When I think of the four value statements of the Agile Manifesto, it is hard to think of any one of them as more important than the others.  It is easy however, for me to think that “Individuals and Interactions” serves as a good foundation for the rest.

Getting the right individuals interacting in constructive ways is not a new idea, nor one suddenly born when thinking of software development.  Consider Dan Pompei’s recent article Small wonder Colts, Pats excel in NFL Draft for MSNBC.com.  Of the 79 draft picks Indianapolis Colts owner Bill Polian has made over the years, 38 players have become starters, and more than 11% have become Pro Bowl players. Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli of the New England Patriots have had similar success.  Are they just lucky?  Are they just picking the big stars? No and No.  What they are doing is picking the players that best fit their systems and then developing them; and one doesn’t have to be much of a football fan to recognize these two teams have had a bit of success. Looking at good companies that became great, Jim Collins (Good to Great) expresses the same idea as “First Who… Then What”; a discussion that has led to the often quoted “get the right people on the bus”.  Collins goes on to say that once the right people on are the bus, then you can worry about what seats they are in.

This notion of getting the right “fit” is an important consideration when forming agile teams.  Agility recognizes the importance of collaboration and expects more from the team.  How the team works together, how it communicates, how it collectively finds solutions are all far more important than the individual contribution of a single team member.  Some believe agility calls for a team of generalists that are willing to do “whatever the team needs done” and “whatever it takes for the good of the team”. I believe this diminishes the team and removes too much of leadership’s burden to form teams that fit well together, i.e.; get the right people on the bus. 

In his book Go Put Your Strengths to Work,  Marcus Buckingham talks about highly effective teams and declares “A good team member does whatever it takes to help the team” to be a myth.  His truth is “A good team member deliberately volunteers his strengths to the team most of the time.“

That is a significant difference.  A highly effective team is a well-rounded team, but that does not mean each team member is well-rounded, doing whatever the team needs done.  It means that as a member of the team I recognize that I am best suited to do some of the work the team needs done; that other team members are best suited to do other work for the team; and because of that the team will be more successful.  Certainly we want team members to occasionally step in for each other, but their primary focus should be their areas of greatest strength. I play the piano, some say pretty well.  While I will get better if I practice hard and study with some good teachers, I will never be a concert pianist.  Placing myself, or being placed by others, in a position of needing to be a concert pianist is not going to lead to success for me or anyone around me.  The team is much better off if I allow someone else who has those skills to be the concert pianist.

I believe Buckingham’s truth, but it has serious implications for both team members and team leaders. Team members must have vivid self-awareness of their strengths and the focus to steer their work toward them. Team leaders must have the ability to recognize a person’s significant strengths and select team members who complement each other and can collectively become a well-rounded, highly effective team.  Neither is a small task, but achieving them puts us on a good path toward Individuals and Interactions.