A lot of us use Scaled Agile Frameworks like SAFe, LeSS and the Spotify Model to make our companies adapt to change faster. But will these frameworks still matter in the future?
The agile way of working
is the most natural way of doing things: People and teams are able to quickly take their own decisions as much as possible; they openly plan their work together with other teams and find out where they need to collaborate to achieve the common goals. And that’s how most companies started out: Simple, effective, working agile. Over the years, this way of working got lost. To manage business growth most companies decided to set up hierarchical structures to not lose management control. The agile way of working was replaced by a ‘command & control’ culture.
And that’s why Agile Frameworks are more like a medicine prescribed to companies in order to become healthy, again! So with implementing Agile Frameworks, companies do not really gain something new but instead re-learn and win something back which had been lost over the years.
In 12-15 years from now
the workforce of the future will be made of the late Gen Z and the new Gen Alpha - today’s kids and teens. These new generations are growing up in a very different environment. They are used to picking up new stuff on the internet. They are used to learning things by themselves as they go along in life. They don’t need to and don’t want to be told how they should learn or work. They are already agile by nature and do not have to re-learn agility later on in their work life - like the generations before had to.
So when they will start their work life they will not need an agile instruction manual called SAFe, LeSS or Spotify. These people will just pick tools and parts of methods as they go along. They will try them out and keep what works for them. They will combine them as needed. They will be agile beyond pre-defined Agile Frameworks and not stick to only one of them. They may not even give these Agile Frameworks separate names anymore. Their mind is already pre-programmed ‘Truly Agile’.
And that’s why I believe that no-one will give much importance to Agile Frameworks in the future anymore. Agility will be part of the people and company DNA and will be considered common work practices - like writing an email or searching the internet today.