The carpet

It may have crept in that there is little point in reporting blockages and impediments. Nothing is done about them anyway. The crew has worked around them and may not even see them as a blockage anymore. It’s just how things work here. It sometimes seems as if some impediments are swept under the carpet. Actually, it is preferred not to talk about them or do anything about them. It is interesting to investigate why nothing is done about them and to have the unspoken conversation.

• Organize a team session with a team that has started with a responsive approach. Make sure you have an actual carpet in the session. If you don’t have one, a bath mat will do!

• Ask what blockages or impediments prevent quick value delivery. Write these on separate A4 sheets and slide them under the carpet.

• Discuss with each other what is under the carpet: which blockages or impediments have been known for a while but are repeatedly swept under the carpet?

• Discuss which A4 sheet you will take out from under the carpet to have the unspoken conversation about. We don’t need to change everything at once, so it is a big win if we make one A4 sheet visible and start working on it.

• Agree with each other that the unspoken conversation will be held in a safe environment. Only what the group wants to bring out will be shared externally.

• Ask and answer the following questions together: why was this blockage swept under the carpet? Why is it painful to bring it up? Who or what should not be visible or is being protected? What keeps this situation in place? Why is it convenient to leave it as it is?

• Ask the individual group members which answers impacted them the most. Share the insights found.

• Bring the insights back to the original issue. Are we willing to solve the issue?

• Solve what can be solved, for example, with the following questions: what could we do more or less of, what should we stop doing, and what should we start doing to ensure this blockage is removed or resolved?