Many people can tell when a development culture isn't healthy. Much like being able to tell that the wind is blowing they can see that things aren't right by looking at the evidence around them. High development costs, substandard quality, missed deadlines, code not matching design, business priorities not being met, no responsibility taken by those doing the work, and so on.

Sometimes people think that a better process will, on it's own, cause all these things to improve. As if the process is the problem, and not the people, as if people always follow process to the letter, and as if a process always works in every situation.

The reality is that the right process is important, but that the people using the process are more important. The number one principle on the Agile Manifesto is "Individuals and Interactions over Processes and Tools". Jim Collins in Good to Great talks about this as "getting the right people on the bus".

People are your critical factor to success. So, whether you use CMMI, Scrum, XP, RUP, or any other development methodology, if the people have are poor the results will inevitably be poor. And worse, if the culture is poor, the good people you may have will be unlikely to stay.

So, how do you change and improve on a bad culture? How do you break the habits and attitudes that permeate everything that is done? Is it through charismatic leadership? Through slavish adherence to processes? Is it through ranting and raving at people until your throat is raw?

The answer is none of the above. Cultural change only happens slowly and gradually, and is really a reflection of how the majority of people in your team think and act. The hard part is, that in poor cultures, there is a reinforcement of mediocrity, of striving for the lowest common denominator, for seeking the path of least resistance, for not sticking your neck out and suggesting improvements. It's easier to complain to colleagues about how the culture sucks, than it is to actually try to do anything about it. And a bad culture is very unattractive to good people and those who look for the best, which just makes it harder to turn around.

The good news is that it's not impossible - you just need to have direction, endurance and determination. And you need to be able to motivate your people to want to change.

In other words - you need to use the carrot and the stick.

The carrot is the better method of course. Inspire people to improve through communicating what you expect. Constantly. Every day if you need to. Set your expectations and set them clearly. Do not be afraid to them high and always be prepared to measure every decision and action you make against those expectations. And ensure you meet those expectations yourself, all the time.

Constant communication is critical. People who are constantly told something will eventually believe it. History has countless examples of cultural change occurring through various forms of propaganda (both good and bad). And history shows that people who are constantly told how to behave will eventually conform to that behaviour.

You should also try to get your people passionate about what they do. In this you will have to lead by example. Show yourself getting passionate about what you do, about successes your people have, about improvements you can use as examples. Passion and excitement is infective and others will catch your passion.

And most importantly reward those who change. Those who meet your goals for change should always be rewarded - publicly or privately. It doesn't matter. And rewards don't have to be material - praise and recognition is just as good a reward for many people as a gift.

The stick on the other hand should be reserved for those who refuse to change. Do not hesitate to show displeasure at failure or unmet expectations. Do not hesitate to remove people who do not try to improve. And most importantly do not hesitate to remove the ring leaders seeking to maintain the status quo.

Some people just don't like change. They like their negative cultures, they enjoy highlighting failings in others without admitting their own, and they will actively seek to pull down any initiatives that might improve things. These people are like a cancer and must be cut out. Do not feel guilty and do not feel remorse. Even if they are your most skilled people.

From experience, removing a negative person from a group releases the silent majority from the fear of abuse by that person and gives them the permission they need to improve. It also shows you are serious about change and willing to do what it takes to see that change happen.

Obviously, you need to tailor whatever you do to your own situation, and nothing ever happens overnight, but keep at these things and improvements will occur.

It can be a long and bumpy ride at times. Good luck on your journey.