollouts. Some associate it with process overhead. Others think it’s just a software thing.
That’s why I focus on introducing the mindset, not the method.
We talk about:
While these might be considered “agile things.” They are also just good delivery practices. And once teams experience the benefits—better clarity, less rework, more ownership—they stop caring about what it’s called.
When people experience progress, they buy in. They don’t need a label to know something’s working.
If your teams are change-resistant—or if previous agile efforts fell flat—a stealth approach might be your best first step. It’s not about hiding. It’s about leading with empathy, clarity, and results.
Let’s talk about what’s really getting in your teams’ way, and how you can start driving change that actually sticks..
Schedule an advisory call to learn more.
Teams today are tired of the “transformation of the day.” After years of navigating shifting priorities, reorgs, and a revolving door of new methodologies, many have grown skeptical of the next big change—no matter how well-intentioned.
One of the first thingsI learned as an agile coach: not every team member gets excited when you start talking about “agile” And not every leader is ready to embrace it—at least not by name.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t open to better ways of working.
I’ve had the most success in environments that didn’t start with the labels. They started with the problems. And that’s where “stealth agile” comes in.
I once worked with a team who told me, straight out: “Agile won’t work for us. It doesn’t apply to our work.”
So, I skipped the Agile talk and simply asked:
We looked at their milestones. We started to visualize their work. We started a planning cadence. We introduced retrospectives. None of it was labeled. It was just a better way to get the work moving.
Eventually, we brought in formal Agile training to solidify what they had already begun to adopt informally. But it wasn’t about introducing a new methodology - it was about giving it structure, and helping them improve it.
That’s the power of starting with the pain, not the process.
There are plenty of valid reasons why teams resist “agile.” Some have been burned by failed rollouts. Some associate it with process overhead. Others think it’s just a software thing.
That’s why I focus on introducing the mindset, not the method.
We talk about:
While these might be considered “agile things.” They are also just good delivery practices. And once teams experience the benefits—better clarity, less rework, more ownership—they stop caring about what it’s called.
When people experience progress, they buy in. They don’t need a label to know something’s working.
If your teams are change-resistant—or if previous agile efforts fell flat—a stealth approach might be your best first step. It’s not about hiding. It’s about leading with empathy, clarity, and results.
Let’s talk about what’s really getting in your teams’ way, and how you can start driving change that actually sticks..
Schedule an advisory call to learn more.
Teams today are tired of the “transformation of the day.” After years of navigating shifting priorities, reorgs, and a revolving door of new methodologies, many have grown skeptical of the next big change—no matter how well-intentioned.
One of the first thingsI learned as an agile coach: not every team member gets excited when you start talking about “agile” And not every leader is ready to embrace it—at least not by name.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t open to better ways of working.
I’ve had the most success in environments that didn’t start with the labels. They started with the problems. And that’s where “stealth agile” comes in.
I once worked with a team who told me, straight out: “Agile won’t work for us. It doesn’t apply to our work.”
So, I skipped the Agile talk and simply asked:
We looked at their milestones. We started to visualize their work. We started a planning cadence. We introduced retrospectives. None of it was labeled. It was just a better way to get the work moving.
Eventually, we brought in formal Agile training to solidify what they had already begun to adopt informally. But it wasn’t about introducing a new methodology - it was about giving it structure, and helping them improve it.
That’s the power of starting with the pain, not the process.
There are plenty of valid reasons why teams resist “agile.” Some have been burned by failed rollouts. Some associate it with process overhead. Others think it’s just a software thing.
That’s why I focus on introducing the mindset, not the method.
We talk about:
While these might be considered “agile things.” They are also just good delivery practices. And once teams experience the benefits—better clarity, less rework, more ownership—they stop caring about what it’s called.
When people experience progress, they buy in. They don’t need a label to know something’s working.
If your teams are change-resistant—or if previous agile efforts fell flat—a stealth approach might be your best first step. It’s not about hiding. It’s about leading with empathy, clarity, and results.
Let’s talk about what’s really getting in your teams’ way, and how you can start driving change that actually sticks..
Schedule an advisory call to learn more.
Teams today are tired of the “transformation of the day.” After years of navigating shifting priorities, reorgs, and a revolving door of new methodologies, many have grown skeptical of the next big change—no matter how well-intentioned.
One of the first thingsI learned as an agile coach: not every team member gets excited when you start talking about “agile” And not every leader is ready to embrace it—at least not by name.
But that doesn’t mean they aren’t open to better ways of working.
I’ve had the most success in environments that didn’t start with the labels. They started with the problems. And that’s where “stealth agile” comes in.
I once worked with a team who told me, straight out: “Agile won’t work for us. It doesn’t apply to our work.”
So, I skipped the Agile talk and simply asked:
We looked at their milestones. We started to visualize their work. We started a planning cadence. We introduced retrospectives. None of it was labeled. It was just a better way to get the work moving.
Eventually, we brought in formal Agile training to solidify what they had already begun to adopt informally. But it wasn’t about introducing a new methodology - it was about giving it structure, and helping them improve it.
That’s the power of starting with the pain, not the process.
There are plenty of valid reasons why teams resist “agile.” Some have been burned by failed rollouts. Some associate it with process overhead. Others think it’s just a software thing.
That’s why I focus on introducing the mindset, not the method.
We talk about:
While these might be considered “agile things.” They are also just good delivery practices. And once teams experience the benefits—better clarity, less rework, more ownership—they stop caring about what it’s called.
When people experience progress, they buy in. They don’t need a label to know something’s working.
If your teams are change-resistant—or if previous agile efforts fell flat—a stealth approach might be your best first step. It’s not about hiding. It’s about leading with empathy, clarity, and results.
Let’s talk about what’s really getting in your teams’ way, and how you can start driving change that actually sticks..
Schedule an advisory call to learn more.
.png)
