November 09, 2020

Ep. 5 | Scaled Agile (SAFe) Deep-Dive for Scrum Masters (feat. Venkat Bagayat)

1 hour 25 minutes

We've all heard of "the corporate ladder"; a term used to describe the positional hierarchy that exists within a company. You're either at the top, the bottom or somewhere in between, but wherever you are, you still hold a place on the ladder. Although a ladder is a handy tool for getting from one place to another, there are certain situations where using a ladder as a metaphor to describe the way a company functions aren't quite as appealing. When a company's positional hierarchy starts to heavily impact the social atmosphere of the workplace, issues may arise. People at the bottom might feel unheard or disrespected and people at the top might feel stressed and uninformed. One of the core values of the Agile mindset is "individuals and interactions over processes and tools". In other words, success should not be at the expense of people. The SAFe framework is a widely-adopted, freely-available knowledge base that allows teams to apply Agile practices and scale up to enterprise-level. With values such as transparency and alignment, the SAFe framework places a functional hierarchy over the positional hierarchy so that the company is thought of more so as a team and less so as a ladder. In today's podcast, we sit down with Agilist, Venkat Bagayat, and deep-dive into the SAFe framework, its values, and how they work with PI Planning to bring about an efficient, prosperous and happy workplace.

After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, Venkat Bagayat began work on the floor in a production manufacturing industry. However, it wasn't long until he realized that this was not the career he was meant for. On the floor, people were seen as resources rather than people, and Venkat wanted to work in a position where he'd be respected. He switched over to IT in search of that respect, but unfortunately, he did not find it there either. It seemed as if the only people being respected were the ones who held higher positions of authority, so Venkat decided to become the change he wanted to see by leading as a product manager. This way, he could share his ideas, shift the culture of command and control and give a voice to the unheard. This desire to bring respect and a voice to all the members of a team is what fueled Venkat's 22-year experience in software and technology; 12-year experience in Agile mentoring, consulting and training; and his John Maxwell coach verification. He's worked with a spread of clients ranging from start-ups to larger financial companies like JP Morgan, Chase, American Express, Discover and BNY Mellon. We are proud to introduce Venkat Bagayat.

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