Personal Agility
One of the things that makes Gemba’s approach different is our focus on the development of personal collaboration skills. These skills cause individuals to take ownership of the outcome. We call these skills Personal Agility, and we see them as the key difference between a brief flirtation with agile development and a lasting change that delivers results.
Personal Agility is the connection between the Agile value system and personal ownership behavior. Personal Agility includes three essential components: 
- A defined protocol for ownership behavior (including Responsibility REdefined)
- The willingness and ability to confront obstacles, both within ourselves and with others
- Our way of being toward others
Responsible behavior is defined using the Responsibility REdefined process model developed by Christopher Avery, PhD.
We combine the Responsibility Process Model with the most powerful tool we know for self-motivation: the question “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM?). By helping people make the connection between the collective objectives and their own personal goals, we get everyone deeply engaged.
Why Personal Agility matters
Technical practices are the easy part of Agile Development. The hard part is cultural change. Lack of cooperation from others, organizational structure, inter-departmental policies, and politics all get in the way. It’s easy for your initiative to get stuck when you come to roadblocks that seem too difficult, beyond your control, or bigger than you.
Those who embrace Personal Agility act with the intention, determination, and resolve to get past obstacles. There is nothing more powerful than the collective will of an entire team of people who take personal ownership of a shared goal. This ownership is what Personal Agility is all about.
