The Theseus Lens for Agile
How teams can retain their soul during big changes
New members are joining your Agile teams halfway through a big project. For them, the backlog is different, most faces are new, and the tools & processes appear scaringly alien.
Such changes are not a novelty. Most organizations routinely undergo Team Composition Changes, Process and Workflow Changes (e.g. adoption of new tools, frameworks, or ceremonies), Organizational Structure Changes (flattened hierarchies, or reorganized departments), Technology and Tooling Changes (e.g. migration to new platforms, adoption of new software, or major technical overhauls) or Strategic or Product Direction Changes (shifting business priorities, new product lines, or pivots in company mission).
How do your teams survive all this change?
This is quite similar to the Ship of Theseus Paradox: if you replace every part of a ship, plank by plank, is it still the same ship? In Agile world, our “planks” are people, processes, and priorities. The challenge for leaders like you isn’t just to manage the change, but to make sure that the team’s soul (i.e. their purpose and culture) survives the journey.
In the 1960s, NASA’s Apollo teams faced a similar upheaval: new technologies, shifting deadlines and changing teams. Yet, their purpose was not disturbed. “Put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth,” this clear, shared mission kept thousands of people moving in the same direction, even as everything else changed.
When changes like this happen the leaders ensure that the team’s “whys” remain amply visible. As a coach their core mantra is to go beyond sprint goals and remind everyone of the deeper mission. Even when priorities shift, leaders connect each change back to that purpose and ask: “How did this sprint move us closer to our North Star?”
Culture: The Invisible Thread That Binds
If you think deeply, Spotify’s famous “squad” model isn’t about structure at all, it’s about culture. Each squad may have its own rituals, inside jokes, and traditions. But when squads split or merge, they carry these threads with them, weaving old customs into new contexts. This continuity makes change less scary and keeps teams human.
As a leader you should identify and celebrate your team’s unique rituals. Whether it’s Friday wins, GIFs in chat, or a special way of running demos, we must retain the uniqueness. And when new people join, tell them about the stories behind these rituals. To enable this, create space for teams to share their history and values, especially after big changes, it would be a Whiteboard or a Wiki page, means are not important.
Structure: Evolve, But Remember Why
When Netflix migrated its entire platform to the cloud, almost every process and tool changed. But leaders made sure to map new practices to old intentions. For example, daily stand-ups became asynchronous check-ins, but it remained tied to the goal of having tight feedback loops.
When you join a new team as a Leader, before changing a process, ask: “What problem did the old way solve? How will the new way do it better?” Capture lessons learned in a living team playbook.
The Leader’s Role: Be the Storykeeper
Change is inevitable. Confusion isn’t. Great Agile leaders are more than facilitators, they’re storykeepers. They help teams remember who they are, why they matter, and how to bring their best selves into new situations.
How to Apply the Theseus Lens:
Talk about continuity, not just change.
Make team identity explicit by jotting down values, sharing origin stories, and celebrating the quirks.
In every retrospective, ask: “What did we keep? What did we lose? What do we want to carry forward?”
Your Ship, Your Story
While Agile is about moving fast or shipping code, it’s also about building teams that can weather any storm without losing their soul.
As a leader, your job isn’t to stop the waves. It’s to help your team remember what makes their ship worth sailing, no matter how many planks you replace.
At your next team change, ask: “What’s our North Star? What’s our Wall of Wins? What will we keep, no matter what?” That’s how you build a team that lasts.