Walking Their Talk, Sustainability, Inspiration
Robert Galen
Sustainability

I saw this wonderfully courageous and informative post by Sabine Canditt the other day where she wrote about Sustainable Scrum. 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sustainable-scrum-responsible-choice-sabine-canditt-x0gef

After just completing a The Week program facilitated by the amazing Ann-Marie Kong, it touched my heart.

That said, I wanted to highlight one comment reaction/interaction between Sabine and Erich Bühler 

Erich said—

Thank you for bringing this approach into the world! Scrum does provide an iterative approach for teams to create value, but its scope is limited to the product level and struggles with dynamics across the whole organization for several reasons.
Without updating the underlying business and financial model at a strategic level, Scrum alone cannot transform organization-wide sustainability.

Sustainability
Short-takes, Inspiration
Robert Galen
Sandy’s Take
Sandy’s Take
Short-takes, Personal Thoughts
Robert Galen
The Human Aspects of Agile Coaching
The Human Aspects of Agile Coaching
Coaching, ACGW, Personal Thoughts
Robert Galen
Keys to Building your Coaching Relationships

I talk a lot about the first step in coaching any client (individual, system, team, etc.) is to build a relationship, gain empathy and understanding, and then gain an idea of where/how to help initially. So, do NOT start to coach until you’ve done some relationship-building. 

But what does a coaching relationship, or a professional relationship in general, look like? What are aspects of that? Here are a few things that come to my mind—

  • Making + taking the time.

  • Explaining what you do—what is Agile Coaching.

  • Building some empathy; walking in their shoes; understanding where they are coming from.

  • Meeting them where they are.

  • Listening; reflective listening; building metaphors together.

  • Connecting with their language, not yours.

Keys to Building your Coaching Relationships
Personal Thoughts, Short-takes
Robert Galen
Privilege Awareness

I recently replied to a LinkedIn post by David Pereira. It was a wonderful post, and I applaud David’s boldness and courage in sharing it. 

Here’s a post comment from Stefan Wolpers—

While I agree fully with your personal stance regarding professionalism, David Pereira, some people will shy away, given the current economic climate. Some of the previously aggravated people may seek an opportunity to settle scores.

And here’s my comment—

I love the clarity (No BS) here. Clarity for David and clarity for those who want to work with and who don't want to work with him.
That said, David has the unique privilege that allows him to adopt this clarity. Many don't.

This post is not about David per se. Instead, he inspired me to write it.

Privilege Awareness

Diversity

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Agile Coaching Ethics - Front AND Center

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Agile Coaching Ethics - Front AND Center

An agile coach, who I’d never met before, reached out to me the other day to have a conversation. She was from India, working in Europe, and had a woeful tale that she shared with me…

It seems as if she had two similar experiences as part of different agile coaching teams. In each case, a lead agile coach (who was male, white, and experienced) misused their authority and positional power when collaborating with her and other female coaches on their teams.

Apparently, those coaches/leaders were…

  • Authoritarian to the point of abusing their positional authority;

  • Intimidating, overpowering, and dismissive to women;

  • And, when confronted with their behavior, they ignored all feedback AND made things worse.

Because of the corporate culture around her, the poor coach felt that there was no place to go for help. So, she simply tolerated it until she found a way to leave the job.

As I said, this repeated itself one more time at another organization.

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My Public Speaking Pivot…Next up?

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My Public Speaking Pivot…Next up?

I just realized the other day that I’ve made a public speaking pivot without really explaining it clearly nor exploring the why behind it. So, here it is.

Background

I’ve been presenting around software development, quality, agile, and leadership topics for over 20-years. Across a wide variety of formats including panel discussions, talks, workshops, and keynotes.

I’ve had the chance to share in Asia, North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.

In the early days, I submitted to the Call for Papers/Submissions and waited patiently to hear feedback. But over time and with experience, I more often was invited to share.

All of these speaking opportunities were in-person. And then, Covid-19 emerged and things have changed. As have I over time.

