Agile Coaches' Corner

This week, Sam Falco is joined by Andrea Chiou to discuss the topic of clean language!

In their conversation, they discuss clean language; what it is, what it is not, where it originated from, its applications, and the barriers or challenges to using clean language (and how to address them). Andrea also outlines key clean language questions, how to know when and where to use them, and what you can do to further improve your clean language!

Andrea Chiou’s past work includes many roles within IT, from developer to business and process analyst, technical lead, and PM. Her main focuses include Scrum, Kanban, strategy, facilitation, remote working, product visioning, conflict management, leadership, user experience, clean language, organizational learning, and coaching. Andrea’s mission is to help people at work connect to one another so that the best possible outcomes are available not only in the moment but over a sustained period.

Key Takeaways

• What is clean language?
  • A label that describes a set of questions that are used in a process to help people think through their intentions and better understand one another
  • Non-leading questions that elevate and amplify the inherent diversity of skills, knowledge, and styles of working in a team
  • A powerful way of getting everyone to pay attention to one another and create a system of learning, listening, inquiry, and mutual support
  • It is a set of 12 core questions that are non-leading and assumption-free
  • The use of these short “clean questions” puts the emphasis on the keywords that demonstrate to the person that you’re asking that you are hearing them and you empathize with them (i.e. you’re using their words, not your interpretation of their words)
• Where clean language originated from:
  • There are four main branches of how clean language has evolved: 1) symbolic modeling 2) systemic modeling 3) clean space 4) clean interviewing
• Clean language applications:
  • When interviewing others to gather information (ask questions that are not leading, so as not to influence the answers)
  • It is often used in person-change work (coaches, counselors, psychologists, etc.)
  • It can be used as an information-gathering tool by market researchers, journalists, business and systems analysts, developers, etc.
  • Using clean language in a team setting improves communication, empathy, and understanding
• Barriers or challenges to using clean language:
  • Even though you’re using someone else’s words it may go unnoticed or be done in a way that can make someone feel uncomfortable
  • It’s easy to learn, but, much like Scrum, takes a lot of practice and support to become good at it
  • It can be challenging to know when to use it
  • Especially in IT, the pace and the need for quickness often hampers people’s ability to actually listen well
• How to use clean language questions:
  • Two of the most common questions are 1) “What kind of…?” and 2) “Is there anything else about...” These get at the “nitty-gritty” details
  • You put your attention on the person you’re asking the questions to and hearing them fully
  • Repeating their words when asking follow-up questions, inviting them to continue
• List of clean language questions:
  • Developing Questions
    • What kind of X?
    • Is there anything else about X?
    • Where is X? or Whereabouts is X?
    • Is there a relationship between X and Y?
    • When X, what happens to Y?
    • That’s X like what?
  • Sequence and Source Questions
    • Then what happens? or What happens next?
    • What happens just before X?
    • Where could X come from?
  • Intention Questions
    • What would X like to have happen?
    • What needs to happen for X?
    • Can X (happen)?

Mentioned in this Episode:

• Agile Coaches’ Corner 101: “Are Scrum Masters Expendable?”
• Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds, by Wendy Sullivan and Judy Rees
• The Work and Life of David Grove: Clean Language and Emergent Knowledge, by Carol Wilson
Tenable
• Agendashift
• Agendashift: Outcome-oriented change and continuous transformation, by Mike Burrows
• Right to Left: The digital leader's guide to Lean and Agile, by Mike Burrows
• Deep Listening — Impact Beyond Words Podcast by Oscar Trimboli

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on http://agilethought.com/podcast!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!

In this episode, Dan Neumann is joined by Scott Brinker! Scott is the VP of Platform Ecosystem at Hubspot, the author of the ChiefMartech blog, and the founding program chair of MarTech Conference.

In their conversation today, they explore some topics around approaches with shifting from product to platform, organizational change with distributed agility, and exploring the Flywheel Model at Hubspot. Scott also shares his tips and advice around alignment, distributed authority, and preventing backsliding!

