• Agile Leadership

Mandate in an Agile team: how big do you really want it?

Mandated, sounds super in theory, of course. However? But when I spoke to 80 Product Owners (PO) in one day a while back about their influence on the nine principles of good Product Ownership, something interesting happened. Many POs didn’t want that mandate at all! It was too big. Too complex. Too ambitious. High time to reflect on the question: how big do you really want your mandate to be?

Last month I attended the Organization Topologies Consultant training by none other than Roland Flemm. As you may know, this model assumes an ideal type of organization: the Driving Organization. Teams in this quadrant have full mandate, in both the content of their work and how they perform that work. Sounds appealing, right? But apparently many POs think otherwise.

In this article, therefore, I share:

• 3 success factors for increasing mandate.
• 3 pitfalls when it comes to increasing the mandate.
• 3 pieces of real-world advice.

What does mandate in an Agile team really mean?

Mandate is simply put: the space to make your own choices. In an Agile context, that means deciding what to create, for whom, how to do it and with whom. In Organization Topologies , that mandate is central to the Driving Organization. Teams in this quadrant thus have full autonomy, ownership and resources to deliver the right value. Without being externally directed on every detail.

But mandate is not black and white. It is situational. To what extent you can and want to give mandate to a team depends on the context, the maturity of the team and the complexity of the environment. And, very importantly: on the cognitive load that the team (or the PO) can handle.

Why is mandate important for a Product Owner?

As a Product Owner, you are the guardian of customer value. And that goes far beyond just prioritizing a backlog. So in my workshop, we discussed nine principles that Product Owners should influence. From customer groups and value prioritization to multidisciplinary teams and differentiation. Ideally, you should have influence in all those areas. But does that work in practice?

Unfortunately, no. Because what transpired: many Product Owners feel overcharged. The mandate that comes with all those principles is enormous. And if you have to take full ownership of that, it requires a very wide range of competencies, decisiveness and support in the organization. Not everyone wants that. And not everyone has to want that.

What are success factors for increasing mandate?

Want to increase the mandate of a team or PO? If so, here are three key success factors:

1. Clear Frameworks: Mandate grows well within clear boundaries. Give teams direction (via goals), but not a blueprint. Situational leadership helps here: you tailor your leadership style to the needs and maturity of the team.
   
   
2. Psychological safety: Teams take real mandate only when they feel that making mistakes is allowed. Without safety, no ownership.
   
   
3. Manageable cognitive load: How much information, responsibilities and choices can a team or PO handle without becoming overloaded? Mandate grows best when you build it in layers, not all at once.

What are the pitfalls in increasing mandate?

Increasing mandate is not without risks. Here are the three most common pitfalls I see:

1. Wanting everything at once: Some organizations want to push teams into the Driving Organization quadrant right away. But if the prerequisites are still missing, it leads to stress, confusion or even paralysis.
   
   
2. Mandate without support: Mandating without supporting the team or PO with skills, tooling and support is asking for trouble.
   
   
3. Forgetting that not everyone wants to grow: Sometimes people don’t want that much ownership at all. And that’s okay. Not every PO needs to have influence on all nine principles. Just ask them, “How much mandate do you really want?”

Three pieces of practical advice

Now, my three practical tips for anyone who wants to work with mandate in teams:

1. Make mandate negotiable: As a leader or coach, ask your team members or POs explicitly how much space they are willing and able to take. Use for example the circle of influence and involvement, but Delegation Poker can also help.
   
   
2. Increase mandate incrementally: Start with one or two principles on which a PO gains ownership. Build it incrementally in cycles, just like Agile working itself.
   
   
3. Use Organization Topologies as a mirror: Put your team in the model. Where are they now and where do you want to grow to? And what does that require of you as leaders, coaches or Product Owners?

My concluding thoughts on mandate in Agile teams

Thus, mandate is certainly not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. And as with everything in Agile: it’s about the balance between ambition and reality. So before you saddle teams with a load of responsibilities, ask yourself: does the mandate fit the people, the moment and the mission?

Want to answer that question together, I’d be happy to schedule a no-obligation sparring session with you.