Agile Coaches' Corner

Dr. Jerry Smith welcomes you to another episode of AI Live and Unbiased to explore the breadth and depth of Artificial Intelligence and to encourage you to change the world, not just observe it!

Dr. Jerry is talking today about Digital Transformation in the new world of Causal AI. Dr. Jerry has spent many years within the area of computer science, technology, data science, machine learning, and AI, seeking always a way to do a better job of decoupling the brilliant successes of marketing and making them even more usable.

Key Takeaways:

• Digital transformation is failing business expectations.
• • More than 60% of CEOs believe that the digital transformation did not meet their expectations.
• Digital Transformation is not the same thing as transforming you digitally.
• • Digital transformation needs to be driven by the will to change a company by changing aspects of its people.
  • If you don’t like what you see in the company’s data, to see a change in that data, you need to change people.
  • The most important is not about the products a company sells but about the behavior people have with those products.
• Causal AI asks: Why do people do what they do?
• • Why don’t people buy a company’s products or services?
  • Dr. Jerry shares the example of why people buy certain Spaghetti Sauce.
  • To change human behavior the first step is to collect information, which is a cost for any company that decides to do this.
  • Secondly, what to do with that data? Cognitive and emotional services are what come next in order to interpret that data by creating columns of variables and rows of observations.
  • What can be done with that digital surrogate that was created? Optimization!
• How to Optimize:
• • Two ways to optimize models are Particle Swarm Optimization or Evolutionary Computing.
  • Evolutionary computing has the capacity to take suboptimal solutions and combine them to produce an optimal response.
• Data Science, Machine Learning, and AI are different.
• • Data Science is the science of data, it is about how we look at data from a scientific perspective to get insights and learn from it.
  • Machine learning is predicting the future state for something based upon the current state of that matter.
  • AI is artificial intelligence; artificial to human beings. AI is about the decision-making process based on predictions of an outcome.

• Not all data is the same.

• Digital psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists help transform and codify human behavior.

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Learn more about Dr. Jerry Smith

This week, Dan Neumann is joined by Kristan Chavious and Quincy Jordan, two returning guests and colleagues.

In this episode, they are discussing the very special topic of empathy and how it can be a challenge to practice it in fast-paced settings; it can be tough to reconcile empathy with moving fast but there is a significant value in it.

Key Takeaways

• Different ways to bring empathy into an Agile Team:
• • Empathy is known as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.
  • Empathy is also being able to understand someone else’s values.
  • Get outside of your personal experience to see it through the eyes of others and connect with their emotional and psychological response to an event.
• Leading Agile Teams is different than leading traditional teams.
• • An Agile Team is self-organized but a leader needs to support the decisions that the Team members make versus telling them what to do.
  • Displaying a level of empathy allows the Team to grow; no Team starts as a high-performance Team, it evolves into one.
  • In traditional teams, the work done is prioritized: “Just get it done.”
• Empathy in Self-managed Teams:
• • Expectations must be addressed, especially in regard to job descriptions.
  • Team members have to know that they have permission to make certain decisions.
  • The culture needs to be shifted from fearing failure to celebrating it. Leaders must be able to support their teams in their failures.
• Empathy should be demonstrated top-down and bottom-up.
• Participating in meetings, turning on cameras, and really being present are crucially important to foster empathy and better communication.
• • Assume a good intent, “You know they mean well,” even in the most tense scenarios.
  • When you realize someone is having a bad day, try to adjust and to help who is in need at that particular moment (if it is an ongoing attitude, that is simply abuse).

Mentioned in this Episode:

Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving, by Celeste Headlee

The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World, by John Mark Comer

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This week, Dan Neumann is joined by three colleagues Alba Uribe, Quincy Jordan, and Justin Thatil, to have a second conversation about vulnerability, especially about the patterns Teams can fall into that are a threat to vulnerability and the overall safety of the work environment.

In this episode, they explore these dangerous antipatterns and how to prevent them.