Key Takeaways

Hubspot’s shift from a product company to a platform company:

Hubspot made the shift in order to move beyond just building within their own organization to being able to open up APIs and extensibilities that would allow other companies and developers to build on top of that foundation (in turn, shifting the value proposition to customers)

Expanding from your own team(s)’ ability to innovate and experiment to empowering team(s) around the world to innovate and experiment

They went from focusing on an end-user audience to requiring the product teams to look at another dimension of what they were creating

The value in shifting from product to platform:

The ability to adapt to change at scale is an invaluable skill

This process helps pressure-test your ideas in a variety of different circumstances

Tips for shifting from product to platform:

You want a clear top-down strategy and a sense of where you’re going and why, but also the freedom to experiment and create

You don’t want to have top-down handcuffs but you do want a strategy so people can align

Experimentation is the pathway to greatness and the best way to have a great idea is to have a lot of ideas!

It is ideal to have a blend of a formal/informal experimental framework

Tips regarding alignment:

If you’re going to have a product in the ecosystem, you want to make sure it adheres to some basic governance

You want to make sure that the experience that customers have with anything in the ecosystem is good

You can’t have governance that strangles the teams but you also don’t want a lack of governance that puts your organization at risk — finding balance is key

How distributed authority works plus tips:

Distributed authority refers to giving someone the authority to take something and run with it (in turn, creating a tremendous pace for innovation within an organization)

To make this successful at scale, you need some scaffolding and governance increasingly over time so they are all tying back into a common foundation

When it comes to the product to platform, each individual team needs to come to terms with it (almost like a retail approach to change management)

Pro: Because you have these highly empowered teams, as soon as they “get it,” their ability to move very quickly and do amazing things is greatly increased

Con: ’Tis not a one-shot thing; you have to invest the time and go team-by-team

It may take longer than you think it will, but it leads to strong, genuine change that sticks

Tips and advice around backsliding:

Creating alignment between platform and ecosystem as a way to help your team(s) achieve their goals creates a strong bond

Things diverge for good reason; usually, it is an indicator that that team needs to adapt or that something is not a good fit and needs to be changed

What first might look like backsliding might actually be the discovery of finding a new path or possibility (so don’t quash things too early)

What is the Flywheel Model?

“The Flywheel is a model adapted by HubSpot to explain the momentum you gain when you align your entire organization around delivering a remarkable customer experience.”

“With the flywheel, you use the momentum of your happy customers to drive referrals and repeat sales.”

“Other models think of customers as an outcome — nothing more, nothing less.”

The most successful companies address all three components of a flywheel: how fast it’s spun, how much friction there is, and how big it is (which determines customers’ attraction, engagement, and delight)

Mentioned in this Episode:

Scott Brinker

Hubspot

ChiefMartech.com

MarTech Conference

The Flywheel Model | Hubspot

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!

In this episode, Dan Neumann is joined by Scott Brinker! Scott is the VP of Platform Ecosystem at Hubspot, the author of the ChiefMartech blog, and the founding program chair of MarTech Conference.

In their conversation today, they explore some topics around approaches with shifting from product to platform, organizational change with distributed agility, and exploring the Flywheel Model at Hubspot. Scott also shares his tips and advice around alignment, distributed authority, and preventing backsliding!

Key Takeaways

Hubspot’s shift from a product company to a platform company:

Hubspot made the shift in order to move beyond just building within their own organization to being able to open up APIs and extensibilities that would allow other companies and developers to build on top of that foundation (in turn, shifting the value proposition to customers)

Expanding from your own team(s)’ ability to innovate and experiment to empowering team(s) around the world to innovate and experiment

They went from focusing on an end-user audience to requiring the product teams to look at another dimension of what they were creating

The value in shifting from product to platform:

The ability to adapt to change at scale is an invaluable skill

This process helps pressure-test your ideas in a variety of different circumstances

Tips for shifting from product to platform:

You want a clear top-down strategy and a sense of where you’re going and why, but also the freedom to experiment and create

You don’t want to have top-down handcuffs but you do want a strategy so people can align

Experimentation is the pathway to greatness and the best way to have a great idea is to have a lot of ideas!

