Lean On Agile (& Elevate Change) Show

Systems Thinking, Leadership Habits, and Organizational Change with Don Gray

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In this episode, Don joined Shahin to talk about Systems Thinking, Leadership Habits, and Organizational Change.


The following have been topics of our conversation:


Transitioning from technical skills to people management.

  • The importance of people in software development, highlighting their creative force and impact on success and well-being.
    • The importance of trusting and empowering knowledge workers, who are closer to the work than managers.
    • Jerry Weinberg (author) highlighted the shift from Taylorism (structured tasks) to coaching (personal and process-related goals), with managers becoming more interested in people's educational and career goals.

      • Leadership development and problem-solving.

      • The importance of adapting to change and the need for problem-solving leaders to observe and understand motivation, organization, and information.

        • Software development, leadership, and personal growth.

        • The importance of developer satisfaction, citing the costly consequences of losing experienced developers.
        • Find empathetic leadership insights through reading and self-reflection.
        • Software development challenges, complexity as the primary issue.
          • Agile methodology requires tailoring to individual contexts, rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach.
          • Organization must be ready to start software development before investing time and money.

            • Leadership habits and systems thinking.

            • Management prioritizes cost over readiness, despite worker demand for training and success.
            • Coach helps team break habits and improve systems in leadership roles.
            • The "core habits" for leaders, including sharing the vision, measuring actual delivery, and creating free informational flow.

              • Systems thinking, agile development, and team dynamics.

              • Wardley maps visualize product evolution, highlighting reinforcing and balancing loops.
              • The importance of understanding how personal and cultural factors impact decision-making in complex systems.
              • Agreeing to try and visioning with team members led to successful product development.

                • Software development, leadership, and organizational change.

                • Using organizational change management techniques to facilitate change within software development teams.
                • The increasing presence of women in leadership positions in the tech industry
                • The importance of happiness in software development.


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                  Lean On Agile (& Elevate Change) ShowBy Shahin Sheidaei
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