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Dynamics Impacting Agile Teams, part-2

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Dynamics Impacting Agile Teams, part-2

Continued from Part-1…

1. T-Shaped nature of the team? (1)

Perhaps the best way to think of T-shaped-ness is the flexibility of everyone on the team to the overall work. Do people focus only on a narrow/deep skill area (I-shaped) or do they try and occasionally flex to help in areas where they’re less skilled, but willing to learn, pitch in, and help (T-shaped)? One of the easiest ways I’ve found to determine this is measuring the times you hear: “that’s not my job, or I’m waiting for Blarg to finish their part” within the team.

2. Visualization of work and tooling (1 and 3-)

How well does the team visualize their work? This includes the word itself (product backlogs, sprint backlogs) and artifacts around the work (DoD, charters, roles & responsibilities, etc.). I’ve always thought that the higher the maturity and performance of the team, the less they rely on tools and the more they rely on visualization and collaboration around the visuals. Related to this is the notion that the visuals are kept up-to-date in real-time or always reflect the current reality.

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Dynamics Impacting Agile Teams, part-1

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Dynamics Impacting Agile Teams, part-1

We were talking in the Moose Herd the other morning and Cory Bryan brought up the topic of factors that influenced agile team maturity, performance, and health. We immediately discussed the obvious factor of team size. Chatting about how team cohesion and maturity could offset any negative aspects of the team is larger.

Team distribution also came up, that is remote vs. onsite and geographic distribution. Again, we leaned into the idea that a more seasoned team could probably deliver “in spite of” the challenges of being distributed.

It was a really good topic to explore. And, as we explored it, I brainstormed in my journal and jotted down as many factors that I could think of that directly impact the formation, growth, dynamics, and ultimate success of any agile team.

I also tried to evaluate as to whether each factor was:

  1. Entirely within the team’s control

  2. Entirely an organizational factor

  3. Or something in between, 3- meaning towards Org and 3+ meaning towards the team.

I think this twist nuanced the list a bit. Anyway, I thought I’d share these thoughts with you…

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Agile Books by Women

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Agile Books by Women

It recently struck me that I wasn’t that aware of agile books authored by women in our agile community. Sure, I was aware of a few, but I became curious about the number of female authors and the topics they explored.

As I began to search, I realized there were very few resources/lists on the topic. There was one list, written by Julia Dellnitz, that I found. It provided some European voices that I hadn’t been exposed to – https://www.smidig.de/agile-books-by-female-authors/ and a few others, but it was really the only one.

So, I became inspired to pull together this list and to see just how many women authors I could find in our space. Thank you for that inspiration, Julia!

I also found this link on Women in “Product” to follow – https://www.productplan.com/learn/women-in-product-to-follow/, that includes two of the authors on my list.

And finally, I found this on the Business Agility Institute site – Women in Agile and the Confidence Code – https://businessagility.institute/learn/women-in-agile-and-the-confidence-code/330

What I found in my search was a wonderful list of incredibly talented women who’ve written on a wide variety of topics. Now, I know that I’ve probably missed many wonderful authors. So, please feel free to send me a message or add a comment so that I can be more inclusive on my list.

But that being said, I do think it’s a deep and rich list that’s worthy of your consideration. And I want you to join me in CELEBRATING these wonderful women and their contributions to our agile community.

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

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Supporting the Agile Alliance

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Supporting the Agile Alliance

I saw the following note about the Agile Alliance posted on LinkedIn by Ray Arell.

For 20 years, the Agile Alliance has been a critical resource for people and companies to build an Agile way of work.

2020/21 has been hard for our non-profit organization. Our annual in-person conference is typically the primary fundraiser that enables our programs and mission work, and this has not been possible due to the pandemic. To keep us going, we need to grow our membership and sponsorship. So I am asking, if you have been a loyal follower and benefited from our work, please consider becoming a member or sponsor one of our programs. Together we have changed the industry, and together we can continue to grow a better way of work.

