  Sofia Katsaouni: The Importance of Mentorship in a Scrum Master or Agile Coach’s Journey   Read the   full Show Notes  and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the   Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website:  http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   In this episode, Sofia recounts her struggles as a junior coach facing challenges in a new team. Despite wanting to lead a kickoff, she was overruled by the engineering lead, leading to self-doubt and frustration. She emphasizes the importance of open communication, sanity checks with external perspectives, and listening to one self. The lack of support left her feeling overwhelmed, highlighting the need for mentorship in agile coaching.    In this episode, we refer to  nonviolent communication,  an approach that can help us when we find ourselves in the middle of a conflict situation.     [IMAGE HERE]  Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about!  Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.     About Sofia Katsaouni   Sofia is a dedicated Agile and Organizational Coach who places people and their needs at the forefront. Transitioning from electrical engineering, she applies analytical skills to empower high-performing teams. With an emphasis on trust and psychological safety, Sofia enables startups and scale-ups to foster human-centric, performance-driven cultures.   You can link with  Sofia Katsaouni on LinkedIn. 

The Importance of Mentorship in a Scrum Master or Agile Coach’s Journey | Sofia Katsaouni

Every week day, Certified Scrum Master, Agile Coach and business consultant Vasco Duarte interviews Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches from all over the world to get you actionable advice, new tips and tricks, improve your craft as a Scrum Master with daily doses of inspiring conversations with Scrum Masters from the all over the world. Stay tuned for BONUS episodes when we interview Agile gurus and other thought leaders in the business space to bring you the Agile Business perspective you need to succeed as a Scrum Master. 
Some of the topics we discuss include: Agile Business, Agile Strategy, Retrospectives, Team motivation, Sprint Planning, Daily Scrum, Sprint Review, Backlog Refinement, Scaling Scrum, Lean Startup, Test Driven Development (TDD), Behavior Driven Development (BDD), Paper Prototyping, QA in Scrum, the role of agile managers, servant leadership, agile coaching, and more!

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  BONUS: Mastering Work Intake For Agile Teams with Tom Cagley and Jeremy Willets   Read the   full Show Notes  and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the   Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website:  http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   In this BONUS episode, Tom and Jeremy discuss the main ideas from their latest book on agile transformation and work intake management:  Mastering Work Intake: From Chaos to Predictable Delivery. They share some of the main the challenges teams face when trying to adopt agile practices and offer practical strategies for improving work intake processes.   The Trigger for the Book   "Most people who try to transform and be agile don't do it well. They fail multiple times because they say 'yes' to everything, which is a lack of control on work intake."   Tom emphasizes that many teams struggle with agile transformation, often due to poor management of work intake. He has built a career helping teams that have attempted and failed at this multiple times. The main issue is that they end up saying "yes" to every request, leading to a chaotic work environment, lots of work started, and very little finished.   "We got started during the pandemic. We looked at many books on the topic and saw that it wasn't tackled very well.   'Actionable Agile'  and 'Why Limit WIP' by Jim Benson  inspired us."   Defining Work Intake and avoiding common mistakes   "We are drowning in work. We use metaphors to define work intake and see that work always finds a way to get done. Initially, we titled this book 'Work Entry' because of the idea that work is pushed to people, who naturally say 'yes' because they want to help."   "Work has a way of getting started. Recently, I had water in my basement. I didn't know where it came from, but the water found a way in. We see this over and over at work. Work just gets in, often because saying 'no' feels career-limiting."   Tom likens unmanaged work intake to water leaking into a basement—inevitable and hard to control. This analogy underscores how work finds its way into a team's backlog, often because rejecting tasks seems risky.   "Jumping the queue is a very common mistake. Important work always gets done, but we don't always go through the process of identifying what's truly important. This leads to 'fast switching' between tasks and 'neglected WIP.'"   Tom highlights the mistake of allowing work to bypass proper prioritization, leading to constant context switching, which makes teams slow, and neglected tasks which rarely or never get completed.   "The goal conflict anti-pattern is another issue. Much of work intake is about the relationships that lead to decision-making."   Jeremy discusses how conflicting goals and poor relationship management can lead to self-defeating work intake processes.   Key Strategies for Managing Work Intake, and Avoiding the Over-Planning Anti-pattern   "In the book, we present patterns to handle intake management and discuss the Product Owner's (PO) role. The PO is critical for managing work intake in Scrum, requiring discipline from both the PO and the team."   Jeremy outlines the importance of having a disciplined Product Owner to manage work intake effectively.   "The problem of team design often causes issues. Many teams work on features while supporting systems that deliver value to customers. This lack of focus is problematic. Building a solid DevOps framework is crucial."   "Agility means flexibility. We need to prioritize and select work more frequently, getting feedback often to determine if the work is necessary. Refer to  'Lean Startup'  for more insights."   Jeremy advocates for flexibility and frequent prioritization over rigid, upfront planning.   "Mapping who is involved in work intake decisions is key. Understanding the feedback loop and how it's integrated into decision-making helps manage work intake better."   Tom emphasizes the importance of understanding decision-making processes and who are the stakeholders, to be able to improve those processes through collaboration.   Different Types of Work Mean Different Decision Making!   "People work on features, defects, support, etc. Each requires different management patterns. Recognizing team constraints is crucial for effective work intake."   Tom explains the need for tailored strategies for different types of work, based on team constraints. Only this “whitebox” approach to work management can help us build a work intake process that helps us manage the work in a way that leads to faster deliveries and more productivity.   As an example, Tom and Jeremy share a story about a company wanting to move to the cloud. Unfortunately, the CEO's decision overlooked the engineers' lack of skills, which led to big problems. This story puts emphasis on the importance of aligning work intake with team capabilities.   A Top Tip: Be Mindful and Deliberate About Accepting Work Into Your Backlog!   "We help teams be deliberate about work acceptance by emphasizing relationships and decision-making processes. Effective work intake management reduces disruptions."   Tips For Product Owners    "Manage work intake across the entire product. It's more than just planning."    "PO is an active role. Help the team make decisions and sequence work."   Tips For Scrum Masters   "Don't overlook work intake. Involvement in this aspect is crucial to avoid anti-patterns." "Defend team boundaries to control work intake."   The Impact of Applying These Ideas   "It would be a lot calmer and more orderly."   "We would get a lot more things done, avoiding the anti-pattern of rewarding work starts over finishes."   About Tom and Jeremy   Tom Cagley  is an experienced agile coach and consultant specializing in helping teams manage work intake and improve their agile practices.   You can link with  Tom Cagley on LinkedIn. You can also listen to  Tom’s podcast, the SPAMCast.   Jeremy Willets  is a seasoned agile practitioner and author who has collaborated with Tom on numerous projects, including this book.   You can link with  Jeremy Willets on LinkedIn.

