The Agile Within

Finding Balance with Mark Metze


Listen Later

Have you ever felt like you're constantly over-correcting?

Maybe one day you're doing too much for your team, becoming the bottleneck rather than the enabler. The next, you swing too far toward directing rather than guiding. I visualize this struggle as an old-fashioned gold scale—add a little too much weight to either side, and the whole thing crashes to the ground.

Through years of inspecting and adapting, I've developed five practical steps that have transformed my approach to leadership and life. These aren't theoretical concepts but battle-tested practices: learning to listen between the lines, asking questions that create safety rather than defensiveness, gathering feedback from multiple angles, embracing the experimental mindset, and maintaining momentum through continuous improvement.

The most powerful transformation came when I began using the phrase "I'm asking, not telling" during team discussions. This simple clarification created a ripple effect, changing not just how my team received my questions but how they communicated with each other. Similarly, framing decisions as experiments removed the paralyzing pressure of perfectionism, allowing us all to embrace the mantra "sometimes you win, sometimes you LEARN."

Ready to find your own balance? Join me in this episode where vulnerability meets practical wisdom. You can find The Agile Within on your favorite podcast app. Links to listen to this episode will also be added to the comments.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/in/markmetze

Listen to Tesla's song "Gettin' Better":
https://youtu.be/uee-aYUA0u4

Support the show


Follow us on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-within

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Agile WithinBy Mark Metze

  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5
  • 5

5

6 ratings


More shows like The Agile Within

View all
HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

264 Listeners

The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

The McKinsey Podcast

372 Listeners

Coaching for Leaders by Dave Stachowiak

Coaching for Leaders

1,478 Listeners

Agile for Humans with Ryan Ripley and Todd Miller by Agile for Humans, LLC

Agile for Humans with Ryan Ripley and Todd Miller

112 Listeners

The Mindset Mentor by Rob Dial

The Mindset Mentor

13,428 Listeners

Soft Skills Engineering by Jamison Dance and Dave Smith

Soft Skills Engineering

271 Listeners

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett by DOAC

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

6,328 Listeners

My First Million by Hubspot Media

My First Million

2,598 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,014 Listeners

Scrum.org Community Podcast by Scrum.org

Scrum.org Community Podcast

13 Listeners

Tech Lead Journal by Henry Suryawirawan

Tech Lead Journal

12 Listeners

How to Be a Better Human by TED

How to Be a Better Human

1,348 Listeners

Arguing Agile by Brian Orlando

Arguing Agile

6 Listeners

Product Agility by Ben Maynard

Product Agility

0 Listeners

HBR On Leadership by Harvard Business Review

HBR On Leadership

137 Listeners