It is ideal to have a blend of a formal/informal experimental framework

Tips regarding alignment:

If you’re going to have a product in the ecosystem, you want to make sure it adheres to some basic governance

You want to make sure that the experience that customers have with anything in the ecosystem is good

You can’t have governance that strangles the teams but you also don’t want a lack of governance that puts your organization at risk — finding balance is key

How distributed authority works plus tips:

Distributed authority refers to giving someone the authority to take something and run with it (in turn, creating a tremendous pace for innovation within an organization)

To make this successful at scale, you need some scaffolding and governance increasingly over time so they are all tying back into a common foundation

When it comes to the product to platform, each individual team needs to come to terms with it (almost like a retail approach to change management)

Pro: Because you have these highly empowered teams, as soon as they “get it,” their ability to move very quickly and do amazing things is greatly increased

Con: ’Tis not a one-shot thing; you have to invest the time and go team-by-team

It may take longer than you think it will, but it leads to strong, genuine change that sticks

Tips and advice around backsliding:

Creating alignment between platform and ecosystem as a way to help your team(s) achieve their goals creates a strong bond

Things diverge for good reason; usually, it is an indicator that that team needs to adapt or that something is not a good fit and needs to be changed

What first might look like backsliding might actually be the discovery of finding a new path or possibility (so don’t quash things too early)

What is the Flywheel Model?

“The Flywheel is a model adapted by HubSpot to explain the momentum you gain when you align your entire organization around delivering a remarkable customer experience.”

“With the flywheel, you use the momentum of your happy customers to drive referrals and repeat sales.”

“Other models think of customers as an outcome — nothing more, nothing less.”

The most successful companies address all three components of a flywheel: how fast it’s spun, how much friction there is, and how big it is (which determines customers’ attraction, engagement, and delight)

Mentioned in this Episode:

Scott Brinker

Hubspot

ChiefMartech.com

MarTech Conference

The Flywheel Model | Hubspot

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!

Joining the podcast today is Abiodun Osoba, the CEO and founder of The Agile Advisor Africa! Abiodun has over 20 years of experience in telecommunications, banking, retail, wholesale, technology, startups, and software industries, and over 16 years of experience working in Agile environments. She has provided executive Agile coaching in 10 countries; trained over 200 staff in Agile fundamentals, Scrum, and Kanban; and successfully led digital programs in six countries. Additionally, she is also on the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Agile Practitioners Association of Nigeria, a founder of Globally Igniting Africa, a founder and speaker at the Agile Nigeria Meetup, founder of AGILE PLUS, Founder and CEO of The Agile Advisor Nigeria Limited, and Founder and coach at Agile for MEA.

Today, Abiodun and Dan are going to be exploring the role of the agile coach, specifically as it relates to the challenges of agile adoption and getting individuals in the community to really embrace agility in the agile framework. Abiodun shares about the challenges she has personally seen as an agile coach with organizations embracing the agile framework, her strategies and suggestions and mitigate said challenges, what she has done to help bring agility into organizations in Nigeria, and her advice in implementing agility in traditional organizations.

Key Takeaways

Challenges that Abiodun is seeing as an agile coach with organizations embracing the agile framework

Embracing agile values and principles can be difficult in places where the traditional culture is very strong

One of the biggest challenges for an organization in driving its team towards embracing an agile culture lies with leadership

If leadership is not able to make a decision quickly with regards to change (and instead, focusing on what they’re going to lose due to change rather than focusing on what they’re going to gain)

Leadership may struggle with the dynamic shifting from “managing” to “collaboration,” and losing their positional authority

Competitive storytelling

Abiodun’s strategies and suggestion to mitigate these challenges:

Openly talking about the everyday challenges you are facing (not as a professional, but as a person) into your network

It is important that people know that you have empathy and that you are wearing similar shoes to their own

If you communicate well, they will be more open to your advice and suggestions

When the organization or teams trust you can cite similar challenges you have faced and they will be more open to trying the solutions you used in those

