Adopting Agile Across Borders: A Guide to Navigating Cultural Complexity in Agile Teams and Organizations

People are conditioned culturally from an early age, with each of us developing a set of values and behaviors that differ from those in other parts of the world. When adopting Agile, do cultural behaviors and values prevail, or is there a universal “Agile culture”? How have people from different cultures adopted Agile to suit them? Are some cultures naturally more suited to adopting Agile than others? Adopting Agile Across Borders answers all of that and more.

Teams in all industries are more globally distributed and diverse than ever. Authors Glaudia Califano and David Spinks reveal how people across the world have embraced Agile values alongside their own cultural values, and what this means for the adoption of Agile. In Adopting Agile Across Borders, a rich array of experiences are shared through real-life stories told by members of the global Agile community.

Whether you are an Agile practitioner, a product manager, HR personnel, or simply someoneinterested in leading people more effectively, this book provides essential teamwork insights across the board. Califano and Spinks showcase case studies from around the world to address the opportunities provided by ever greater mobility and advances in technology. Adopting Agile Across Borders is here to ready you for a diverse, more connected future.

Glaudia Califano and David Spinks are Agile trainers, coaches and practitioners. 

Glaudia Califano's experience spans facilitating training and workshops to getting deeply involved in the trenches with teams. Glaudia is also a trainer of the Cross Cultural Competence course which was developed based on the work of Richard D. Lewis. She is also a facilitator of Lego® Serious Play®.

David Spinks has been in the IT industry since 2001 starting in software development. In 2012 his journey into Agile started when he became a scrum master and he has worked with dozens of Agile teams since then.

Together, Glaudia and David have experience that spans the fields of ecommerce, higher education, finance, insurance, and social housing. They are active members of the Agile community, regularly blogging, and speaking at meetups and conferences around the world.

Glaudia and David are both Scrum.org Professional Scrum Trainers (PST), Accredited Kanban Trainers (AKT) with Kanban University, and ICAgile Authorized Instructors. Together, Glaudia and David founded the company Red Tangerine with the mission to release people’s potential and transform work environments. In 2018, they spent several months travelling through South America and Asia, visiting organisations and meeting Agile practitioners to observe and research the impact that culture has on Agile adoption.