Every company has a style of communication with customers and employees. The style toward customers is, in general, very studied and deliberate. The internal one often suffers from ambiguity and gray areas.
In both cases, narratives develop that influence behaviors generating new words, expressions or appropriating existing terms. The thesis of the talk is that it is possible to determine the weight and content of a message by studying not the message itself but the type of communication used in the company. Again, commonly accepted behaviors in the company will represent the actual message.
What does this have to do with Agile?
It has to do with it in at least two respects:
- when we talk about change (Agile precisely), we start with the message, and the consistency of the message is measured by the behaviors and words used. If the company's behaviors and comments are not consistent with the message, then the coaching actions are also inconsistent and ineffective.
- Psychological safety. People feel safe if the messages are not discordant with the environment. Without psychological safety, it is difficult to change
In the talk, I will illustrate the conflict between messages, words, and behavior. How this conflict has prevented change, and how we have dealt with it.