Use stories and experiences to build empathy and connection

What Abiodun has done to help bring agility into organizations in Nigeria:

The Agile Nigeria Conference (hosted by the Agile Practitioners Association of Nigeria) has been a way for them to reach out to a lot of organizations and thought leaders to share about the agile framework

Partnerships through this have helped people become certified, access to certain resources, membership discounts, etc. Through this, there has been an influx of involvement in the Nigerian agile community

It has helped create a platform where lots of people can contribute to it which helps move the needle

How do organizations respond to implementing an agile framework? And what are some of the tactics that Abiodun suggests for getting more traction with implementing changes in an organization?

They generally respond in a very open way and know that change is important

They also generally respond in an open-minded way to these changes

What they’re doing as a community is having local people (project owners, scrum masters, etc.) to have open conversations about agility early next year

With Abiodun’s company, they are compiling their own thoughts and reflections on the new Scrum Guide, packaging that info, and sharing it with their clients

Spreading awareness and providing free education and resources can be helpful in gaining traction 

Abiodun’s suggestions in implementing agility in a traditional organization:

The approach should look more evolutionary rather than prescriptive

Take advantage of what you already have and make some strides and efforts before you start implementing changes — especially in traditional organizations

Providing a roadmap without it being step-by-step satisfies clients/organizations in letting them not feel left in the dark without being overly prescriptive

Mentioned in this Episode:

Abiodun Osoba

The Agile Advisor Africa

Agile Practitioners Association of Nigeria

AgileThought’s “Virtual Community: Agile Heard Around the World” (with Quincy Jordan, Abiodun Osoba, and other featured guests)

Agile Nigeria Conference

The Scrum Guide

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!

Joining the podcast today is Abiodun Osoba, the CEO and founder of The Agile Advisor Africa! Abiodun has over 20 years of experience in telecommunications, banking, retail, wholesale, technology, startups, and software industries, and over 16 years of experience working in Agile environments. She has provided executive Agile coaching in 10 countries; trained over 200 staff in Agile fundamentals, Scrum, and Kanban; and successfully led digital programs in six countries. Additionally, she is also on the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Agile Practitioners Association of Nigeria, a founder of Globally Igniting Africa, a founder and speaker at the Agile Nigeria Meetup, founder of AGILE PLUS, Founder and CEO of The Agile Advisor Nigeria Limited, and Founder and coach at Agile for MEA.

Today, Abiodun and Dan are going to be exploring the role of the agile coach, specifically as it relates to the challenges of agile adoption and getting individuals in the community to really embrace agility in the agile framework. Abiodun shares about the challenges she has personally seen as an agile coach with organizations embracing the agile framework, her strategies and suggestions and mitigate said challenges, what she has done to help bring agility into organizations in Nigeria, and her advice in implementing agility in traditional organizations.

Key Takeaways

Challenges that Abiodun is seeing as an agile coach with organizations embracing the agile framework

Embracing agile values and principles can be difficult in places where the traditional culture is very strong

One of the biggest challenges for an organization in driving its team towards embracing an agile culture lies with leadership

If leadership is not able to make a decision quickly with regards to change (and instead, focusing on what they’re going to lose due to change rather than focusing on what they’re going to gain)

Leadership may struggle with the dynamic shifting from “managing” to “collaboration,” and losing their positional authority

Competitive storytelling

Abiodun’s strategies and suggestion to mitigate these challenges:

Openly talking about the everyday challenges you are facing (not as a professional, but as a person) into your network

It is important that people know that you have empathy and that you are wearing similar shoes to their own

If you communicate well, they will be more open to your advice and suggestions

When the organization or teams trust you can cite similar challenges you have faced and they will be more open to trying the solutions you used in those

Use stories and experiences to build empathy and connection

What Abiodun has done to help bring agility into organizations in Nigeria:

The Agile Nigeria Conference (hosted by the Agile Practitioners Association of Nigeria) has been a way for them to reach out to a lot of organizations and thought leaders to share about the agile framework

Partnerships through this have helped people become certified, access to certain resources, membership discounts, etc. Through this, there has been an influx of involvement in the Nigerian agile community

It has helped create a platform where lots of people can contribute to it which helps move the needle

How do organizations respond to implementing an agile framework? And what are some of the tactics that Abiodun suggests for getting more traction with implementing changes in an organization?