Key Takeaways

• Avoiding the Antipatterns:
• • If you “Bring your whole self to work” you are able to be vulnerable and propose ideas.
  • If you are making promises you can’t keep, people won’t feel trustful of the environment anymore. Trust and transparency need to be built into Teams in order for them to be effective.
  • Remote work presents challenges to building relationships that can foster vulnerability.
• How does a Scrum Master create an environment for people to allow themselves to be vulnerable?
• • A Scrum Master can show his/her own vulnerability in order to model the behavior to others (asking questions, making sure the camera is on in video calls).
  • Setting up a safe environment can require collaborating or setting expectations with those who are not on the team about the environment.
  • Vulnerability requires a lot of emotion, allowing yourself to feel and connect with others.
• Assessing the root cause of a negative emotion that can arise as a result of the process is needed in order to prevent its repetition.
• • Being neutral only exacerbates the problem instead of seeking a potential solution.
  • Know the Team Agreements or Rules of Engagement: How are we going to interact? What are we going to do when we have differences?
• Activities that numb vulnerability are a pattern to avoid.
• • Highlighting weaknesses promote a sense of fear and unsafety.
  • When some individuals disregard others’ ideas, vulnerability is at risk.
  • All questions are good questions! Promoting open communication is the best way of encouraging vulnerability.
  • A certain level of emotional intelligence is required to promote more human connection.
• Unhealthy comparisons are vulnerability destroyers.
• • Don’t compare Teams’ performance, it is just not effective.
  • Looking back to a different Team composition and comparing past results to today’s is not useful.
• Favoritism is also an antipattern.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Listen to Ep. 171: Fostering Vulnerability in Agile Teams

Positive Intelligence

Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours, by Shirzad Chamine

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This week, Dan Neumann is joined by his colleague Misi Eyetsemitan and together they are exploring the value of Empiricism beyond the Scrum Team.

In this episode, Dan and Misi dive deep into the meaning of Empiricism and how it contributes to a Scrum Team predictability. Empiricism leads to more effective decision-making and is considered a powerful tool to manage expectations within an organization; you can’t miss this episode for a thoughtful discussion of its extent.

Key Takeaways

• What is Empiricism?
• • Empiricism is knowledge from experience and using that knowledge in decision-making while ensuring we are eliminating risks.
  • In a Scrum Team, empiricism is at the core of the work.
  • Empiricism helps to build some level of predictability to the goals a Scrum Team has.
• Empiricism from an Organizational point of view:
• • Each Sprint is an experiment, each idea is a proposal to experiment.
  • The first step is going out, using the available data to make informed decisions, and testing the existing hypothesis in order to validate that data.
  • From the moment a concept comes up, those who are going to be building it need to provide feedback to formulate an early hypothesis.
• Budgeting within the Agile Space:
• • After developing a concept and a way of materializing it, the following step is funding. These questions proceed: What is sustainable and what is not? What is emerging?
  • How we use the empirical data that we have to find what is emerging is what really provides the most value.
  • Misi explains how the concepts of profit and value have evolved over time.
  • A budget needs to support what is bringing the most value.
• Empirical data shows in many ways in decision making, going beyond the day-to-day of a Scrum Team.
• How can we use empiricism to help us better manage expectations?
• • Empiricism is key to setting goals, road-mapping, and validating MVP.
  • Evaluating success is a challenging task.
  • Organizations use different tools to measure success but the primary measure is how much value is being provided to customers.
• The vision must always be present as the main driver of an organization.
• • It all starts with a vision.
  • Our vision shapes what we want to be seeing.
• In order to share empirical data, a safe environment is required.
• • Empirical data within is very tricky, people in the organization need to be empowered to share that information, and that only happens in a psychologically safe environment.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Positive Intelligence

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This week, Dan Neumann is joined by three of his colleagues Alba Uribe, Quincy Jordan, and Justin Thatil. In today’s episode, they are exploring the concept of vulnerability as it is introduced by Brené Brown and its meaning for Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches who are seeking to foster a safe environment where vulnerability is welcomed and celebrated.

Key Takeaways

• What is vulnerability?
• • According to Brené Brown, vulnerability is the emotional experience during times of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.
  • Vulnerability is related to having courage regardless of the circumstances.
• There are different phases of vulnerability: on an individual and a collective level.
• • You succeed and fail as a team; it is not about each person’s performance but the collective execution.
  • Teams need to trust and work together as a unit, as a collective.
• What techniques can a Scrum Master use when having a new team and trying to create some of the safety that can host vulnerability?
• • A Scrum Master should first show and model vulnerability and then ask the team what they need in order to feel safe.
  • To establish safety.
  • To open up to team members about the importance of fostering vulnerability.
  • A team has to be aware of the responsibility implied in fostering a safe environment where vulnerability can take place.
• Human connection is the catalyst to establish vulnerability.
• Myths about vulnerability:
• • Vulnerability is disclosure: There have to be boundaries to what you share; vulnerability shows that there is trust and safety about what is appropriate to share at the right moment.
  • Vulnerability is weakness.
• Techniques to encourage vulnerability:
• • Intentionally expose your troubles for others to see that you are willing to be transparent; vulnerability is contagious.
  • Establish what is OK in the team setting.

