🌀 What if removing some structure led to better outcomes?

A curious inversion, I agree. But that’s the charm of the Headstand Strategy, flip the premise, reveal the problem.

We speak of agility as freedom, yet wrap our teams in rituals: OKRs, alignment meetings, performance dialogues, endless standups, grooming, planning, retros. Conversations about conversations. Calendars filled with the idea of progress. The actual work? Squeezed between context switches and corporate theatre. I totally get the idea, but the side effects are ignored.

You're already saturated with management frameworks. Now imagine holding a developer role, expected to contribute meaningfully while navigating that same maze. The room to breathe, to create, to care about the product… vanishes.

And then comes the lament: Why is no one passionate anymore?
Perhaps because passion requires space.
Thinking needs silence.
Excellence isn't summoned in overbooked sprints.

More oversight doesn't mean more output.
More process doesn’t mean more progress.
If everything is a priority, nothing is.
And if every hour is scheduled, don't expect spontaneous brilliance.

As a wise colleague once said:
"I'm exhausted by alignment, OKRs, and performance talk. I just want to build something great and support your product with my knowledge. Let me."

So before you launch the next initiative, consider:
Are you enabling growth and skills, or just optimizing for control?

#HeadstandStrategy #ThoughtfulLeadership #QuietProductivity #AgileReflection #LessIsMore #MakeSpaceToBuild