Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.
Search
Close this search box.

The polarity in the life of a great Scrum Master and every manager- Useful tool for leaders

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
WhatsApp

The complex reality presents many challenges and dilemmas that Scrum Masters and leaders at all levels try to solve using problem-solving techniques. Yet dilemmas are different from problems. While problems have a good answer or solution, dilemmas have more than a single good answer.
We are all familiar with dilemmas like Centralized vs. Decentralized, Cross-functional vs. Professional-focus, Quality vs. Speed, Individual improvement vs. Team improvement, Continuity vs. Transformation, Task-focus vs. relationship-focus, and many more.

In this article, I would like to present an easy and useful tool that managers at all levels can use to find a win-win answer. Scrum masters and managers that are required to lead in the complex VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) world can use this tool to select the right stance to take.
To better understand this, let’s look at the following picture:
Some people see this picture of an old lady and some see a young lady, but both are there.
What do you see? Can you see both?

Not many people can see both at once.  In 1975 Barry Johnson developed the Polarity Map© as a way to understand and thrive in polarized situations.
Let’s discuss one common polarity dilemma SM’s and managers cope with and learn a tool that will help them improve the way they lead in this complex world.
“Make it Done” vs. “Empower others”  To map the polarity, we use two blocks each representing one approach (=pole), designated in the middle of the block, of the polarity.

The upper part of each block presents the respective benefits (+) which support achieving the goal of “Great Manager” (in this example). The bottom part of each block presents the negative consequences (-) of overusing that side of the polarity.
(see the picture below)

Let’s see how it works:

SM’s and managers understand that the “Make it Done” attitude is one of the reasons they were promoted to this position and therefore focus mainly on this side of the polarity as their style of leadership. By taking the “Make it Done” approach, they reduce discussions and sync meetings, have more control on the way things are done, and ensure they are done in the best way they believe it should be done.
the negative consequences (-) related to the “Empower Others” pole, convinces them to stick to the “Make it Done” approach to leadership.

However, by over-taking the “Make it Done” approach, managers get frustrated. They realize that they are firefighters, they need to be available at all times to solve ongoing issues, no one takes responsibility and they don’t have enough time to complete the work they need to do.
This is the disadvantage of overdoing “Make it Done”.
This frustration leads managers to look for different ways of leading people. Often, they overlook the “Empower others” side because they view it as the “Opposite” side of what they do today. However, if this is a dilemma and not a problem, they can consider both sides of the polarity and find a win-win way.

The “Empower others” side makes people “think” and find new innovative solutions, take more responsibility, and feel more commitment & engagement. This gives SM’s and managers free time to do their job, create vision and direction.

To move forward, with using the model managers can sake several “Action Items” that will help them gain the benefits of both sides while keeping in mind “Warning Indicators” that will prevent them from overusing one side. Following the Black arrow from the upper left side which represents understanding the benefits of “make it done” to the lower part with the negative consequences of overdoing it, shows managers to look for benefits of the upper right side of the polarity “Empower others” and avoid the negative consequences of overusing it.

Mapping the polarity alternatives and understanding the downside and the upside of each one of them will help leaders enjoy the benefits of both sides and reduce the consequences that are related to the over-usage of one side.

Subscribe for Email Updates:

Categories:

Tags:

LPM
Jira
Sprint Retrospectives
Agile Techniques
Agile Release Planning
Acceptance Test-Driven Development
Lean Software Development
Enterprise DevOps
Presentation
Agile Project Management
Nexus and SAFe
Agile Marketing
System Integration Environments
Product Management
Scrum Master Role
Software Development
SAFe DevOps
RTE Role
Daily Scrum
Agile Israel Events
Sprint Iteration
Entrepreneurial Operating System®
Change Management
Implementing SAFe
Agile Project
Advanced Roadmaps
Kanban
agileisrael
The Agile Coach
Systems Thinking
Lean Risk Management
Agile Outsourcing
Webinar
Continuous Integration
ATDD
Limiting Work in Progress
A Kanban System for Software Engineering
RSA
ARTs
Perfection Game
Agility
Kanban Basics
speed @ scale
Accelerate Value Delivery At Scale
SA
QA
Portfolio for Jira
Agile Assembly Architecture
Games and Exercises
Agile Delivery
SAFe Release Planning
TDD
Nexus and Kanban
Lean-Agile Software Development
Lean Agile Basics
Scrum
Introduction to ATDD
ATDD vs. BDD
DevOps
Lean-Agile Budgeting
Manage Budget Creation
System Archetypes
Agile Product Development
Scrum Master
Artificial Intelligence
Agile Risk Management
IT Operations
BDD
Scrum and XP
ALM Tools
ART Success
Frameworks
Professional Scrum Product Owner
GanttBan
Scrum Guide
Jira Cloud
Scaled Agile Framework
Software Development Estimation
Jira admin
Kanban Game
Product Ownership
Agile for Embedded Systems
Agile Community
Rapid RTC
Professional Scrum Master
Covid19
Lean Agile Management
AI
Agile Contracts Best Practices
Agile Product Ownership
Engineering Practices
Lean Agile
Lean Startup
Coaching Agile Teams
Test Driven Development
Code
Scrum Values
PI Objectives
Nexus
predictability
lean agile change management
Scrum.org
SPC
Legacy Enterprise
Agile Mindset
An Appreciative Retrospective
Agile Testing Practices
Atlaassian
Principles of Lean-Agile Leadership
POPM
Lean and Agile Techniques
Large Scale Scrum
NIT
Tools
Agile Release Management
Agile India
Kaizen Workshop
Legacy Code
Lean Budgeting
Operational Value Stream
speed at scale
Tips
Development Value Streams
Video
AI Artificial Intelligence
Implementation of Lean and Agile
Spotify
LeSS
Quality Assurance
Managing Projects
Continuous Delivery
Agile Exercises
Elastic Leadership
Risk Management on Agile Projects
Atlassian
PI Planning
Lean Agile Leadership
Achieve Business Agility
Self-organization
Professional Scrum with Kanban
Kanban Kickstart Example
Introduction to Test Driven Development
Pomodoro Technique
Agile Games
Kanban 101
Lean and Agile Principles and Practices
Scrum With Kanban
Sprint Planning
Planning
Story Slicing
The Kanban Method
EOS®
Lean Agile Organization
Reading List
Process Improvement
Nexus vs SAFe
Agile Development
Program Increment
Agile in the Enterprise
Hybrid Work
WIP
Built-In Quality
Continuous Improvement
Jira Plans
Slides
Applying Agile Methodology
System Team
ScrumMaster Tales
Value Streams
Risk Management in Kanban
Nexus Integration Team
Business Agility
Agile Basics
Risk-aware Product Development
Continuous Planning
Agile and DevOps Journey
Kaizen
Scrum Primer
Effective Agile Retrospectives
Agile
Agile Program
Agile Games and Exercises
ROI
Releases Using Lean
Agile Israel
Continuous Deployment
RTE
SAFe
Managing Risk on Agile Projects
Amdocs
Release Train Engineer
Certified SAFe
Certification
Iterative Incremental Development
AgileSparks
What Is Kanban
AgileSparks
Logo
Enable registration in settings - general

Contact Us

Request for additional information and prices

AgileSparks Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter, and stay updated on the latest Agile news and events

This website uses Cookies to provide a better experience
Shopping cart