Relearning Leadership

Do our leaders give enough of the right kind of feedback?

In this episode of the Relearning Leadership podcast, host Pete Behrens is joined by special guest Frank Fitzlaff, a Zurich-based Agile Coach and Agile Leadership Journey Guide. Pete and Frank discuss how to foster a culture of continuous improvement through feedback. 

Discover why feedback is not just a skill but a muscle that requires regular exercise, the crucial role of psychological safety in effective feedback, and the transformative power of positive reinforcement in the workplace. 

Whether you're an experienced leader or just starting your leadership journey, this episode offers valuable insights and practical tips for making feedback a powerful tool for growth and collaboration. Tune in to learn how effective feedback – both positive and constructive – can transform the way you lead and communicate!

What leadership skills will make you stand out in 2024? Laura Powers and Evan Leybourn of the Business Agility Institute discuss their recent research findings about the skills necessary for success in today's workforce. 

What does it mean when somebody asks you to be more strategic? In this episode of the Relearning Leadership podcast, Pete and ALJ Guide and leadership coach Christina Carlson discuss the difference between strategy and strategic thinking, and how leaders can execute the day-to-day while keeping an eye on the big picture.

For better or worse, all types of changes – personal and professional, big and small – impact our lives. In this episode of Relearning Leadership, Pete talks about his own experience managing change fatigue as well as how he has seen its effects in our communities, workplaces, and personal lives. Listen to hear his three ways in which we can acknowledge and manage how change can be tiring – and how it can be reframed as reinvigorating. 

In this episode of (Re)Learning Leadership, Pete welcomes a true agile pioneer, Jim Highsmith. Jim shares how his career has evolved from NASA engineer to ThoughtWorks alum, as well as being a co-author of the Agile Manifesto. In their conversation, Pete and Jim explore the fusion of agile and adaptive principles, shedding light on how these concepts can revolutionize leadership in a rapidly changing world. 

In this episode of (Re)Learning Leadership, Pete discusses the topic of agile transformations with Boston Consulting Group’s David Ritter. David shares insights and expertise from his 40-year career, including the difficulties around implementing agile transformation at large organizations, the courage required of those organizations’ executives, and why it is so crucial to define goals and outcomes before applying agile practices. 

In this episode of (Re)Learning Leadership, Pete delves into the topic of Gen Z entering the workforce. He is joined by Tammy Dowley-Blackman, a culture and leadership expert who shares her insights and expertise on this unique generation’s strengths and characteristics, how leaders can help them grow, as well as the challenges that come with five generations inhabiting a workforce. 

What does it take to become an agile leader?

Agility is a competency of change and adaptation. The word is often defined as the ability to move quickly and easily, but there’s a second half of the definition. It is also the ability to think and understand quickly.  With this in mind, let's explore the four key competencies in becoming a more agile leader. 

In part 2 of this series on scaling agile ways of working, Pete describes how agile scaling frameworks that may help start an agile journey are limiting more impactful organizational and business agility. 

Like recipes that help us create more flavorful dishes, agile frameworks like Scrum and Kanban are good starting points for teams to learn to deliver value more effectively.

However, the best chefs in the world don't follow recipes, they make recipes. And the best agile organizations in the world are not following agile frameworks, they are making their own.

It's time leaders get past the frameworks and become more like a chef of their organization.

Pete Behrens provides a history lesson on scaling agile and the key lessons  challenging all organizations - getting leaders and teams to play the same game.

Pete shares some personal success and failure stories in scaling agile from his own journey as well as others, and the secrets to enabling more effective agility at scale.

This is part 1 of a 2-part series exploring agile at scale.
In part 2, we explore how agile scaling frameworks are not enough.