If you are already one of our 5000+ members, then thank you so much. You can help by getting the word out and encourage others to join ❤

Please go to https://lnkd.in/gP2vM_Va to find out more about membership or contact me directly if you have any questions. #agile #thankyou

My Take

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White Privilege and Authenticity in the Coaching Relationship

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White Privilege and Authenticity in the Coaching Relationship

I was recently asked about how privilege shows up in the coaching relationship. Although the topic of privilege has been discussed in various capacities, I have not yet seen or read enough people tackling the issue of White Privilege. Let me one up that, I have not yet seen WHITE PEOPLE tackle this issue.

As a white, cisgender female, who provides coaching, I have a lot of privilege. The number one area that I have the most privilege in is my Whiteness.

With that said, I thought it would be helpful to provide some of my thoughts and suggestions on how to address it in both the role of being Coached as well as Coaching others.

Let’s look at it from Three main areas – self-awareness, ask/address, and learn & growth.

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ZERO Tolerance – What’s yours?

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I saw this post in LinkedIn and it caused me to stop and think about zero tolerance and my relationship with it. It has an interesting comment trail that’s worth reading as well.

First of all, I’m using this post and the associated article as inspiration for my response. I am NOT making or taking a political position. Nor am I supporting Joe Biden’s statement. But what I do want to say or ask is…

What is your Zero Tolerance Zone?

I actually think it’s a question that we each need to privately come to grips with. In quiet, when we’re reflecting on our values, principles, and how we’re going to “show up” in life both professionally and personally.

Exploring our boundaries where we’ll say—

  • Enough is enough?

  • Or report harassment in any form?

  • Or walk away from a consulting gig?

  • Or part ways with a colleague, partner, or employee?

  • Or walk away from a supposed friend?

  • Or call someone out publicly for their behavior?

With all of the risk that’s associated with these actions.

What’s the point of having principles and ethics if we’re not willing to take the ultimate action in them when the situation warrants it?

If you know me, I hope you know that I’m not an extremist. And I don’t take positions like this lightly. But I was inspired by this article to reflect on my zero-tolerance zone and to clarify my tolerance boundaries. And I’ve done that.

I hope it inspires you to reflect on your own. 

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

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Diversity, Inclusion, AND Equity

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Diversity, Inclusion, AND Equity

Luke Hohmann presented the following scenario the other day on LinkedIn—

If you’re wondering how you think about salary and fair pay, consider the following scenario I gave to my kids at dinner a few nights ago.

A white man and a black woman apply for the same job. They are equally qualified. During the interview process, the you ask the candidates for their salary requirements. The white man provides a number that matches the salary target established by your company. The black woman provides a number that is lower. If you hire the black woman, do you pay her what she requested or the established salary target?

It was fascinating to listen to the debate that ensued. One argument is that the company should maximize profits, so paying the black woman what she requested would be fair. A counter argument is that quite often minorities don’t know what they’re worth, so they often request salaries that are below market rates, and the company should pay the target salary.

Personally, I don’t feel that this is a hard choice. Leaders who have ‘power’ over such things as compensation should use their privilege to compensate people fairly.

I fully agree with Luke’s last point. There needs to be fairness and equity in compensation and there is really no excuse for shying away from it.

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Finding a job as a Scrum Master without Experience

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Finding a job as a Scrum Master without Experience

I agreed to speak at a Scrum Masters of African Descent meetup group yesterday (Sunday, February 21st) in an Ask Me Anything / Fireside Chat format. One of the questions (and some of the reactions) has stayed with me. So, I thought I’d write this post to share some additional thoughts on one of the questions. Here’s the question—

If you don’t have any prior Scrum experience on your resume, how can you show companies that you are capable of doing the job?

My First Reaction

Let me start by saying this.

Finding and landing ANY job without direct experience is hard. Heck, looking for work WITH experience is hard. So, the first thing to think about in addressing this question is—it’s not going to be easy. And, you will get a lot of rejections. So,

  • Get your courage up;

  • Get your persistence up;

  • Get ready to work really hard at it…really hard;

  • And thicken your skin a bit.

Because it will be a bumpy ride. I’m not joking or trying to make it seem unattainable. It isn’t. It IS attainable, but it won’t be EASY!