Mentioned in this Episode:

The Seat of the Soul, by Gary Zukav

Positive Intelligence

Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours, by Shirzad Chamine

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This week, Dan Neumann is joined by two of his colleagues, Adam Ulery and Kris Chavious.

In this episode, Dan, Adam, and Kris are answering a listener who asked about the Dos and Don’ts of a Scrum Master. They cover topics such as culture, how to handle time boxes, meetings, and the challenging role of a Scrum Master removing impediments, among others.

Key Takeaways

● Dos for a Scrum Master:

○ As a Scrum Master, you bring the culture to the team. People share more when they are comfortable; a light and energetic atmosphere is important.

○ Get to know the people on your team.

○ A Scrum Master needs to be the positive force to the team.

○ Joke around! Make work fun.

○ How do you level down the stress in teams? Incorporate personal stories to lighten things up or play music (instrumental if there are activities to be done).

● Dos and Don’ts related to time boxes:

○ Some people may not understand what that means.

○ Time boxes are a maximum point but if you finish earlier it’s just fine.

○ Don’t be authoritarian about the time box.

○ Be mindful of the time box, but make sure to leave some time for people to share if something is pending or needs to be addressed in a future meeting.

● The Role of a Scrum Master removing impediments:

○ Enabling and facilitating are roles of the Scrum Master but he is not responsible for solving all the problems.

○ A Scrum Master needs to bring thinking tools to the team and know how to ask questions in order to achieve a solution.

● Don’t unnecessarily schedule meetings!

● Scrum Masters shouldn’t be an extreme micromanager.

○ You don’t have to be on your team every day, we are all professionals. There are mechanisms set to see the progress of the work every day.

● As a Scrum Master, you sometimes have to have uncomfortable conversations.

○ Don’t tolerate damaging behavior, address it right away!

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This week, Dan Neumann is joined by two of his Agile Coach’s colleagues, Andrea Floyd and Adam Ulery.

In this episode, Dan, Andrea, and Adam are answering a listener’s question who is just entering the role of a Scrum Master in the organization he works for and realized that it’s going through the consequences of a lack of the application of the ADKAR model. This listener asks for help in order to prevent his team from completely crashing and burning with the adoption of the SAFe methodology tasked by the leadership.

Key Takeaways

• A safe Scaled Agile framework.
• • When looking for a safe way to scale, visit Scaled Agile Framework where you can find lots of information and an implementation road map for different organizations to implement.
  • Change will affect everyone on the Team.
  • Training is necessary for all individuals to understand how change is going to impact them.
  • SAFe is a framework; there are other tools to complement it.
  • Look for opportunities to create organic learning groups.
• What is the tiebreaker between the roles of a Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Engineering?
• • Engage the community to have a collaborative conversation about what will make the best impact for the desired outcome.
  • Who has the tiebreaker? That depends on the topic of the change involved, it could be the Scrum Master or the Product Owner.
  • The Scrum Master needs to help in guiding the practices and the processes around Scrum.
  • It is crucial to have working agreements and an explicit understanding of who is responsible for what domain and area.
  • To script the opening move is one strategy to making changes.
  • Understanding accountabilities for each role is key for a successful change.
• Is there a change management plan template or some best practices to show the “why” for the process? How do you make people want to change?
• • Create excitement by helping people understand how the change benefits them and why change is happening.
  • The implementation roadmap at Scaled Agile Framework is a very useful resource, all needed modifications can be done to fit your organization’s needs.
  • Visit LACE to learn how to create a Lean-Agile Center of Excellence.
• Tips for change agents to help them build some transparency:
• • Always come from a place of humbleness and curiosity in the way you are approaching change.
  • Empathy is a needed skill when confronting change.
  • When you first start something it always feels a little chaotic and the human normal reaction is to go back to what is familiar; use empathy to understand this feeling; just be human.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Scaled Agile Framework

LACE

Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours, by Shirzad Chamine

Scrum Guide

Kanban: Successful Evolutionary Change for Your Technology Business (aka “blue book”)

A Simpler Intro to Kanban

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This week, Dan Neumann is joined by Andrea Floyd, colleague and principal consultant at AgileThought, to discuss different ways of helping Agile Practices to take root and thrive within organizations.

In this episode, you will find an opportunity to reflect on your Agile Journey, identify the aspects where adjustments can be made, and reinforce the Agile Mindset for it to really take root, become sustainable, and have all the positive impacts possible.

Key Takeaways

● An Agile Journey needs tune-ups.

○ Taking care of things is action-oriented.

○ Taking a moment to reflect is part of practicing awareness.

● What can impede an Agile Journey to thrive?

○ Not paying attention to accountabilities across the teams. It is important to take a moment to agree on accountabilities.