They generally respond in a very open way and know that change is important

They also generally respond in an open-minded way to these changes

What they’re doing as a community is having local people (project owners, scrum masters, etc.) to have open conversations about agility early next year

With Abiodun’s company, they are compiling their own thoughts and reflections on the new Scrum Guide, packaging that info, and sharing it with their clients

Spreading awareness and providing free education and resources can be helpful in gaining traction 

Abiodun’s suggestions in implementing agility in a traditional organization:

The approach should look more evolutionary rather than prescriptive

Take advantage of what you already have and make some strides and efforts before you start implementing changes — especially in traditional organizations

Providing a roadmap without it being step-by-step satisfies clients/organizations in letting them not feel left in the dark without being overly prescriptive

Mentioned in this Episode:

Abiodun Osoba

The Agile Advisor Africa

Agile Practitioners Association of Nigeria

AgileThought’s “Virtual Community: Agile Heard Around the World” (with Quincy Jordan, Abiodun Osoba, and other featured guests)

Agile Nigeria Conference

The Scrum Guide

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!

This week, Dan Neumann is joined by Jim Ewel, the President and founder of AgileMarketing.net.

Jim has been involved with agile and marketing for over 10 years and is a leading proponent of using agile in the marketing space. He was one of the original co-authors of The Agile Marketing Manifesto as well as his recently published book, The Six Disciplines of Agile Marketing: Proven Practices for More Effective Marketing and Better Business Results. Additionally, he is also an agile marketing blogger, trainer, speaker, and angel investor.

In their conversation, Jim gives the lowdown on all things agile marketing. He shares how the world of agile marketing is both similar and dissimilar to agile for software developers, the key drivers that have led marketers to adopt agile (especially in the past year), the benefits for marketers adopting agile, and his coaching tips for getting started with coaching in the space of agile marketing!

Key Takeaways

The key drivers that have led marketers to adopt agile:

The pace of change (both with the pandemic and the shift to digital advertising, mobile devices, and technology tools)

With this shift to technology, marketers are having to become technologists (and part of how you do that is through agile)

The limited resources also have been moving marketers to agile with the increased demand

The benefits for marketers in adopting agility:

With the shift to digital, the opportunity for feedback is greatly accelerated in marketing to enable agility

Digital tools allow marketers to be more precise about the outcomes of their marketing than ever before

Agility creates a focus on outcomes rather than outputs which applies directly to marketing (because marketers want to make sure that they are continuously testing to improve business outcomes; not just simply putting out more content)

The process creates predictability

Understanding top-down decisions vs. decentralized decisions (knowing who gets to decide what, when, and with what information is really critical to moving fast)

Utilizing intent-based leadership (i.e. giving people permission to make the decisions and they tell you their intent. As a manager, your responsibility is to provide real clarity about what a good decision looks like and make sure that people are competent in whatever it is that they’re making decisions about)

Agile in marketing vs. agile in software:

How marketers use user stories (which, in turn, impacts how they build and process their backlog as well)

The agile marketing world uses the methodologies of Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban

Which one they use depends on what kind of marketing they’re doing

Marketers are more likely to practice the informal kind of Scrumban rather than the formal kind (they typically adapt various practices to their various needs and company)

Marketers are less likely to do canonical Scrum than developers are

Jim’s coaching tips for getting started with coaching in the marketing agile space:

If you’re looking to practice agile marketing, start with a certification

Start with a marketing background before you become an agile marketing coach

Read Jim’s book, The Six Disciplines of Agile Marketing

Before you teach the process of agile, you need to get alignment on why the team you’re coaching is implementing agile marketing, what problems they’re trying to solve, what success looks like, and how they can measure success

Structure is key for an agile marketing team

Check out the resources tab on AgileMarketing.net

Mentioned in this Episode:

