There’s been a change in how people organize in enterprise. But with flat hierarchies, and self-organizing teams, has the concept of leader or even team captains become obsolete and forbidden?

You know what we should teach more of? How to respond to mayhem – rapidly changing expectations in unstable conditions.

What I’ve found – and what’s helpful to communicate to clients – is that the first 3 sprints (literally, the first 6-8 weeks) are mayhem. On a new scrum team, or in new business/technical landscapes, there will always be challenges with insufficient information, assumptions, inadequate tools, unclear expectations, unfamiliar teammates and accountabilities….with firm deliverable dates. Overwhelm is inevitable, and therefore wholly expected.