Performance Progression: Adopting, Transforming, Mastering

Definition

Each of the eighteen holons in the Agile Performance Holarchy defines expected outcomes at three performance levels: Adopting, Transforming, and Mastering. Adopting represents initial implementation of a holon's behaviors and ceremonies. Transforming represents deepened adoption across teams and functions, with greater consistency, training, and stakeholder engagement. Mastering represents optimization, cultural integration, and the ability for teams to select and adapt techniques to their context. This progression allows organizations to set realistic improvement targets without overshooting or stalling.

In the Book

Dalton details these three levels across every holon. For example, the Valuing holon's Adopting level requires that agile values are selected, defined, roles are clarified, ceremonies are defined, and teams are trained. The Transforming level requires essential stakeholders are engaged in values, leaders are trained to live and project values, and values are prominently displayed. The Mastering level requires leaders at all levels support values, visual information management displays them throughout, and values are regularly reevaluated and improved. Similarly, the Planning holon's Adopting level expects teams to use established ceremonies; Transforming means essential stakeholders engage while demonstrating values and leaders are trained; Mastering means teams proactively select techniques based on needs and leaders engage using agile values. This structure prevents both premature escalation (trying to master before adopting) and arrested development (staying at adopting forever without deepening).

Why It Matters

The three-level progression provides a realistic roadmap for large-scale transformation. It acknowledges that culture change happens in phases, not overnight. By defining what success looks like at each level, the model helps organizations set honest targets—"we will achieve Transforming level in Leading and Crafting while still in Adopting in Teaming"—and invest resources accordingly. It also prevents the common failure where organizations declare success prematurely (we adopted Scrum = we're agile) by explicitly defining what further maturation looks like and why it matters.