● How can we create accountabilities when a gap is spotted?

○ Create a space where people can contribute.

○ Our words are important, make sure the words you choose to use are understood. Create a glossary of terms to help with that alignment.

○ Listen and observe the ways people are working together.

● Find the whys behind what is being done.

○ Forecast rather than plan.

● Tune-ups are about inspecting and adapting (and that needs to be visible).

● We don’t succeed without our people.

○ Care for your people and do no harm.

○ Focus on empathy and safety.

○ People are not hired to be a widget in a machine, a safe environment should encourage people to share their experiences and thoughts.

○ Are we incentivizing the right behaviors and the mindsets that support them?

● Business Agility is linked to Influential Leaders.

○ Agile Journeys have more opportunities to succeed if we have engaged leaders.

○ Andrea and Dan talk about the difference between engagement and support.

○ An inspiring leader creates communities to promote Agility.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20% of Teams and Individuals Achieve Their True Potential and How You Can Achieve Yours, Shirzard Chamine

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Share These Tweets!

“Taking care of things is action-oriented “ — Andrea Floyd

“Our words are impactful, make sure the words you choose to use are understood.” — Andrea Floyd

“Create safety for people to bring their past experiences to grow from them, people are not hired to be a widget in a machine.” — Dan Neumann

This week, Dan Neumann is joined by a colleague, friend, and Professional Scrum Trainer, Eric Landes.

In this episode, Dan and Eric are answering a listener’s question that arises from an episode in which Change Fatigue was discussed; the listener wants to hear more about cases observed of Change Fatigue in Teams and Organizations and how they can be dealt with. They wonder if it is ever OK for a team on the path to Agility to say: “We made a really good progress; let’s take our foot off the pedal of continuous improvement and just cruise for a while!”

Key Takeaways

● What does Change Fatigue look like?

○ One-week sprints can exhaust Teams; speed is good but the Team’s engagement is a priority.

○ The retrospective after a Sprint is designed to be a moment to take a step back and reflect, maybe celebrating what is working well as opposed to meaningful process change.

● How to avoid Change Fatigue?

○ A way of avoiding Change Fatigue is by hosting the retrospective after a Sprint in another setting where the Team can unwind.

○ Try to change the mood, promoting a fun and easy atmosphere.

○ Think of places where you can give your Team a little rest and also listen to your Team’s suggestions about where would they like to go for a little relaxation.

○ The change might be needing to pause on changing.

● There is a potential of doing Change wrong.

○ Change is done wrong when you’ve lost the ability to deliver.

○ In Scrum, when you bring changes on they can only be one or two into a Sprint.

○ Ask yourself: Is this change effective?

● Apply, reflect, and adjust.

○ You not only have to be constantly doing!

○ It is OK to rest (by the way, it is needed!)

○ Every task is in a series; just work on one at a time. Don’t worry about the whole thing, just about the next thing.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Listen to Episode 53: “Why Should Scrum Teams Continually Improve” where Change Fatigue was first discussed

Agile Retrospective: Making Good Teams Great, by Esther Derby and Diana Larsen, with forward by Ken Schwaber

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This week, Dan Neumann is joined by Buyi‌ ‌Kalala‌ in today’s episode to explore the differences between Agile Missionaries and Agile Mercenaries, considering a missionary someone who is there to help and assist the team on its journey, and a mercenary, who is paid to “hit,” who can reinforce misconceptions, and even execute tasks that are not coherent with the Agile Values and Principles.

Key Takeaways

• Agile Missionaries vs. Agile Mercenaries.
• • Assist the organization in knowing what they don’t know, leading them into a new direction, a new way of operating.
  • Sometimes organizations put all the responsibility on the Agile Coach when in fact it is their transformation, not the Coaches.
• The reaction to change.
• • Planting the seed takes time, organizations need time to process and digest change.
  • Sometimes there is resistance to change and in other cases, there is change fatigue.
  • Sustainable change comes after a time-consuming process.
• Well-taken decisions will be celebrated while poor actions will also be exposed.
• • Mistakes in the Agile Journey are opportunities to pivot.
  • Sometimes it is easier to identify the “wrongful” behaviors rather than having the ability to catch the right decisions to be able to encourage them.
  • Focusing on potentials and possibilities is the way to highlight the behaviors that are aligned with the Agile Culture.
• One-on-one conversations are crucially important.
• • Introverts can have a hard time dealing with the face-to-face approach.
  • Showing interest in the other person is necessary to achieve a common goal and be successful together.
  • Think outside of the box and try to connect from the other person’s perspective.
  • Practice patience and be curious (instead of judgemental).

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