In this Substack Week episode, we explore the critical challenges and opportunities in the relationship between Agile teams and organizational leadership. Josh Anderson shares insights from his extensive experience in technology leadership and discusses how both sides can work together more effectively.
Understanding the Business-Team Divide
“We are part of the business, but many teams separate it out say, ‘Oh, that’s over there, that’s not us.’ No, that is us.”
One of the most common challenges in organizations is the perceived divide between “the business” and development teams. Josh emphasizes that this separation is an anti-pattern that needs to be addressed. Teams must understand how they create value for customers and how their work connects to the organization’s broader mission. The key is asking fundamental questions like “Why do we exist?” and focusing on delivering real value to customers rather than just building features or fixing bugs.
The Art of Communication with Leaders
“You have to reach across the aisle… speak in language that they understand, and of course the other side of the aisle has to understand that you may not understand all of the financial acumen or other things that they’re throwing out.”
With four large-scale agile transformations under his belt, Josh Anderson has seen it all. Good agile, bad agile, and other things sometimes referred to as agile. As the VP of product development at Broadvine, Josh is responsible for the company’s agile adoption and all aspects of software engineering. He gives back to the community by speaking regularly at industry conferences and co-hosting the agile-centric podcast called Meta-Cast.