Jim Ewel’s LinkedIn

Jim Ewel’s Twitter

The Agile Marketing Manifesto

The Six Disciplines of Agile Marketing: Proven Practices for More Effective Marketing and Better Business Results, by Jim Ewel

Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders, by David Marquet

“The 7 Levels of Delegation,” by Jurgen Appelo

SAFe

ICAgile

Hacking Marketing: Agile Practices to Make Marketing Smarter, Faster, and More Innovative, by Scott Brinker

AgileMarketing.net

Experiences: The 7th Era of Marketing, by Robert Rose and Carla Johnson

Practical Kanban: From Team Focus to Creating Value, by Klaus Leopold

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!

This week, Dan Neumann is joined by Jim Ewel, the President and founder of AgileMarketing.net.

Jim has been involved with agile and marketing for over 10 years and is a leading proponent of using agile in the marketing space. He was one of the original co-authors of The Agile Marketing Manifesto as well as his recently published book, The Six Disciplines of Agile Marketing: Proven Practices for More Effective Marketing and Better Business Results. Additionally, he is also an agile marketing blogger, trainer, speaker, and angel investor.

In their conversation, Jim gives the lowdown on all things agile marketing. He shares how the world of agile marketing is both similar and dissimilar to agile for software developers, the key drivers that have led marketers to adopt agile (especially in the past year), the benefits for marketers adopting agile, and his coaching tips for getting started with coaching in the space of agile marketing!

Key Takeaways

The key drivers that have led marketers to adopt agile:

The pace of change (both with the pandemic and the shift to digital advertising, mobile devices, and technology tools)

With this shift to technology, marketers are having to become technologists (and part of how you do that is through agile)

The limited resources also have been moving marketers to agile with the increased demand

The benefits for marketers in adopting agility:

With the shift to digital, the opportunity for feedback is greatly accelerated in marketing to enable agility

Digital tools allow marketers to be more precise about the outcomes of their marketing than ever before

Agility creates a focus on outcomes rather than outputs which applies directly to marketing (because marketers want to make sure that they are continuously testing to improve business outcomes; not just simply putting out more content)

The process creates predictability

Understanding top-down decisions vs. decentralized decisions (knowing who gets to decide what, when, and with what information is really critical to moving fast)

Utilizing intent-based leadership (i.e. giving people permission to make the decisions and they tell you their intent. As a manager, your responsibility is to provide real clarity about what a good decision looks like and make sure that people are competent in whatever it is that they’re making decisions about)

Agile in marketing vs. agile in software:

How marketers use user stories (which, in turn, impacts how they build and process their backlog as well)

The agile marketing world uses the methodologies of Scrum, Kanban, and Scrumban

Which one they use depends on what kind of marketing they’re doing

Marketers are more likely to practice the informal kind of Scrumban rather than the formal kind (they typically adapt various practices to their various needs and company)

Marketers are less likely to do canonical Scrum than developers are

Jim’s coaching tips for getting started with coaching in the marketing agile space:

If you’re looking to practice agile marketing, start with a certification

Start with a marketing background before you become an agile marketing coach

Read Jim’s book, The Six Disciplines of Agile Marketing

Before you teach the process of agile, you need to get alignment on why the team you’re coaching is implementing agile marketing, what problems they’re trying to solve, what success looks like, and how they can measure success

Structure is key for an agile marketing team

Check out the resources tab on AgileMarketing.net

Mentioned in this Episode:

Jim Ewel’s LinkedIn

Jim Ewel’s Twitter

The Agile Marketing Manifesto

The Six Disciplines of Agile Marketing: Proven Practices for More Effective Marketing and Better Business Results, by Jim Ewel

Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders, by David Marquet

“The 7 Levels of Delegation,” by Jurgen Appelo

SAFe

ICAgile

Hacking Marketing: Agile Practices to Make Marketing Smarter, Faster, and More Innovative, by Scott Brinker

AgileMarketing.net

Experiences: The 7th Era of Marketing, by Robert Rose and Carla Johnson

Practical Kanban: From Team Focus to Creating Value, by Klaus Leopold

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!

