When I was leading Telstra's Agile Coaching Academy, I genuinely believed we were creating something transformational. A shining example of what organisations could become when they truly embraced agile as a way of thinking. We were building something meaningful—for our workforce, for the organisation, and as a beacon to the industry of what was possible when change was done right.

The vision was clear: get through the bottom of the change curve to the other side, where high performance awaited and the organisation would emerge as an optimised system.

And you know what? We actually made it there.

But here's where the story gets interesting.

The Messy Middle Reality

Today, I'm consulting with organisations that embarked on similar journeys but never made it to "the other side." They're stuck in what I now call the messy middle—part agile, part traditional, part something else entirely.

These organisations evolved into something unexpected:

• Adaptive roadmaps shaped by learning (but wrapped in traditional funding envelopes)

• Agile forecasting and burn-ups surfacing delivery signals (but filtered through change request processes)

• Cross-functional collaboration (constrained by governance structures that haven't caught up)

Even Jira only recently connected product and project workflows. Until then? Different worlds, trying to coexist.

Then I spent three years working in these hybrid environments. And I learned something that challenges everything I used to preach.

What if "Good Enough" Actually Is Good Enough?

The challenge—and the question that keeps me up at night—is whether these organisations are in the right place for them, or if the journey to "the other side" should still be their aspiration.

There's no universal right answer. And I think the days where Agile was positioned as the end result to aspire for are behind us.

Here's what I'm seeing: everyone's a little unsure about the next target state. Yes, it incorporates some agile practices and principles, but it's also wrestling with competing themes—AI, automation, and trends we haven't even named yet.

Maybe the right place for organisations right now is what I'm calling "good enough"—a place where:

• We're delivering enough to meet expectations

• We're not over-investing in trying to reinvent ourselves

• We stabilize where we are and make the most of it with the people we have

• We incrementally improve our capability while we watch, wait, and consider if there's another big transformation on the horizon

Three Ways I've Learned to Respond

🟢 Accept It (If It Works) If your current hybrid model delivers value, supports visibility, and meets risk requirements—then maybe good enough genuinely is good enough. Just be honest about the trade-offs. I've stopped trying to "fix" organisations that are actually functioning.

🚀 Chase the Ideal (If You Can) For some, the moonshot is still possible: cross-functional teams, persistent funding, lean governance. But these require executive air cover, significant redesign, and long-term commitment. After Telstra, I know this path exists—but I also know not everyone has that luxury.

🧠 Nudge Forward, Thoughtfully This is where I spend most of my time now. Helping teams improve within constraints—removing blockers, aligning roles, integrating agile metrics into project governance. And when a genuine window opens (org redesign, new funding model, leadership appetite), being ready to take the bigger leap.

Personal Confession: I'm Enjoying the Mess

For me personally, I'm finding deep satisfaction working in the middle of the mess with hybrid organisations. Creating pockets of high agility amongst other parts of the organisation that may be exactly where they're supposed to be in terms of their way of working.

Maybe the whole ecosystem is good enough for what that organization is trying to do right now.

This isn't about lowering standards—it's about meeting organisations where they are and helping them optimise within their reality, not some idealized future state they may never reach or even need.

Where This Leads: Pragmatic Delivery Leadership

The question isn't "is it agile enough?" anymore. It's "what can we do next, with what we've got, to improve flow, confidence, and value?"

This shift requires a new kind of delivery leadership—one that can:

• Speak both governance and customer language fluently

• Balance adaptive roadmaps with structured funding realities

• Use data to guide decisions, not just satisfy reporting cycles

• Most critically—bring management along for the journey

Pragmatic delivery isn't about picking sides between project and product, traditional and agile. It's about making delivery work within your constraints, with your people, in your context.

That's the shift I'm seeing, and it's the focus of what we're building next.

Let's Normalise This Conversation

Hybrid isn't failure. It's not a waystation to somewhere better. For many organisations, it might just be the destination.

And honestly? There's something liberating about accepting that the messy middle might be exactly where you need to be.