Archives for August 2022

11 Agilists Share How Much They Enjoyed Reconnecting In-Person at Agile2022

In case you missed it, you are suffering from extreme FOMO, or if you are planning ahead for next year… here is an Agile Roundup of the BEST of Agile2022!

This event was a momentous return to in-person events for many attendees, who came from all corners of the world to attend this conference in Nashville, Tennessee.

Agile 2022, organized by Agile Alliance, was held from July 18 – 22.

From their website: “Agile Alliance’s annual conference is dedicated to exploring, innovating, and advancing Agile values and principles, and creating a space for people and ideas to flourish. The conference brings Agile communities together year after year to share experiences and make new connections. Join passionate Agilists from around the world to learn about the latest practices, ideas, and strategies in Agile software development from the world’s leading experts, change agents, and innovators.”

We asked our friends and colleagues who attended to share their feedback, based on five questions. We are excited to introduce you to our featured contributors:

William Strydom, Coach
Jason Hall, Organizational Coach
Tricia Broderick, Leadership Advisor
Sally Elatta, CEO AgilityHealth
Israel J. Pattison, ScrumMaster at SoftPro
David Fogel, Professor of Agile
Anjali Leon, Founder and Principal Agility and Product Coach at PPL Coach
Lynn Wolf-Hill, Enterprise Coach
Amy Neff, Lean Agile Coach
Joanne Stone, Agile Coach, Transformation Coach, Leadership Coach, Founder of Wick’d Agility
Marsha Acker, Principal at TeamCatapult, Leadership and Team Coach, Author, Speaker

What was it like to come to Agile2022 after a 2 year hiatus?

The first question we asked of everyone was a loaded one! We’ve all felt the sting of isolation, of quarantining, of working remote vs in-person. What was it like to meet up with friends and colleagues for the first time since march 2020?

Here are their answers:

William -It felt overwhelming at first to see and be with so many people in one place!
Jason – It was heart felt like none before. Every conversation was that more intimate and every new connection that much more grounded.
Tricia – Soulfilling
Sally – Refreshing
Israel – Agile 2022 is my first time attending a national conference on agile. I usually attend the annual regional conference in Raleigh, TriAgile. It is good to have in-person options return after two years, and I was thrilled to be able to attend.
David – It was like a sprint zero – I was engaging with folks in way that felt new and well precedented at the same time. I had to check a lot of assumptions… and I then realize I had more assumptions to check… oh wait, there are a few more. Now I am ready for Sprint ONE in 2023!
Anjali – I was very much looking forward to presenting the ideas that my co-presenter and I had been working on through the pandemic and getting feedback from our community. It received lots of positive feedback and support that was invigorating. The true joy was remembering what it feels like to be with a tribe and to have each conversation be deep and meaningful. I left with a lot more connections and lifelong than I expected.
Lynn – Rewarding to reconnect & also see how agile has evolved
Amy – Refreshing and great to connect with people again! I found I really needed to hang out with my agile peeps!
Joanne – At first overwhelming and then turned to more delight every day. I started before the conference with the World Wide Coach Camp and a beautifully small group of 40 souls. How wonderful to spend time at the Nashville Zoo and these great individuals. A beautiful gentle start. Agile2022 is the very first big Agile conference I have been to. I was so amazed that over 1500 people came and the buzz was so incredible. It was overwhelming because I felt so socially awkward – masks on or masks off – do we sit close together or not – how will others feel because of COVID… Yet each day, I felt more at home, more connected to others and the beautiful 40 souls were my familiar faces that I would see in the hallways and meals. I attended one session each day as I was preparing for my panel on Thursday. I will definitely go to Agile2023 as I made so many new connections and the space that was created by the Agile2022 crew was very warm and welcoming. Thank you all! Finally, the conference gave me hope that we can adjust and meet in person.
Marsha – It was so amazing to see colleagues and friends, in person, after such a long period of not gathering together. The hugs and smiles and laughter were well worth it! This event for me this year was more about re-connecting than anything else.

Is there an Agile2022 speaker – or a quote you loved the most?

Of course, we wanted to know what our friends learned at #Agile2022. They all had a favorite speaker or quote!

