I wish I had seen the article in time to refer to it in a recent discussion with management. My (apparently) inarticulate point at the time was that it takes a few iterations before the team feels safe / trusted / comfortable enough to fully throw themselves into Agile and the changes needed to make Agile work. Referring to Maslow’s model may have helped turn that discussion where I wanted it.

Looking at the issue through this lens makes perfect sense.
• Physiological – Of course the team members must accept the basic tools, the time tracking, the information display, the new processes. This level of change is bound to make people nervous and those concerns need to be addressed. So to begin with make those set by the scrum master.
• Safety – Changes don’t make people feel safe. Estimating their own tasks can be a scary undertaking to many. I have found that the use of the more theoretical story points can help here. The frequent involvement of the product owner can help make the team feel more comfortable with requirements and with estimations.
• Belonging – Everyone wants to belong to something. I found that while the morning scrums felt foreign at first, that the daily recitation of what they did yesterday, what they plan to do today and what is in their way quickly led to people feeling a sense of responsibility to the team and that quickly became a powerful motivator for a strong work ethic.
• Esteem – as the team goes through the initial iterations and completes work, and demonstrates the progress to each other and the product owners and shows and is complimented as a team for the visible signs of progress; esteem happens.
• Self Actualization – I believe Agile methodology leads quickly to stronger individual team members. This happens in many areas, some utterly unexpected. People gain technical skills as well as communication skills. The environment fosters respect for others and acknowledgement of expertise. I have seen shy retiring people blossom and become able (and willing) to speak up to point out problems, even personal problems, and to suggest design options for the solving of tricky technical issues.

I am not sure if you have read Andy Hunt’s Pragmatic Thinking & Learning, but it has some good insights into this problem.

I think novices need a fair amount “structure” to be effective and feel motivated as they move towards expert they need less “structure”. I think the question is always how much shock therapy to provide when and where. I hope you continue to blog your thoughts.