This week, Dan Neumann is excited to be joined by Ola Berg who is joining virtually all the way from Sweden! Ola is a Change Strategist and Agile Guide for Nimbletribe with a vision that every workplace should be a safe and exciting environment where people look after each other and are super productive — and not because he believes we should be superhumans, but because of the great procedures, collaborations, and culture we can achieve through agility.

In Dan and Ola’s conversation, they discuss Agile and the importance of connecting the “whole”; the mindset, the process, and the culture, in order to achieve true, “whole” agility. Dan shares his tips for agile coaches and guides alike on how to be more holistic in your approach to an agile transformation and the actionable steps you can take to get there.

Key Takeaways

What does “connecting the whole” refer to in agility?

It is more than just applying the Agile mindset, following the process, or focusing on culture; you need to consider all three together

You need to consider and address all three (i.e. the “whole”): mindset, process, and culture for agile to be successful

Ola’s advice in approaching an agile transformation as a whole:

Creating a bubble of a common culture where the agile values are prevalent is a crucial element to creating harmony between the process, culture, and the structure

Insulate the change from the rest of the organization so that it does not get killed off

The change always needs to be contained (if it is not it will spread too fast and will break things)

You need to introduce instability to the organization but not all at once (otherwise it will collapse)

You need to have elements in the change that are accepted by everyone

You need to be a team player and collaborate

Change needs to occur within but also in the API

Early on, create a map so that you can get situational awareness of what’s going on (from the process of how people are working, the culture, and the structure)

“Ultimately, it’s not my job or your job as an agile coach to change things. The only ones who can change things are the people doing the work. So our job must be very much directed towards creating awareness.” — Ola Berg

An agile coach or guide must work as if they could be removed at any time; It is crucial that they make sure the team has the same awareness of the environment as themselves

The goal as a guide is to instill awareness in all three of these topics: the culture, the processes, and the structure, at the same time

Ultimately, the goal is that the team/s will be able to do this themselves as well as the organization’s collective ability and maturity

The goal is a mature, self-directed team (but in order to get there it is important to be prepared as an agile coach to be able to play a more “parental” role to one of an advisor)

Dump any preconceived notions of what it means to be an agile coach when entering a new organization and instead look at the current situation (i.e. “How do I need to act now in this situation?”, “How mature are the teams?”, etc.)

Provide plenty of encouragement at the beginning and present more challenges as the team matures

If you’re ever unsure as an agile coach you can directly ask your team (i.e. “Do you want me to be more prescriptive or do you want me to guide you through an exploration process?”)

Take small steps first before taking a big leap so you can get a growing understanding of what the big leap/s you need to take is/are

Mentioned in this Episode:

Ola Berg’s LinkedIn

Nimbletribe

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

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This week, Dan Neumann is excited to be joined by Ola Berg who is joining virtually all the way from Sweden! Ola is a Change Strategist and Agile Guide for Nimbletribe with a vision that every workplace should be a safe and exciting environment where people look after each other and are super productive — and not because he believes we should be superhumans, but because of the great procedures, collaborations, and culture we can achieve through agility.

In Dan and Ola’s conversation, they discuss Agile and the importance of connecting the “whole”; the mindset, the process, and the culture, in order to achieve true, “whole” agility. Dan shares his tips for agile coaches and guides alike on how to be more holistic in your approach to an agile transformation and the actionable steps you can take to get there.

Key Takeaways

What does “connecting the whole” refer to in agility?

