I do a lot of consulting at the moment. A vast number of consulting calls I do begin exactly like this
Company: We are having a hard time managing everyone and hitting our goals. We read about things like the scaled-agile framework and are considering adopting it. How should we go about doing that?
100% of the time when I start asking questions to gain context about the organization and what goals they are not achieving, it becomes clear there is not a unified set of high goals that can even be achieved!
If people don't know where the team is headed, then the team will probably not get there.
Micromanagement or some complicated framework is not the answer.
I always start first with something you might call “macro-management”
Macro-Management: A Concise Plan
It's amazing to me that most companies and teams have no concise plan they can all look at together. I've found that teams need a quick alignment document they can constantly reference. It can change often, but it always should be correct. Readable in 15 seconds or less.
Make that slide above that lays out the concrete, but high level 3-6 month plan. Talk about it every day. Start every meeting with it.
I’ve found that that amazing clarity to starts to spontaneously occur once people know the high level of where things are headed. You might still need a framework to track low-level work underneath this document, but if and when will all become clear when you start this macro-management process.
Project Management Becomes Shockingly Easy
Project managers often get very caught up in micro-managing the work of the people on their team.
However, project management becomes quite simple once the teams are all aligned with a high-level goal like this. The job becomes asking people a few simple questions.
Do you understand the plan?
Do you understand how your work fits into the plan?
Do you think your work is achievable according to the planned timeline? If not, what do you need to succeed, or how should the plan be adjusted?
Rinse and repeat.
Summary: Macro-Management
Make that slide above that lays out the concrete, but high level 3-6 month plan. It can change often, but it always should be correct. Readable in 15 seconds or less.
Talk about it every day. Start every meeting with it.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly a team will start to achieve success.