Is “Meeting Teams Where They Are” Slowing Agile Adoption?

One of the most common phrases in Agile transformations is “meet the organization where they are.” While this sounds like a pragmatic and empathetic approach, it’s often used as a justification for slow-walking change rather than as a stepping stone toward real transformation.

The Risk of Over-Accommodation

Many Agile practitioners take “meet them where they are” to mean:

✅ Avoid pushing too much change too fast.

✅ Respect the organization’s current maturity and culture.

✅ Introduce Agile incrementally to reduce resistance.

While this makes sense in theory, in practice, it often results in perpetual stagnation where teams never actually leave “where they are.”

Instead of creating momentum for real agility, this mindset:

❌ Normalizes legacy anti-patterns (e.g., Waterfall disguised as Agile, half-baked SAFe implementations, or zombie Scrum).

❌ Delays critical systemic changes (e.g., breaking dependencies, creating stable teams, restructuring funding models).

❌ Reinforces leadership skepticism—If Agile practitioners aren’t driving real, visible change, executives lose confidence in its value.

The Fallacy of Incrementalism

A key problem is the belief that small, comfortable changes will naturally lead to big, fundamental shifts. That’s rarely the case.

🔹 Example: If leadership continues to measure success by scope, schedule, and cost, and Agile coaches don’t challenge this, teams will be stuck in a Waterfall mindset—just with standups.

🔹 Example: If teams refuse to adopt cross-functional collaboration because “they’re not ready,” they will always be stuck in a handoff-heavy model that prevents agility.

Real change requires discomfort. If Agile practitioners don’t push for it, who will?

Meeting Teams Where They Are… but Not Leaving Them There

The real job of Agile practitioners is to create a bridge from the current state to the desired future state. That means:

1️⃣ Establishing Non-Negotiables: Some Agile fundamentals are not up for debate. If teams aren’t producing working tested software every Sprint, then it’s not Agile. If leadership isn’t enabling self-managing teams, then it’s just Agile theater.

2️⃣ Challenging Organizational Constraints: If funding, structure, and governance don’t support agility, then “meeting teams where they are” isn’t enough. It’s on Agile leaders to challenge these constraints—not just work around them.

3️⃣ Setting an Urgent Pace: Agile transformations should not take years. The longer it drags out, the more likely it is to stall, be deprioritized, or get abandoned altogether. Rapid iteration isn’t just for teams—it’s for the transformation itself.

Final Thought: Stop Slow-Walking Change

Agile is about speed, adaptability, and delivering value. Yet, many Agile practitioners fail to apply these principles to their own transformations. Meeting teams where they are must be a launchpad, not a parking lot.

It’s time to move faster, push harder, and demand real transformation—because “Agile” that never changes anything isn’t Agile at all. 🚀

What do you think? Are Agile coaches and practitioners holding back change instead of driving it?