It is more than just applying the Agile mindset, following the process, or focusing on culture; you need to consider all three together

You need to consider and address all three (i.e. the “whole”): mindset, process, and culture for agile to be successful

Ola’s advice in approaching an agile transformation as a whole:

Creating a bubble of a common culture where the agile values are prevalent is a crucial element to creating harmony between the process, culture, and the structure

Insulate the change from the rest of the organization so that it does not get killed off

The change always needs to be contained (if it is not it will spread too fast and will break things)

You need to introduce instability to the organization but not all at once (otherwise it will collapse)

You need to have elements in the change that are accepted by everyone

You need to be a team player and collaborate

Change needs to occur within but also in the API

Early on, create a map so that you can get situational awareness of what’s going on (from the process of how people are working, the culture, and the structure)

“Ultimately, it’s not my job or your job as an agile coach to change things. The only ones who can change things are the people doing the work. So our job must be very much directed towards creating awareness.” — Ola Berg

An agile coach or guide must work as if they could be removed at any time; It is crucial that they make sure the team has the same awareness of the environment as themselves

The goal as a guide is to instill awareness in all three of these topics: the culture, the processes, and the structure, at the same time

Ultimately, the goal is that the team/s will be able to do this themselves as well as the organization’s collective ability and maturity

The goal is a mature, self-directed team (but in order to get there it is important to be prepared as an agile coach to be able to play a more “parental” role to one of an advisor)

Dump any preconceived notions of what it means to be an agile coach when entering a new organization and instead look at the current situation (i.e. “How do I need to act now in this situation?”, “How mature are the teams?”, etc.)

Provide plenty of encouragement at the beginning and present more challenges as the team matures

If you’re ever unsure as an agile coach you can directly ask your team (i.e. “Do you want me to be more prescriptive or do you want me to guide you through an exploration process?”)

Take small steps first before taking a big leap so you can get a growing understanding of what the big leap/s you need to take is/are

Mentioned in this Episode:

Ola Berg’s LinkedIn

Nimbletribe

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!

Dan Neumann is joined by Senior Agile Coach at AgileThought, Adam Ulery, to discuss the concept of Agile forcing continuous improvement.

Does agile “force” continuous improvement? What does this mean? Is this inherently negative or positive? How does agile implement continuous improvement as a natural consequence? Dan and Adam address these questions and share their tips on how to leverage agile to maximize your continuous improvement in all levels of your organization!

Key Takeaways

What does “Agile forcing continuous improvement” mean?

Agile “forces” continuous improvement because continuous improvement is inherently baked into agility

“Force,” not as coercion, but as a natural outcome of adopting an agile mindset

The frequent use of feedback loops is built into the way you work in an agile environment, “forcing” continuous improvement

How Agile implements continuous improvement as a natural consequence:

Regardless of the framework, there is a feedback loop with the goal being to deliver as much value as possible to the end consumer

Inspecting and adapting the product and the process at regular intervals

Agile encourages and fosters teams to be able to talk about things transparently and openly and not see impediments as an indictment of their performance

Through failing fast (i.e. learning fast through your failures or mistakes) the team will continue to improve

Tips for leveraging Agile’s continuous improvement:

Address the fear of speaking up by teaching leadership roles on how to make the environment safe for the delivery teams

Acknowledge that the environment may have not been safe in the past but that changes are being implemented and it will be different going forward

The shorter the feedback loop, the shorter the risk (so if something doesn’t go right, you’re not that far from recovery)

Deliver early and often, get the feedback loops working so that teams can course-correct as they learn

It’s important to get to a point where it is understood that quick learning is what the team and leadership is looking for (and that failure is not failure; it’s learning)

Leadership needs to be supportive of the mindset shift regarding quick learning/failing fast so that the team can feel encouraged in exhibiting these behaviors

If you are a leader who wants to begin to make their team more comfortable with quick learning you need to educate yourself, believe it, communicate with your team, be transparent that you’re still learning and growing, set your expectations about what you’d like to see, and call out real examples as they happen so that the team can begin to recognize it

As a leader, display vulnerability and acknowledge that you have not done the best with communicating in the past but that it will be different, going forward 

Model the behaviors you want to see as a leader

You need to create safety and support your team in order to thrive and increase performance

Mentioned in this Episode:

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't, by Simon Sinek

Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results, by Christina R. Wodtke

Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs, by John Doerr

Want to Learn More or Get in Touch?

Visit the website and catch up with all the episodes on AgileThought.com!

Email your thoughts or suggestions to [email protected] or Tweet @AgileThought using #AgileThoughtPodcast!