William – Kelsey Hightower’s keynote on Engineering with Empathy was great. It brought the human factor to the forefront in whatever we do.
Jason – I’m horrible at remembering quotes but I can remember a speaker’s essence from Kelsey Hightower’s empathy centered approach to technical leadership, to Bethany Andres bucking the hierarchical norm, to Yvette Hatton’s elevation of product management/design above the typical tropes.
Tricia – Linda Rising
Sally – “What did you do when you knew?” Lyssa Adkins from the poem
Israel – Kelsey Hightower’s keynote, Engineering with Empathy, emphasized for me the importance of carrying the human impact of product development with us from the earliest conversations and requirements. I was reminded who benefits from our work and how our products impact their dignity and purpose.
David – Bethany Andres-Beck gave a great presentation on “Radical Culture of Culture Building”
Anjali – “agile is a humble adjective” – Joshua Kerievsky
Lynn – “agile is connecting the dots.” I really liked the blunt honesty of Melissa Perri.
Amy – Christine Hudson and Ronica Roth
Joanne – Lyssa Adkins
Marsha – I loved the opening keynote speaker – Kelsey Hightower. He said “A 10x engineer is not someone who is just working 10x better than anyone else. I think a 10x engineer is the type of person who can come in and make 10 other people better than they were before”

Was there any practical advice you received at Agile2022 that you can use right away?

This questions is one everyone loved! Who doesn’t love implementing NEW things, NEW ideas, NEW concepts?

William – Yes, Woody Zuill’s “Turn UP The Good”. I think we can all turn up the good in our own ways.
Jason – Jenny Tarwater’s awesome Interview prompt “What question do you wish I would ask you?”
Tricia – Analyze and apply ways to better offset carbon footprint
Sally – Yes got great advice on writing a book and resources to leverage
Israel – I am offering weekly Agile Office Hours in my company after the idea was presented in one of our sessions. Offering training, coaching, or mentoring on a regular basis makes more sense to me than waiting for the opportunity to find me.
David – “My desire to express myself requires me to focus on my intrinsic goals. But my desire to progress requires that I follow extrinsic goals – which have a psychological tendency to subsume interest in intrinsic intrinsic goals.”
Anjali – “What do you do when you have outgrown something? You can start something new.” – Marsha Acker
Lynn – The CLEAR workshop was very helpful as a model.
Amy – Yes, this session was full of information on how to facilitate meetings that help change and influence culture changes you want to see.
Joanne – Sara Baca’s – clean language exercise about fitting in vs belonging. Through the exercise I realized that it was ok to be both and that there did not need to be an either/or or a good/bad between the two choices.

What did you bring home from Agile2022?

The fun question in the bunch, and the one with the most surprising answers!

William – Lots of a-ha’s from conversation with people at the conference and great swag from the ICAgile folks.
Jason – Marsha’s amazing book of course, Build Your Model for Leading Change and a proper backpack courtesy of ICAgile.
Tricia – poster and pictures
Sally – Didn’t bring back COVID
Israel – I drop-shipped eleven books home before my flight including a collection of four books from Scrum.org that I won in the door prize drawing and, of course, Build Your Model for Leading Change by Marsha Acker. I’ve been passing out a whole bag full of swag to folks at the office this week.
David – WAY TOO MUCH FOR THIS SPACE! On Saturday 7/23 I started using my TC pen! ALSO I absolutely treasure my copy of Marsha’s Facilitation book – signed by the six of us from DAU who attended the conference together! Third, my thinking partner and I are looking forward to Marsha’s new book.
Anjali – No a lot….except an ICAgile hoodie and laptop bag, Marsha’s Facilitation book and Workshop on creating your model for change.
Lynn -Um. Everything? Grandkid-rules
Amy – 2 books, Marsha’s new book (woohoo), Esther Derby 7 rules for positive productive change and lots of other swag.
Joanne –An amazing book from Marsha Acker, backpack and journal from ICAgile … I wish I could bring home all the new connections and old connections 🙂
Marsha Acker – Not much this time! The conference was really light on paper handouts (which IMO is great!) and I just didn’t find the need to collect a lot of stuff! We did have our camper in town and so I got a teal foldable seat from the ICAgile booth on Thursday afternoon (they were giving away their decorations) that is now part of the camper decor! HAHAH!

How did Agile2022 impact you?

Read these answers if you are considering coming to #Agile2023! Lots of great insight into why meeting in-person is important.

William – It was great to meet new people and reconnect with friends I have not see in awhile. It reminded me that we are part of a wonderful collective that has a positive impact on the world.
Jason – It recharged me for the next 5000 zoom calls!
Tricia – Gave me hope
Sally – Energizing and felt connected again to my tribe
Israel – Many of the concepts that have been pounded into my head over the past decade seem to be all wrong now, and the cognitive dissonance is weighing on me heavily. How many times over the course of the week did I hear not to create roadmaps, not to use Story Points, not to use User Stories – all considered waste now apparently. Oh, and all those metrics I pride myself on – well, those appear to be out of fashion, too. The new, hot freshness looks interesting, but when will I ever have a chance to try them out?
David – Most plans to go to Mars, require a slingshot around the moon – and I now have multiple goals that will be launched now that we passed our Agile2022 Moon!
Anjali – I blogged about this… This year activated a shift. This year brought deeper connection. This year welcomed more intense dialog. This year heightened serendipity and synchronicity. This year felt like a ‘yes’ to play a bigger game.
Lynn – It made me Remember that learning means not resting on my laurels
Amy – Lots of positive impacts for me. I am inspired to experiment and try different techniques as a coach. Also, I am excited about connecting with other agilists going forward.
Joanne – Provided me hope that there are other agilists out there who care about making an impact on planetary challenges. We have a wonderful community.
Marsha – Profound impact of re-connecting with people! So great to be back other other humans!

