The New Sound of Agile

Why each generation needs its own rhythm—and how Agile Kata helps compose the next one.

The chances that your introduction to music came through your parents' collection is quite high. At least that was the case for me. I wasn’t a big fan of their music, and like many, I began a journey of finding my own. Don’t get me wrong—their music wasn’t bad (taste is personal, after all)—but it didn’t speak to me in terms of vibe or message.

In fact, many in my generation felt the same way. We grouped around a new genre as a way of saying, “we’re different,” breaking away from old traditions. It’s part of growing up—a rite of passage. Discovering new music creates a feeling of ownership and pride among people in transition, like a tribe of nomads. New music spreads like wildfire in those moments. Some songs stick; others don’t. It’s a creative process.

When we talk about the music of “our” generation, we typically mean a narrow time window—when we were young. Our brains associate certain sounds with positive or meaningful events. Hearing that sound years later brings more than just a melody; it brings back a memory or image frozen in time.

This transition from one generation to the next isn’t a one-time event. It happens again and again. How do I know? Because my kids aren’t interested in the music of my generation either. They’ve started their own journey. It continues—whether we like it or not. This ongoing evolution sparks creativity. Without it, the world would be static and boring. Imagine freezing the music we currently have. No new compositions, no fresh sounds.

Technology plays a role in this evolution too. The shift from vinyl albums to digital music  changed song structures and release strategies. Albums once carried a theme from start to finish, even across A and B sides. Today, music focus on singles. The hook needs to hit within seconds—before listeners tap “next.” This isn’t bad; it’s just different. It’s about delivering value sooner.

Record labels once pushed a few curated albums each year. Artists toured to sell more records. Today, music is instantly accessible—with or without a record deal. The market is more open. Artists experiment more. They reach global audiences in seconds. But the industry flipped: revenue now flows more from live shows than record sales.

So what does this have to do with Agile?

For the generation entering the workplace in 2025, Agile is the music of their parents. It’s not a fresh sound. Let’s face it—they were born after the Agile Manifesto was written. Many learned about Agile in school. The vibe of “Agile,” born in the early 2000s, doesn’t seem to resonate with this generation anymore. And I get it—how often has the Agile Manifesto changed since 2001? Never. Even the website hasn’t changed a single pixel in over 20 years.

Isn’t that ironic? The Agile Manifesto, a proposal for continuous improvement, frozen in time.

But that wasn’t the point of the Manifesto. It was a stake in the ground. It gave a generation of IT professionals direction. I see it as the birth of a new genre, like rock ’n’ roll. Agile wasn’t just a song—it was a movement.

And just like rock ’n’ roll isn’t dead, Agile isn’t dead either. It’s evolving. The momentum is forward, not backward. Ask yourself: Do people advocate ignoring customer feedback? Do they ask for longer development cycles and detailed upfront planning? I don’t hear that.

What I do hear is a search for a new direction. Will this be another “Video Killed the Radio Star” moment? Or a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” one? We don’t know yet. But one thing is clear—many dominant Agile frameworks have become stale. Too much repetition. Today’s “artists” are no longer bound by rigid structures. Processes are being liberated.

Back in 2018 and 2019, I began experimenting with new “sounds” myself. I challenged existing frameworks because they didn’t answer the questions organizations were asking for example:
– How do we organize an agile transformation in agile ways?
– How do we increase business agility?
– How do we improve agile team processes effectively?

Over time, this experimentation became what I now call the Agile Kata. It’s not another framework or playbook. It’s a pattern that helps teams and organizations shape their own journey. Starting with Agile Kata doesn’t mean abandoning what you’re doing—it means evolving from where you are today.

But here’s the difference: Agile Kata doesn’t focus on structure, roles, or artifacts—it focuses on behavior. Because agility isn’t about the system you follow, it’s about the way people think, act, and respond. An agile mindset is the first step—but mindset alone doesn’t create change. Agile Kata bridges the gap by turning mindset into meaningful action, practiced deliberately. It’s not about doing agile differently. It’s about behaving differently, over time.

And in this shift toward behavior over structure, coaching will play a more dominant role. Lasting change doesn’t happen through new rules—it happens through guided reflection, consistent practice, and psychological safety. A coaching and leadership culture is essential to support teams as they challenge assumptions, try new approaches, and grow. Agile Kata invites this kind of environment: one where leaders coach, not command; where progress is supported, not prescribed

 If you believe that the future of work depends on frequent adaptation, real feedback, experimentation, and self-organized teams—you already have an agile mindset. If you believe the tools, frameworks, and cultures we use should be challenged, revisited, and reimagined—I invite you to explore Agile Kata.

Agile Kata doesn’t tell you what to do—it helps you question what you’re doing. Or to stick to he music metaphor above Agile Kata isn’t a song to memorize—it’s a rhythm you make your own.

To stay in the musical spirit—Agile Kata isn’t a playlist or a genre. It’s more like the daily act of playing music—a deliberate, repeated practice that sharpens skill, expression, and awareness over time. It’s through this kind of behavioral practice that teams evolve—not by memorizing someone else’s sheet music, but by developing their own sound through habit, feedback, and small adjustments

Agile Kata helps organizations break free from one-size-fits-all approaches and shape a way of working that reflects what’s important to them. Agile Kata is an offer to the next generation of professionals to shape their future of agility—not through new rules, but through new behaviors.

References:

Agile  Kata: Patterns and Practices for Transformative Organizational Agility (Joe Krebs 2025)

Toyota Kata: Managing People for Improvement, Adaptiveness and Superior Results (Mike Rother 2009)

An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Development Organization (Robert Kegan, Lisa Laskow Lahey 2016)

The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization (Peter Senge 2006)

Co-Active Coaching: The Proven Framework for Transformative Conversations at Work and in Life (Karen Kimsey-House, Henrey Kimsey-House, Phillip Sandhal, Laura Whitworth 2018)