In this session, we explore the concept of building sustainable pace within a team and the importance of creating a balance between productivity and reflection. Belinda discusses the pitfalls of a team falling into a loop of perpetual failure and how introducing slack, recognising spikes and troughs, and creating a sustainable pace can help prevent fatigue and maintain morale.
Building a sustainable pace within a team is essential for achieving long-term success. Teams can’t keep sprinting at maximum pace all the time; it’s not a realistic or healthy approach. Teams need to find their rhythm, their pulse, their heartbeat, so that they can keep performing at a high level without burning out.
In this article and shared videos we explore the importance of creating a sustainable pace within a team and how to achieve it.
To build a sustainable pace is to recognise that it’s not about achieving a continuous, consistent, constant flow of work. Teams experience ups and downs, periods of high productivity and periods of challenge. The key is to find a balance between pushing hard to meet deadlines and allowing space for learning and reflection.
To achieve sustainable pace, it’s important to focus not only on what is being delivered but also on how it’s being delivered. Teams should place equal emphasis on reflection and the ability to pause each sprint. The sprint review and retrospective meetings are essential components of agile methodologies that provide space for reflection and feedback.
When teams take time to reflect, they can identify areas for improvement, celebrate successes, and adjust course as needed. Reflecting on the previous sprint allows the team to recharge, catch their breath, and regain momentum for the next sprint.
The concept of sustainable pace is not just about the work itself. It’s also about the team’s well-being. Overwhelming workloads and burnout are real risks in high-pressure environments. It’s important to recognise the early signs of fatigue and stress and take steps to address them.
One way to prevent burnout is to create slack within the team. Slack is the intentional allocation of time for improvement activities and reflection, and also to allow us to plan for the unplanned. It’s essential to ensure that team members have time to recharge, take breaks, and have fun too.
It’s essential to create an environment that supports the team’s purpose and allows team members to thrive. This involves ensuring they have the necessary resources, tools, and training to enable the team to do their best work. It also involves creating a culture of trust, respect, and collaboration where team members feel comfortable speaking up, asking questions, and contributing their ideas.
Building a sustainable pace within a team is essential for achieving long-term success. It’s not about achieving a constant maximum flow of work, but rather finding a sustainable rhythm that maximises the performance of the team without burning them out or putting them into perpetual loops of failure.
Understanding our mix of work, using agile to plan, track and reflect regularly helps us to see the reality of what is happening and see opportunities for improvement. By recognising the importance of sustainable pace and taking steps to achieve it, teams can improve morale, productivity, and overall well-being.