We are Better Together! #Agile2023 Here We Come!

If you missed it don’t feel bad – but spring into action.

Make it a goal to attend #Agile2023 and meet these fabulous contributors, the speakers they talked about and fellow attendees. A huge thank you goes out to all who participated in this roundup post. We appreciate you!

PS Are you sorry you missed out on our private event at #Agile2022?

Come join us for a LIVE book club discussion for my new book ‘Build your Model for Leading Change‘.

Women in Leadership: How to Find Your Authentic Voice

Do Women Make Better Crisis Leaders?

Leadership effectiveness is about the extent to which people are willing to follow the direction a leader sets. We support what we help to create. What makes people most likely to follow a direction is the opportunity to have a voice and contribute to the direction and to feel heard in the process. Leaders who are able to listen, be curious, take in multiple perspectives, navigate decisions that do not have easy answers, consider the impact on both people and results, and get things done are far more likely to build relationships and trust…someone that others want to follow.

There are three languages of communication that we speak in:

Power
Affect
Meaning

Men Vs Women Leaders: Who Speaks Affect?

Men and women both can and do speak in Affect, But organizations can have cultural biases that minimize or silence communication in affect. I’ve witnessed leadership teams where someone would inquire about how the staff might feel about a decision and the response was sentiments like – ‘this is work, it’s not personal’ or ‘I don’t know, I’m not their therapist’. Those beliefs hinder anyone from bringing the voice of affect, which is needed at all times, but most certainly in a time of crisis.

Our societal norms make it more socially acceptable for women to bring the voice of affect,which is one reason this skill might be more developed for women. Yet this is ultimately about having range in your behavior and communication;meaning that it’s available and accessible to men as well.

Obstacles that Dissuade Women from Actively Pursuing Leadership Roles

Many years ago as I took on a new leadership role I was told by the CEO “I don’t think you have what it takes to lead.”About six months later he came back to me and said “I was very wrong.”. Leadership is not a cookie cutter mold – it looks different on everyone and yet women often get told we are ‘too much’ of something or ‘not enough’ of something else. Women are often judged or critiqued against an old mental model of what leadership looks like. We need to change that. Our job in corporate America is to welcome differences in leadership – we need leaders who are effective and capable of bringing a whole range of behavior and communication propensities to their role.

Women Who Pushed Back Are an Inspiration

I’m inspired by many women who have a story to tell where they pushed back against feedback or norms that said ‘you can’t do it that way’. Oprah tells a story about when she first launched her talk show and after a bad experience with a guest segment she made a personal decision that she would no longer invite certain types of guests. She got lots of push back about how that would not work and people would not watch. Amidst all of that feedback she maintained her clear vision about the impact she wanted to have and what she believed was needed. It’s a real example to me of clarity of purpose and trusting your gut instinct that makes it your own brand of leadership – not someone else’s.

Advice for Young Women Entering the Workforce

Don’t take it personally if someone thinks your version of leadership is not leadership. Treat it as a data point and decide what you want to do from there. Keep in mind that the feedback is as much about them as it is you. Find your own authentic voice and then find the place that is the right fit for you. Pay attention to your gut instinct. When a team or company does not feel like a good fit – follow that instinct before you get locked into believing that you don’t have any other options and you have to just be miserable in order to bring home a paycheck.

Impactful Business Lessons From the Pandemic to Carry Forward

When I draw a timeline of my professional and personal life, what I have come to learn is that many of the high moments are preceded by a low moment – a time when it felt like everything was being pulled out from under my feet.

So coming into 2020 I already had a value of looking at those ‘low’ moments as a place to create rather than get caught up in the disappointment, fear or longing for what once was. So in March of 2020 I pivoted the whole business to go from executive coaching and leading workshops in the room across the country to coaching and leading workshops online – and it worked! My business had transitioned to completely remote since 2012, so we already knew how to work online.

I have learned the value of not being so attached to how we do things currently that I miss the moments to invent, create and pivot to something completely new. It’s important to observe what’s needed and be willing to try small experiments that you can learn from quickly. The pandemic taught me to be okay with things not being perfect and make it okay for others as well. I call it the year of our beautiful human imperfections – where it’s okay to bring your full-self to work.

Find your Superpower as a Female Leader

I know this about me: I care about and I frequently seek the perspectives of others. I do both of these without thinking, so they come naturally. I’ve learned to find the balance of not over caring – meaning filling that role for others. I have also learned that there are times to seek perspective and time to just make a decision and move forward.

