Over the years, Spotify’s approach to agility has captured the imagination of organizations worldwide. The promise of empowered, autonomous teams delivering value quickly and consistently is irresistible. Yet, many enterprises, particularly those with long histories (like a 300-year-old UK-based bank that is endeavoring to “rollout” the Spotify model), find themselves struggling—or outright failing—to adopt the Spotify model.

Why is that?

The short answer: the Spotify model wasn’t designed for them. It’s not a framework or methodology but an outcome of Spotify’s unique context, culture, and challenges.

Here’s why most enterprises can’t simply “become Spotify”—and what they can do instead.

1. Misunderstanding the Spotify Model

Spotify’s structure of Squads, Tribes, Chapters, and Guilds wasn’t meant to be a template. It evolved organically for Spotify’s needs at a specific time. Enterprises often copy the model’s terminology while missing the principles underpinning it: autonomy, alignment, and continuous improvement. The result is superficial adoption that rarely delivers meaningful change.

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2. Legacy Systems and Technical Debt

Take a 300-year-old bank as an example. Its deeply embedded legacy systems pose a challenge to agility. Spotify’s model thrives on modern DevOps practices, continuous integration, and loosely coupled architectures. For organizations with outdated systems, achieving the speed and flexibility Spotify enjoys is a monumental task. Without addressing these technical foundations, efforts to mimic Spotify’s ways of working are doomed to fail.

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3. Regulatory and Compliance Constraints

Highly regulated industries like banking face constraints Spotify never had to contend with. Centralized oversight and risk aversion dominate, creating friction against decentralized, autonomous decision-making. Regulatory environments demand structured governance, which can feel at odds with Spotify’s fluid, experimental culture.

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4. Cultural and Leadership Barriers

Spotify’s culture is built on trust, empowerment, and a willingness to learn from failure. In contrast, legacy organizations often operate with hierarchical structures and command-and-control leadership styles. The mindset shift needed to enable true team autonomy is profound—and challenging. Leaders must move from micromanaging to coaching, from directing to supporting.

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5. Organizational Complexity

Spotify’s model works well for a digital-first organization with relatively simple product lines. Enterprises, particularly those in finance or manufacturing, deal with broad portfolios, complex customer bases, and interconnected services. Dependencies between teams and silos across departments make it hard to replicate Spotify’s lightweight, decentralized approach.

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Why Copying Spotify Fails

Many organizations adopt Spotify’s names—Squads, Tribes, Chapters—without the foundational principles that make them effective. They focus on structure rather than outcomes, leading to frustration and failure.

What works for Spotify doesn’t necessarily work for another enterprise (especially a 300-year-old bank) with a different culture, scale, and mission.

The Spotify model isn’t a silver bullet. It’s an inspiration, not a prescription.

My next post will delve into a potentially better approach.