Unlock the potential of Agile practices with guidance from the foremost experts in the industry. This article distills the essence of effective management into a set of actionable strategies. Delve into insights that transform conventional wisdom and propel teams towards unparalleled efficiency.
Implement Daily Stand-Ups with Value Triggers
One agile management practice that has significantly improved my team’s efficiency is the implementation of Daily Stand-up Meetings with Value Triggers. These brief, focused meetings ensure alignment and transparency within the team. Each member shares what they accomplished the previous day, their plans for today, and any obstacles they are facing.
I introduced Value Triggers to accelerate value delivery. Our team maintains an Agility Value Log, where we capture ideas that emerge during our work that could help create value faster. We discuss these ideas in our daily stand-up meetings, which not only encourages innovation but also ensures valuable insights are not lost and can be acted upon promptly.
This combination of daily stand-ups with the value triggers fosters open communication, quicker identification of roadblocks, accelerates value delivery and promotes accountability. It also encourages collaboration and helps the team stay adaptable to changes, ensuring that everyone is working towards common goals efficiently.
Fola F. Alabi, CIO – Strategy, Technology and PMO Delivery, Strategic Project Leader (SPL Global)
Break Down Projects into Manageable Tasks
Breaking down projects into smaller, manageable tasks has greatly improved my team’s efficiency. Instead of focusing on large, overwhelming projects, we tackle smaller goals that can be completed in short, focused bursts. This approach ensures steady progress and prevents burnout. Each task has a clear outcome, which keeps everyone motivated and aligned. It also allows us to be more adaptable, as we can quickly assess progress and shift priorities when necessary.
This method helps identify potential issues early, allowing us to address them before they escalate. Breaking work into smaller pieces has also made it easier to maintain momentum, ensuring that the team moves forward consistently. As a result, we’ve been able to deliver faster, higher-quality results while reducing stress. This practice has fostered a more organized and focused environment, where team members can prioritize properly and meet deadlines with confidence.
Ben Wieder, CEO, Level 6 Incentives
Simplify Workflow to Focus on Outcomes
One agile management practice that’s significantly boosted our team’s efficiency is simplifying our workflow to focus on collaboration and outcomes. We stripped away unnecessary steps and endless status updates, replacing them with a streamlined process prioritizing open communication and clear deliverables. Our stand-ups are quick and focused, centered on what’s needed to move the needle, not just checkboxes. By keeping things simple and making collaboration the core of how we operate, the team is more aligned, less bogged down by bureaucracy, and laser-focused on delivering results that matter. Simplicity creates space for better work.
Cody Jensen, CEO & Founder, Searchbloom
Use Silent Stand-Ups for Remote Teams
At our company, we trialed “silent stand-ups,” where updates are shared via written posts instead of speaking. Team members summarize their progress, blockers, and next steps in a shared document. This eliminates unnecessary chatter and respects everyone’s time zones in our fully remote environment. A silent stand-up reduced a daily 15-minute sync to a quick five-minute read. The result is clearer communication and reclaimed time for meaningful work.
Alari Aho, CEO and Founder, Toggl Inc
Conduct Consistent Retrospectives
One agile management practice that has significantly improved our team’s efficiency is the consistent use of retrospectives at the end of each sprint. These sessions provide a structured opportunity for the team to reflect on what went well, what could be improved, and what actionable steps can enhance future performance.
For example, during one retrospective, our team identified that overlapping responsibilities were causing delays in task completion. As a solution, we refined our roles and responsibilities within the sprint planning process and introduced clearer ownership for tasks. This change immediately reduced bottlenecks and improved accountability, leading to faster delivery times and higher quality outputs. Retrospectives not only keep us aligned but also foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.
Sergiy Fitsak, Managing Director, Fintech Expert, Softjourn
Implement OKRs for Clear Goals
From my experience leading the spectup team, implementing OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) has been a game-changer for us. Back when we were first scaling up our team to handle clients from Silicon Valley to Singapore, I noticed we had plenty of enthusiasm but sometimes lacked clear direction. During my time at N26 and Deloitte, I saw how proper goal-setting could transform team performance, so I brought that knowledge to spectup.
We now set quarterly objectives that directly tie to our mission of helping startups overcome those daunting failure rates – you know, the 38% that run out of cash and 35% that miss product-market fit. Each team member knows exactly how their work connects to our bigger goals, whether they’re working on pitch decks or investor relations. For example, when we’re helping a startup prepare for fundraising, everyone understands their role in getting that company investor-ready, from the initial strategy sessions to the final presentation refinements.
