Doesn’t make it so ;-)
I want to use this tweet from Ryan Ripley as an example. But I’m not trying to make an example of him, Prokanban.org, or Daniel Vicanti. I was just inspired when I saw it…
What Ryan is referring to here is the Code of Conduct on the Prokanban.org website. I want to applaud them for have one, posting it, and being transparent about it. All of that is GOOD.
What struck me though is…
Just saying it, doesn’t make it so.
It’s a very, very, very early beginning, but just that, only a beginning. Now comes the really hard work.
That is, for example—
Understanding the nature, depth, and breadth of sexual harassment;
Training organizational members about it and giving them the skills and the opportunity to detect it. Then encouraging them and empowering them.
Then ultimately taking action on conduct violations. Making the action transparent and immediate.
Wrapping Up
It’s like saying—I’m not a racist or we won’t tolerate racism. These simplistic platitudes undermine the depth, breadth, complexity, and nuance associated with something as complex as racism.
Yes, I applaud Prokanban.org and all others, for example (Agile Alliance, Scrum Alliance, Scaled Agile, etc.) for taking stands on codes of ethics and codes of conduct.
BUT I hope they all know that this is simply a baby-step, a beginning, in a very long journey of vigilance, hard work, and commitment. And I’m looking forward to all of them (us, and me) to do the “heavy-lifting” as well…
Stay agile my friends,
Bob.