I encourage you to find and nurture your superpower. It may take some trial and error to land on it, so start now and take notes. (or something to wind this up.)

Marsha

An earlier version of this article was published in HR.com as part of their Women in Leadership series.

5 Ways to Encourage More Thinking-Together Conversations in Your Organization

“Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions”

Sound familiar? This common phrase, passed down from generation to generation of executives and managers, was once believed to be the key to delegating and enrolling others in finding solutions to problems encountered in the workplace.

But it doesn’t work.

In fact, this monologic mindset – or one way conversation:

hinders learning and understanding about the problem itself
creates narrowly defined, unsustainable solutions
sets leaders and teams up to debate proposed solutions rather than fostering inquiry and innovation

Organizations are no longer served by solutions that are generated by one or two people. The dilemmas we face today and the change needed to create sustainable solutions are simply too complex. They require multiple perspectives, a whole-systems view, and the ability to test small changes where the organization can learn and adapt to emergent needs.

We need leaders who cultivate opportunities to think together through more dialogue and less monologue.

Leaders: It’s Time for Meaningful Dialogue

One of the biggest challenges executives face is creating space for dialogue, and yet it’s only through the process of meaningful, two-way conversation that new thinking can emerge and change initiatives can take flight.

So, what does real, open, generative dialogue actually look like in an organizational setting? I have found the model of what I call a Thinking Together Conversation to be the most effective way to productively engage with a problem and invite creative thinking for a new solution.

Thinking Together Conversations require genuine curiosity from all parties, as well as the belief that collective thinking will tap into collective intelligence and yield better solutions to a dilemma.

5 Ways to Foster More Thinking-Together Conversations in Your Organization

1 Frame the Problem or Dilemma to Think Together

Be clear about the context and the background of the problem. What are the facts? What’s the impact this is having on the organization? On the people? On the metrics? What role might each person play that contributes to the current state?

2 Invite Difference and a Safe Space for Dialogue

If you hold some level of authority or seniority in the conversation and you are not hearing a point of view that is different from yours then you should be deeply curious about why that is. When different points of view—opposing views, are missing from the conversation do not assume that there are none. Instead make it safe for others to offer a different point of view by openly inviting them. You might say – “Who sees it differently?” “What are we missing?” “What kind of risk does this open up for us?” If you’re still not hearing it, then invite people to contribute ideas anonymously – if you’re meeting online you can open up a collaboration tool and just ask everyone to share their thoughts and build on what they see others contributing.

Remember, a Thinking Together Conversation is not about solving the problem right off the bat. It’s about learning, understanding, and fostering an environment where a solution can be thoughtfully (and more effectively) co-created. Your goal is to help people stay in conversation with one another. This is accomplished by creating a space where people feel they are valued, trustworthy, and where they can share openly and candidly their perspective.

3 Suspend Having an Answer in Order to be Curious and Candid

Suspend the desire or need to start with answers or solutions. That will create advocacy rather than inquiry. Instead, clear your mind and come to the conversation with genuine curiosity and open inquiry. Be ready to hear and engage with different perspectives from your own. Be prepared to be candid about your own observations and experiences while remaining curious about your teams’ perspectives. You’ll be able to pull off what David Kantor calls the act of “Bystand”—a morally neutral observation about what’s happening. This is where you share what you notice from a place of inquiry and better understanding.

4 Host “Listening and Learning” Sessions to Encourage Dialogue

At the very heart of dialogue is the act of listening. This does not mean reloading your talking point while hearing the words someone else is saying. It is focused, non-distracted, deep listening. In this state, you are able to suspend your own thinking and can be open to really hearing another point of view. You are listening to the words spoken and the words not spoken. You are listening for depth, values, context, what’s important, and the meaning behind the words.

As a leader, ask to participate in team conversations and request permission to just listen and learn—and not have to provide solutions. Listen and inquire from a place of curiosity.

5 Ban Powerpoint As They Do Not Support Conversations

Powerpoints do not support conversation. They support a monologue—a one-way download; a lecture or presentation. There is very rarely any new thinking that comes from a Powerpoint presentation. In fact, when a Powerpoint is present, we have been trained to slip into “receive mode” and, in essence, disengage from our own perspective or opinion. Inevitably, people will roll their eyes and simply say, ‘Just tell me what you want me to do.”

Try banning Powerpoint and invite a Thinking Together Conversation instead.

Thinking-Together Conversations and Accessing the Power of Collective Intelligence

Problem solving – and the solutions to the problem, will take on a whole new meaning and purpose when people at all levels of the organization have the opportunity to think together and access the power of collective intelligence that exists within every organization.

Leaders, this way of thinking and engaging with one another starts with you.