I’ll start in a perverse way – my holiday in a camper. First ever holiday in a camper. Tour around Iceland, 2 adults, 2 children, 11 days. Lots of rain. I – fascinated by Iceland – had already been there 2 years earlier, saw the south and the west. My husband – eager for new experiences, a lover of active recreation balanced with time for lazing around. My older son – his dream of vacationing in a camper is coming true. My younger son loves movement and socializing (board games, team games).

Expectations and reality

Each of us imagined this holiday a little differently. However, we agreed to these conditions together – small size of the camper, almost 2000 km to travel, and changeable weather. No matter how you look at it, we are a family, a team that has faced reality. And we survived 🙂 It wasn’t easy. You guess that when the weather is not favorable, everyone has different needs, privacy is impossible – conflicts simply come one after the other. I had a whole list of places I wanted to see. It has not been fully implemented. (For example, I didn’t manage to see puffins, although it was their time). My husband was left very unsatisfied when it comes to mountain hiking. The kids didn’t have enough time on the beach and “free” time.

Where’s the agility?

The Agile approach is primarily associated with regular inspection, adaptation and transparency. For these three elements to be possible, communication is needed. I know, it sounds cliché and doesn’t say much. Well, let’s put it this way – what is needed is good will, a lot of conversations, the assumption that everyone in the team has good intentions, that the needs of each team member are equally important, and the belief that my idea for solving the problem is not the only and best one.

This is difficult. Strong emotions come to the fore because you are soaked, tired, because you need to separate yourself and be alone, and you have nowhere to go, because time is running out, because you feel that you are one step away from your goal, because… .(add your own reason). This is when remembering that others also have their own perspectives and needs is most useful. This is what agility is all about.

If you want to effectively and efficiently implement projects in a team, be transparent – talk about your needs, your perspective, how you feel. Inspect – ask others about their perspectives, become curious about them, find out why they care about something different than you. Having such a broad picture of the situation, adapt to changing circumstances and look for the most optimal solutions together.

Agility in the camper

No, I didn’t give my family a lecture on agility 😉 This is my post factum reflection. Schemes and patterns that we develop over the years and “in times of peace” then pay off in difficult situations, and this was also the case with me.

• Together we noticed the advantages of a camper – after trips in the rain we could immediately change clothes and drink warm tea; we could stop at any time and get something to eat, and at night, when there was a heavy downpour and wind, we were warm and dry (poor those in the tents…).
• In the evenings we spent time together playing board games.
• When tiredness reached its peak, we took a break and spent an additional day at the lake (luckily, the weather was beautiful).
• We listened to each other – we talked about what each other liked and wanted, and what they didn’t.
• We modified the plan on an ongoing basis depending on the weather, strength, mood and opportunities.

Business mode – making conflict more agile-way

So how can you make conflicts more agile in your team?

• Focus on the issues that you as a team can influence. Discuss the extent of this influence. You’ll be surprised how vast it is.
• When someone denies your idea, instead of fighting back, learn more about this other perspective.
• Listen with curiosity, not with the intention of defending your own ideas.
• Take breaks. Find an interlude that everyone likes (e.g. a board game, ice-breaker, coffee) and break away from the controversial topic for a moment.
• Be patient when generating new ideas and find plenty of them before you start wondering which one is best for the team.
• When you feel that you can’t cope, ask an outside person (e.g. an Agile Coach or even a person from another team, not involved in the topic) for help.

That’s it. It is best to practice when there is no “storm”, when the conflict has not escalated yet and we simply have a difference of opinion. When the storm comes, when the space shrinks, it will be easier 🙂