Agile environments encourage flexibility and adaptability in the organisation to incorporate customer needs and improve their satisfaction. Flexibility provides employees with sufficient freedom in the workplace, but cannot eliminate the fear of job security in new agile environments. As they need to learn many new things, the leaders have to build high-trust environments to make agile transformation successful.

The working style in the agile environment is not bound to strict deadlines. The teams need a complete shift in their mindset to be successful at their new ways of working, and it is much needed to be successful in the organisation. By building high-trust environments, the leaders can drive successful agile transformation. They can learn agile transformation strategies through Leading SAFe Course training and master the ways to build high-trust environments.

What are the Benefits of building a high-trust environment in agile transformation?

• High-trust environments help employees navigate uncertainty during agile transformation.
• It builds a sense of psychological safety for employees to share their ideas and express their concerns. The employees will be able to take risks without fear of losing their jobs.
• High-trust environments make the teams feel secure about their job roles, which in turn fosters collaboration between the teams, fuelling creativity in the organisation.
• By building a culture of trust in the organisation, the leaders can develop a strong relationship between the team members, and it also helps the team members have transparent communication with the leaders. 

How to Build a High-trust Environment during Agile Transformation?

Establish Psychological Safety

Agile transformation needs a complete change in employee mindset and organisational culture. The employees may feel insecure about expressing their concerns and sharing ideas during the transformation phase. The leaders should establish psychological safety without dismissing their questions. The teams may miss the deadlines during the transition phase; instead of the blame game, the leaders should conduct a meeting to get ideas and suggestions to meet the deadlines. Ensure that team members share project progress at each sprint cycle and attend retrospectives to get feedback and improve.

Empowering Teams

The leaders can build high-trust environments during agile transformation by empowering employees to make decisions about how to execute the task to deliver the desired solutions. It is important for the leaders to trust the agile teams and let them know it. By giving the employees the space to shape the decisions and execute the tasks without micromanagement, the teams will be empowered with autonomy and are likely to believe that they are trusted. Invite them to have a discussion beyond their scope to let them know that you trust their work. Giving more autonomy makes them take accountability for their tasks.

Promoting Transparency

Transparency is key in the organisation. It reduces uncertainty and encourages open communication between the teams by giving them access to clear, timely information about their goals. The leaders can involve team members in decision-making and make them feel valued and trusted. The leaders can encourage team members to share their project updates and the obstacles they are facing without fear. By clarifying the expectations of the team from the beginning, the teams can collaborate easily to develop solutions and develop mutual trust to deliver faster value.

Encourage Collaboration between the Team

Collaboration between the teams brings diverse viewpoints together and allows the team members to develop connections that foster mutual respect. The personal connection between the teams and mutual respect for each other are strong pillars for establishing trust. An agile environment thrives on effective collaboration that fosters responsiveness and continuous learning. To foster collaboration between the leaders, they should design teams with complementary skills, create co-creation workshops, and promote shared ownership.

Accountability Mechanism

A sense of accountability in an agile organisation reinforces trust among teams, as it signals dependability among team members and lets them know that each person is important to achieving shared goals. Without proper accountability, trust between the teams may be reduced due to unmet expectations. The leaders should define clear accountability by defining roles and responsibilities, setting measurable goals, and conducting regular check-ins to assess progress and address deviations, if any.

Recognise and Appreciate

Recognition of efforts builds trust in the agile environments. As leaders focus on honesty, accountability, and teamwork, peer recognition becomes highly impactful in building trust. Making recognition part of a daily routine builds trust over time.

Conclusion

Transparency, collaboration, and accountability are key pillars for building trust in the organisation. The agile teams should be empowered to make decisions to make them feel valued and trusted in agile environments. The leaders should shift to servant leadership and guide the teams in achieving the goals rather than micromanaging.