Highly effective agile team cultures

In a world where change is the only constant, organizations are challenged to become agile, customer-focussed and responsive. This Ph.D. thesis studied the elements of Highly Effective Agile Team (HEAT) cultures, necessary to improve the performance of agile organizations. The thesis offers an academically sound and simultaneously practical and motivating perspective on the development of an agile culture and related generic and agile work values in a cross-cultural context.

To really embrace agile, it is important that work values are shared, gain meaning together, and are valued in the same way by the Board, leaders, agile teams and agile coaches. That’s how the foundation is laid to foster a culture in which teams can be effective. The conditions to predict an effective team was examined in a systematic literature study and then validated at a semi-public organization. The results converge in the offered HEAT model©. This thesis thus constitutes a valuable resource for anyone that would like to contribute to an inspiring and agile workplace to achieve high performance.