Why Great Results Aren’t Enough to Create Change
What my experience leading a complex technology programme taught me about improvement, resistance, and discovering the Kanban Maturity Model.
While leading a large-scale technology initiative, I set out to solve what felt like an impossible problem. My team was constantly overburdened. Delivery was unpredictable. Priorities shifted daily. People were pulled off to fight fires elsewhere. Estimates were off, morale was low, and predictability felt out of reach.
I knew the Kanban Method could help, so I applied what I had learned from Kanban System Design (KSD). The results were better than I could have hoped:
- Predictability improved
- Throughput increased
- Overburdening was reduced
- Stress levels across the team went down
It was, by every metric, a huge success.
(In a previous article, I shared more about how Kanban transformed one of my teams and the measurable impact it had on delivery. But what happened after that success is what eventually led me to explore the Kanban Maturity Model.)
The Challenge After Success
Despite the clear data and positive outcomes, it proved difficult to gain broader buy-in for expanding it beyond my immediate team.
This isn’t unusual. In large organisations, even when one team achieves visible success, scaling that success across departments can be hard. Different teams have different pressures, priorities, and levels of readiness for change.
My goal was never to drive a sweeping transformation, only to explore whether the same approach could help others. But the reactions varied:
- “Your team is different.”
- “Kanban fits your kind of work.”
- “That wouldn’t quite suit us.”
It made me curious, if the evidence was this clear, why didn’t others see the same opportunity?
At the time, I didn’t have a good answer. I felt a little frustrated, even disheartened, that I couldn’t inspire the same enthusiasm elsewhere.
Discovering the Missing Piece
That curiosity is what led me down the path to Kanban Systems Improvement (KSI), the Kanban Maturity Model (KMM), and later the Kanban Coaching (KC) course.
What I learned through both KMM and KC was eye-opening:
- It’s not enough to show that Kanban works.
- Change often stalls when the culture and maturity of the organisation aren’t yet ready for certain practices.
- Successful improvement requires a safe, evolutionary path, and the right coaching approach to help people move along it.
The KMM gave me the map I had been missing, a clear structure for understanding where an organisation is and what it’s ready for. The Kanban Coaching course gave me the compass, the practical techniques, conversational models, and change-management principles to help people navigate that journey safely.
Together, they connected the dots between what works, what people are ready for, and how to help them get there.
What Is the Kanban Maturity Model?
The KMM, developed by David J. Anderson and Teodora Bozheva, is a framework that:
- Describes seven maturity levels, from chaotic work management (ML0) to resilience and market leadership (ML6).
- Maps over 150 Kanban practices to these maturity levels, showing when it’s safe and useful to apply them.
- Helps organisations build predictability, customer satisfaction, and adaptability step by step.
Most importantly, it provides a shared language for leaders, managers, and teams to talk about improvement without overreaching.
Evolutionary Change, Not Big Bang
The core philosophy behind KMM is evolutionary change. That means progress is both incremental (small, manageable steps) and iterative (refining based on feedback).
This approach minimises resistance and reduces risk, exactly what I had been missing back when I first started experimenting with Kanban.
Closing Reflection
Looking back, I realise that my early Kanban success wasn’t the full story, it was just the first step. Without the KMM and the Kanban Coaching course, I didn’t yet have the tools to influence change beyond my team.
Today, when I work with organisations, I carry that lesson with me: it’s not just about proving Kanban works, it’s about helping people evolve through small, safe, and meaningful steps.
Have you ever had success with a method or practice but struggled to convince others? How did you deal with that resistance?
Flow Sensei helps teams and leaders build systems that work with people, not against them. And if this article struck a chord, you’ll love our Kanban trainings — practical, engaging, and rooted in the real challenges teams face every day.
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