Do You Contribute or Report? The Daily That Isn’t a Daily and the Poison of Control in Your Organization

A dysfunctional daily can be a symptom of toxic leadership and a clear indicator of an underlying culture of control. When dailies lose their purpose and turn into routine reports, it not only affects the team dynamic but also the organizational culture, which plays an important role in the process of adopting agility.

Here are the main dysfunctions of a daily and how they relate to poor leadership:

Indicators of a Dysfunctional Daily

  1. It Becomes a Report: Team members mechanically report on their tasks, reducing the meeting to a formality with no collaborative value. This is often a reflection of leadership that does not encourage autonomy or innovation.
  2. Strict Use of the Famous Three Questions: Although useful, the three questions should not be a straitjacket. A facilitator who insists on their rigid use is a poor facilitator and is usually more focused on control than on adaptability and real progress.
  3. Absence of Key Participants: When some members avoid attending, it may indicate demotivation or a perception that the daily has little value. This is common in environments where leadership does not value individual contributions and does not foster an atmosphere of respect and commitment.
  4. Dependence on the Scrum Master: A team that does not meet and share without the Scrum Master’s supervision shows a lack of self-management, often stemming from leadership that does not trust its team and leans toward micromanagement.
  5. Lack of Follow-up on Issues: Discussing problems without following up on them in appropriate spaces reflects a system that is not committed to effective problem-solving. This creates a cycle of unresolved problems, an inefficient environment, and a demotivated team.

How to Improve a Dysfunctional Daily

To transform a dysfunctional daily into an effective tool, it is essential to adopt practices that foster collaboration and autonomy:

  • Focus on Collaboration: Promote open and honest discussions about challenges and progress.
  • Adapt the Questions: Use the three questions flexibly to guide conversations without stifling creativity.
  • Promote Regular Attendance: Encourage active participation from all members, emphasizing the importance of the daily for the team’s success.
  • Encourage Self-management: Empower the team to lead the daily autonomously.
  • Implement Individual Follow-up on Issues: Ensure that concrete actions are taken on discussed topics, promoting a continuous cycle of improvement (Kaizen).
  • Observe and Work on the Ecosystem’s Culture: Organizational culture impacts teams and may be the factor causing a dysfunctional daily and other events.

To facilitate the implementation of these practices and ensure efficient project management, Scrum For Jira, a solution that optimizes the team’s task organization and tracking, can be very helpful.

Next, I’ll share more about the cultures that can kill agility in your organization and how to work on this aspect:

Organizational Cultures: Control, Leadership, and Their Long-term Impact

Organizational cultures are the set of values, beliefs, and behaviors that characterize an organizational ecosystem. This culture directly influences how work is managed, how decisions are made, and how challenges are addressed. Among the various types of organizational cultures, the culture of control is one of the most prevalent in the West, and also one of the most detrimental in the long term, depending on strategic goals.

Control Cultures

A control culture is defined by a strong hierarchy and an emphasis on standardization, metrics, and efficiency over other factors. In these organizations, leaders are clearly defined, and they tend to make decisions and closely supervise the activities of the people in the teams. Strict compliance with standards and optimal results are valued more highly than autonomy, collaboration, or innovation.

This type of culture manifests itself through rigid policies, a high number of rules and procedures, and constant monitoring of employee performance. Leaders in these organizations often adopt an autocratic style, where employees are expected to follow orders without question. For example, in these organizations, you may find:

  • Performance reviews based on numerical indicators, results, and timelines.
  • Multiple layers of management: team leader, area leader, business line leader, organization leader… There are several people in the hierarchy from the person working in the team to the management.
  • Team sessions focused on highlighting what has been done or what will be done, rather than on conflict resolution, exploring collaboration, or adding value.
  • Formal or informal reporting channels, such as meetings or chat channels dedicated exclusively to reporting what the person is doing.

So, is a control culture negative? I like to emphasize that no, there are no better or worse cultures, but there are cultures that either facilitate or hinder the achievement of our organizational goals. In this particular case, the problem arises from the fact that a control culture is a major impediment to achieving an agile organization, which requires us to promote a strong culture of collaboration and innovation. These are opposing cultures and behaviors. We either adopt one or the other.

Leader behaviors in Control Cultures

Leaders in control cultures often exhibit behaviors such as:

  1. Micromanagement: They closely supervise and control the work of teams or other managers.
  2. Lack of Trust: They do not trust employees’ ability to make autonomous decisions.
  3. Reprisals: They punish mistakes or non-compliance with strict rules.
  4. Little Positive Feedback: They rarely recognize achievements or good performance, focusing more on failures.

To facilitate the adoption of agility, a leader must be visionary, empathetic, and flexible. They need to promote an environment of trust, delegate responsibilities, and empower teams to make autonomous decisions. Open communication and constructive feedback are essential, as is fostering collaboration and innovation.

Additionally, to support the process of adopting agility, leaders need to adopt a leading by example style, being a model of adaptability, showing willingness to learn, and adjusting strategies according to team needs and market changes. This approach not only motivates teams but also facilitates the transition to an agile culture.

Impact on the Ecosystem

Beyond what has been explained above, control cultures can have devastating effects on the organizational ecosystem. Constant supervision and lack of autonomy can lead to a decrease in team motivation and engagement. Creativity is stifled, as people do not feel free to propose new ideas or solutions.

The fear of reprisals can create a toxic work environment where people are more concerned with avoiding mistakes than maximizing their value contribution. This climate of distrust and pressure can lead to increased staff turnover as people seek healthier and more motivating work environments.

Impact on Long-term Results

In the long run, control cultures can have a negative impact on the organization’s results. The lack of innovation and creativity can cause the company to lose its competitive edge. High staff turnover involves additional hiring and training costs, as well as the loss of valuable talent.

Companies that do not foster autonomy and trust may also find it difficult to adapt to market changes. Rigidity and a focus on rule compliance can make the organization less agile and slower to respond to new opportunities or threats.

How Can We Address This in a Transformation Process?

To work on transforming a control culture, it is essential to focus on both teams and leaders. With teams, we must foster autonomy, encourage collaboration, and create a safe environment for innovation and constructive error. On the other hand, with leaders, it is crucial to promote a leadership style based on trust and delegation, training them in effective communication and positive recognition skills. Implementing continuous development programs and constructive feedback can facilitate this transition to a healthier and more productive organizational culture.

To support this cultural transformation and provide your teams and leaders with the necessary tools, we invite you to explore our Agile HR training, designed to drive the shift toward a more agile and collaborative organization.

Conclusion

Promoting a culture of trust, autonomy, and recognition can not only improve the organizational climate but also lead to better results and greater sustainability over time. It is vital to promote this type of collaborative and innovative culture in organizations that wish to adopt agile ways of working.

On the other hand, micromanagement not only affects team morale but also inhibits innovation and the ability to respond quickly to changes. A leader who controls every detail prevents the development of autonomy and self-management, which are essential in an agile team. This leadership style can lead to significant burnout and high staff turnover, seriously affecting productivity and work quality. In dailies, we can detect these dysfunctions in leadership style or culture. An effective daily is a pillar for transparency and continuous improvement in an agile team.

A leadership that trusts and empowers its team not only improves the dynamics of team meetings but also contributes to the overall success of the organization and acts as a catalyst in the process of adopting agility.