The best part is seeing how this clarity has reduced our project completion time by nearly 30% while maintaining our high success rate with clients. It’s not just about moving faster – it’s about moving in the right direction together.
Niclas Schlopsna, Managing Consultant and CEO, spectup
Point Every Story in the Sprint
The one agile management practice that has significantly improved my team’s efficiency is being strict with pointing every single story that enters the sprint.
There have been times in the past when work items have had to be brought in mid-sprint (bad Agile practice I know!) and people have picked them up and worked on them without them being pointed. This severely skews the velocity over time and makes it a lot harder to effectively predict how much we can deliver.
Ensuring that even if stories are added mid sprint, they are pointed, really makes sure that account for all work done and therefore get an accurate average velocity over time.
Ben Grimwade, Software Engineering Manager, Just Another Tech Lead
Set Clear Deliverables for Fractional Workers
One agile practice that’s been a game-changer for managing fractional workers is setting up clear, bite-sized deliverables for each sprint. Since fractional team members often juggle multiple clients, we break work into small, manageable tasks with deadlines that align with their availability.
The key? It keeps everyone focused and accountable without overwhelming them. Fractional workers love the clarity, and we get consistent, quality output. The result? Projects move forward smoothly, communication stays tight, and everyone knows exactly what success looks like—no guesswork, no chaos.
Justin Belmont, Founder & CEO, Prose
Empower Team Members to Make Decisions
One thing I learned early on is that when team members feel trusted to make decisions within their areas of expertise, they not only work faster but also produce better results. Instead of micromanaging, I focus on setting clear goals and providing the resources and support they need to succeed.
For example, during the development of one of our key features, I gave our engineers the autonomy to decide how to tackle certain technical challenges. They felt ownership over their work and often found solutions I wouldn’t have thought of myself. This not only sped up the project but also boosted morale.
By empowering the team, we’ve created a culture where people take initiative and collaborate more naturally. It’s amazing how much efficiency improves when people are motivated and confident in their roles. Of course, it’s still important to check in regularly, but now my role feels more like guiding rather than controlling, and that’s made all the difference.
Dhanvin Sriram, Founder, Luppa AI
Adopt Kanban for Workflow Visualization
Implementing Kanban has significantly enhanced our team’s efficiency by visualizing workflows and managing work in progress (WIP). By adopting a Kanban board, we map out each stage of our process, from task inception to completion, providing a clear, real-time overview of project status. This transparency has streamlined task tracking and resource allocation, ensuring that team members are neither overburdened nor idle.
A pivotal aspect of Kanban is setting WIP limits for each workflow stage. By restricting the number of tasks in progress, we’ve minimized bottlenecks and enhanced focus on current assignments, leading to higher quality outputs and timely deliveries. This practice has also fostered a culture of continuous improvement, as the team regularly assesses and adjusts processes to optimize flow and productivity.
Moreover, Kanban’s flexibility allows us to adapt swiftly to changing priorities without disrupting the overall workflow. This adaptability is crucial in our dynamic work environment, enabling us to meet evolving client needs effectively. Overall, Kanban has been instrumental in promoting collaboration, improving time management, and elevating our team’s performance.
Iryna Vilhova, Project Manager, International Emigration and Luxury Property Expo
Allow Team to Self-Organize
Empowering the team to self-organize around tasks has helped improve their efficiency. Instead of assigning work top-down, I focus on clearly communicating objectives and desired outcomes, then step back and let the team decide how to get there. This creates a sense of ownership and taps into each person’s strengths, often leading to innovative solutions I wouldn’t have thought of myself.
One method we’ve adopted is dynamic task boards that evolve throughout the week. Rather than static sprint planning, tasks are fluid, and the team continuously reprioritizes based on shifting needs or new information. This allows us to respond quickly without derailing larger goals. It also encourages cross-functional collaboration, as team members naturally jump in where their skills are most needed instead of sticking rigidly to predefined roles.
Chris Heerlein, Chief Executive Officer, REAP Financial
Rotate Leadership Roles Regularly
We found a powerful way to boost our team’s effectiveness: rotating leadership roles. Every sprint, a different team member steps up as Scrum Master, Product Owner, or feature lead. It’s amazing to see how this simple change helps everyone grow their skills and confidence. By giving each person a chance to lead, we’ve created a more dynamic and capable team overall.
Sharat Potharaju, Co-founder & CEO, Uniqode
Brett Farmiloe is the founder of Featured, a Q&A platform that connects brands with expert insights.
Management stock image by Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock
