Global Agile Summit Preview: Transforming Conflict into Opportunity, Leadership Lessons for Agile Teams with Eagan Rackley

In this BONUS Global Agile Summit preview episode, we sit down with Eagan Rackley, the track host for the developer track at the Global Agile Summit. With over 24 years of experience spanning game development, enterprise architecture, graphics, and highly parallel programming, Eagan shares his journey from viewing leadership as control to seeing leadership as a collaborative space for problem-solving. We explore how to transform conflict into opportunity, align cross-functional teams, and lead effectively both with and without formal authority.

The Moment That Changed Everything

"The obstacle is the path."

When Eagan's small experimentation-focused team merged with marketing, tensions flared and conflict erupted. Both sides believed "they don't get it" and adopted a defensive "protect the castle" mentality. The situation devolved into heated exchanges until an agile coach offered a perspective-shifting insight: they were all on the same team. 

This moment fundamentally reshaped Eagan's view of leadership. He realized that effective leadership isn't about knowing all the answers or controlling people—it's about creating space for collaboration and helping people solve problems together. The best leaders don't fix everything themselves; they empower their teams to find solutions collectively.

Empowering Teams Through Permission and Alignment

"It's about getting people to feel that they have permission to do what needs to be done."

When teams feel something is happening to them, they often disengage and resist. Eagan explains that people feel powerless primarily when incentives are misaligned. The key to gaining buy-in is shifting the narrative from "this is happening to me" to "we can do this together." 

Leaders should focus on removing tension and finding ways to incorporate seemingly contradictory goals. By giving people permission to take action and aligning their incentives, leaders can transform resistance into engagement and ownership.

Turning Conflict into Alignment

"We need to accept that we have different perspectives and different ways to see success."

Cross-functional teams naturally experience tension due to differing priorities and success metrics. Eagan shares how his team transformed their marketing conflict by asking questions that made both sides feel heard and understood. They established a shared way of working that respected everyone's needs. He recommends three powerful questions to align teams:

1. "Why do we exist as a team, and why does it matter?" - This helps everyone see the whole picture and builds shared purpose.

2. "What is our desired outcome, and when have we achieved it?" - This focuses on outcomes rather than tasks and encourages thinking from different disciplinary perspectives.

By acknowledging different perspectives and naming conflicts openly, teams can move from resentment to motivation and investment in shared goals.

Conflict as a Tool for Transformation

"Conflict is information. Conflict is data."

Eagan's relationship with conflict transformed when he began seeing it as valuable information rather than something to avoid. Conflict provides clarity between people and highlights areas needing attention. He shares how, after years in leadership, he intentionally stepped back into an individual contributor role to learn a new industry. This experience reinforced his belief in the power of approaching conflict with the mindset that "we're on the same team, we can solve this together." This perspective shift embodies what makes Agile so powerful—moving from focusing on products to prioritizing people.

In this segment, we refer to the book Shift: From Product to People, by Michael Dougherty, and Pete Oliver-Krueger, who’ve been guests on the podcast before. And we also refer to the Ratatouille Principle, which reminds us that great ideas can come from anywhere!

Leading Without Authority

"You lead with trust, not knowledge."

When Eagan returned to an engineering role in a new industry, he experienced the challenge of having no built-in credibility or authority. This taught him valuable lessons about bottom-up leadership. He discovered that effective influence comes from building trust first, not from demonstrating knowledge. 

He recommends validating people's frustrations, listening authentically, and sometimes allowing people to learn through their own experiences. This approach recognizes that leadership isn't confined to formal roles—we're all leaders in different contexts.

Resources for Your Leadership Journey

Eagan recommends several resources for those wanting to deepen their leadership skills:

• "Management 3.0" by Jurgen Appelo

• "Agile Retrospectives" by Esther Derby and Diana Larsen

• The "Change by Attraction" podcast

The Value of the Global Agile Summit

The Global Agile Summit offers a unique environment where transformative "aha!" moments happen. It's not just about learning new techniques but about fundamentally changing how we think about work, leadership, and collaboration. Eagan believes these perspective shifts are what make the summit so valuable.

About Eagan Rackley

Eagan Rackley is the track host for the developer track at the Global Agile Summit and a seasoned software engineer and Agile leader with 24+ years of experience spanning game development, enterprise architecture, graphics, and highly parallel programming. A passionate problem-solver, he excels in building collaborative teams, driving innovation, and turning conflict into opportunity. He thrives on creating software that empowers people and transforms ideas into impact.

You can link with Eagan Rackley on LinkedIn.