BONUS: Mastering Work Intake For Agile Teams with Tom Cagley and Jeremy Willets

  Doug Rabow: Continuous Feedback As A Forcing Function For Focus, and Productivity in Agile Teams   Read the   full Show Notes  and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the   Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website:  http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   The Great Product Owner: Continuous Feedback As A Forcing Function For Focus, and Productivity in Agile Teams   Highlighting the characteristics of an extraordinary Product Owner, Doug shows the importance of questioning, transparency, and customer collaboration in that role. This episode also shows how great Product Owners manage to maintain clarity and progress amidst project uncertainty, and offers insights into practices that promote continuous feedback and adaptive project management.   The Bad Product Owner: The Perils of Isolation, A Product Owner Anti-Pattern That Derails Agile Teams   Doug shares what can happen when the  Product Owner works in isolation. Doug also explains how this approach can derail team progress. Learn about the crucial role of collaboration and problem definition in the Product Owner's responsibilities.     [IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner?  We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at  bit.ly/coachyourpo.  18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.     About Doug Rabow   Doug is a passionate practitioner of Lean-Agile strategic management with a focus on developing empowered teams and Lean process improvement.     You can link with  Doug Rabow on LinkedIn.

Continuous Feedback As A Forcing Function For Focus, and Productivity in Agile Teams | Doug Rabow

  Doug Rabow: Daily Standups as a Success Barometer in Agile, And Other Lessons For Scrum Masters   Read the   full Show Notes  and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the   Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website:  http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   In this segment, Doug discusses the dual aspects of success for Scrum Masters: defining it and demonstrating it to others. We also talk about how the quality of daily standups reflects the overall health of the Agile practices in the team. We also explore how fostering an environment of good-faith feedback and continuous improvement can lead to success for Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches.   Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Asking Questions   In this segment about Agile Retrospectives, Doug highlights the importance of asking pointed, empathetic questions during retrospectives to uncover deep insights about team dynamics and challenges. We learn about the role that well-crafted questions play in driving continuous improvement. And learn how Doug's approach of integrating impactful questions into conversations, helps teams to navigate and overcome obstacles more effectively.     [IMAGE HERE]  Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy  Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or  directly from the author, and  supercharge your facilitation toolbox!      About Doug Rabow   Doug is a passionate practitioner of Lean-Agile strategic management with a focus on developing empowered teams and Lean process improvement.     You can link with  Doug Rabow on LinkedIn.  

Daily Standups as a Success Barometer in Agile, And Other Lessons For Scrum Masters | Doug Rabow

  Doug Rabow: Agile Governance, Creating Transparency and Overhauling Project Management to Fit Agile Product Development   Read the   full Show Notes  and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the   Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website:  http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   In this episode, Doug shares his strategies for improving visibility and governance in project management through tools like JIRA. He explains how creating transparency enhances governance and accountability in agile teams. This episode also offers a practical look at setting up light governance frameworks that enable real-time, pull-based reporting to facilitate better decision-making and project management.     [IMAGE HERE]  As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change?  The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process!  You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in  French,  Spanish,  German  and  Portuguese.     About Doug Rabow   Doug is a passionate practitioner of Lean-Agile strategic management with a focus on developing empowered teams and Lean process improvement.     You can link with  Doug Rabow on LinkedIn.  

Agile Governance, Creating Transparency and Overhauling Project Management to Fit Agile Product Development | Doug Rabow

  Doug Rabow: Prioritize, Visualize, Execute, A Lean Approach to Work Management in Agile Teams   Read the   full Show Notes  and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the   Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website:  http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.   Doug explores some of the critical aspects of team management that ensure efficiency and clarity. Doug also shares how visual management is essential for maintaining focus on top priorities within teams. We learn about the Five S from Lean, and how simplifying and visually organizing work can prevent priority confusion and, in the end, improve productivity.   Featured Book of the Week: The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker   In this episode, we explore lessons from  The Toyota Way by Jeffrey Liker  beyond manufacturing. Doug describes how The Toyota Way applies to strategic management and software development, focusing on high-quality, small batches. Discover how continuous feedback drives continuous improvement, and what Agile learned from Lean Manufacturing.     [IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today!   The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook  includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more.  Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!        About Doug Rabow   Doug is a passionate practitioner of Lean-Agile strategic management with a focus on developing empowered teams and Lean process improvement.     You can link with  Doug Rabow on LinkedIn.

The Importance of Mentorship in a Scrum Master or Agile Coach’s Journey | Sofia Katsaouni

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