Stop Reacting

I find myself and so many others, when confronted with something, we immediately begin reacting. And it’s made me think there is an alternative reaction to immediate action. That we have the option to focus on creativity, thoughtfulness, and the power of slowing down. For example—

• Stop immediately going into problem-solving or solutioning mode;

• Stop immediately going into fixing mode; and

• Stop immediately going into directing mode.

And instead, take more time—

• For balanced consideration

• To ideate

• To noodle

• For creating and exploring options

• To consider consequences, pros/cons

• To view things from a wide variety of perspectives

This connects to Weinberg’s Rule of 3.

Wrapping Up

So, the next time there is an emergency, the shit is hitting the fan, or your boss is asking for immediate action or solution…

Stop, Pause, Breathe, and then Slow Down!

You just might find yourself reacting with better results…

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

The Career Goals Curve

I saw this picture on LinkedIn and it relates to one of the metaphors or thinking models I’ve often shared with folks who I coach around their careers. It’s called Ikigai and I’ll ask you to explore more about it here.

It’s simple really.

Early on

Early in my career (in many careers) I’ve seen the focus lean into—

Ikigai – what you can get paid for and what you become good at. You’re growing your skills, gaining confidence and ability, and broadening your network and experience.

Sometimes folks feel bad about leaning so hard into the money. I actually think it’s a natural leanage, but everyone needs to find their own balance.

Later on

Then, later in my career, now, for instance, I find myself leaning less towards the money and growing or broadening my skills and more so leaning into—

Ikigai – what makes a difference in the world, what gives me joy, and focusing on my central purpose for being.

Another part of this is considering my legacy or what am I leaving behind?  And finally, who am I surrounding myself with?

Wrapping Up

When I saw this curve from Corporate Rebels, I thought I’d share it with you. Of course, there is nothing standard in this change or pivot. Some people make it quicker or earlier in their lives. Others, like me, take more time to do it. And still, others, don’t make it at all. And that’s all fine

Along with the related links in the hope that the curve might inspire you to reflect, consider, and perhaps (re) find your way…

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching

It’s finally here. What’s here, you might ask?

My new book.

Cool! What’s the title?

Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching

The Journey from Beginner to Mastery and Beyond

About the Book

The profession of Agile Coaching is, in a word, confusing. That’s because of a number of factors, including:

• It gets conflated with Professional Coaching and it’s so much more than that;

• There isn’t a standard or generally accepted model for what it is and isn’t;

• Clients don’t understand it, so shared accountability is unbalanced with their coaches;

• There is specialized nuance around the skills of coaching at the Team, Enterprise or Organizational, Technical, and Leadership levels.

This confusion has created a space where nearly anyone can claim to be an Agile Coach with little experience and narrow skills. Resulting largely in mediocrity and negative impacts for our clients, who by the way, are counting on and paying us for help.

Bob Galen has written Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching to help alleviate the confusion. The book centers on the Agile Coaching Growth Wheel as the competency and skill maturity model to baseline your agile coaching skills against. Its core goal is to “raise the bar” as to what true excellence looks like and to help you establish a personal development and growth plan.

Bob intentionally uses the term Badass to create a vision of professionalism, craft, passion, accountability, and expertise that you need to bring to bear in service of your clients if you represent yourself as an “agile coach”.

Being an Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coach isn’t easy, quick, or for the faint of heart. It takes lots of hard work and dedication. It also requires a map to point you in the right direction. Consider this book that maps to coaching badassery, personal growth, and client service.

Sample Chapter

If you’re “on the fence” about whether the book is right for you. I’d recommend reading the Introduction, as it explains the intent, overview, and major themes within the book.

• Introduction

Getting a copy?

If you’re mostly interested in e-copies, I’d recommend purchasing your copies from Leanpub. You get more version flexibility that way AND you’ll be able to receive future updates too.

• Amazon versions are available here Paperback & Kindle.

• Leanpub (PDF, EPUB, and MOBI) versions are available here.

Landing Page

Once you get your copy, you’ll want to check out the book’s Support & Repo Page for helpful information and ongoing shares & updates.

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2021 Reflection

It struck me that if I had one thing to pick as I leave 2021 the feeling would be grateful. I am incredibly grateful— 

• That my business did well and is exiting the year with resilience. And for each and every client who puts their trust in me.

• For the many incredibly diverse learners who attended my virtual workshops over the year. I was blown away by your curiosity, engagement, and growth mindset.

• For my children, grandchildren, and furry children. They are a great blessing to me and they are a big part of my legacy.

• That I had the opportunity to record another year of Meta-cast’s with Josh Anderson. Thank you, Josh, for putting up with me.

• For the opportunity to work with my colleagues and friends at Zenergy Technologies. This is my second time around with Zenergy, and I’m grateful that they “took me back”.

• To complete my Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching book and to have “stayed with” the title. Jen, Rhiannon, Mark, Stuart, Kim, and DeAnna I couldn’t have done it without you.

• To everyone who developed the vaccines that continue to save many lives. I’m humbled as I think about the resilience of our human spirit.

• For those who co-taught workshops with me. I’m not the easiest person to do this with, so thank you for your patience and partnership.

• To give back and share some of my privileges with my D&I support efforts. I’m grateful for my friendship with Aanu Gopald, who has helped me with my BLM support efforts.

• To my wife Diane for her daily partnership, love, and support. Honey, I can never thank you enough for being a part of my life’s journey.

• For everyone in healthcare, public service, and education for their seemingly tireless and selfless support of others. What wonderful role models.

• That even though I’ve been health-challenged over the past few years, I’m doing fine and taking things one day at a time.

• For Jorgen Hesselberg allowing Mark Summers and me to develop the Agile Coaching PI for Comparative Agility.

Most of all, I’m grateful for each and every day that I have the opportunity to do something I love deeply, with people who are incredible, and that makes a small difference one person at a time.

Wrapping Up

As we enter a new year, I’d encourage all of you to look back with appreciation and gratitude and capture the “good things”, small and large, you’ve experienced this year. I know it made the way forward so much brighter and hopeful for me and I wish that for you as well. So, long 2021, and good morning 2022!

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

https://www.agile-moose.com/blog/2021/10/16/practicing-gratitude

Practicing Gratitude

Do you have a gratitude ritual that you’ve developed in your professional and personal lives? 

If not, then I’d encourage you to consider one. And if you do, then please consider commenting on this post and sharing what you’re doing.

I’ve been trying to couple my gratitude focus to my morning journaling. Sometimes I’ll write down my thoughts in my journal. Other times, I’ll just let some of the prompts in my journal inspire my thinking and reflection. But my ritual surrounds my mindfulness, reflection, and daily journaling activities.

Journal Prompts

I thought I’d share some of my gratitude-centric journaling prompts—

What was the best part of your day yesterday?

What are you looking forward to today?

What is the one thing you can do to make tomorrow even better?

What are three things you are grateful for right now? How do they bring joy to your life?

Who are three people you are grateful for right now? How do they bring joy to your life?

What is one ritual you currently use to practice gratitude?

What is one ritual that you will add to your practice?

Wrapping Up

There’s nothing magical about being grateful. It won’t solve the climate crisis or improve D&I across corporate America. But I’ve found that centering on being grateful on a day-to-day basis has made me a better agile coach and an even better person.

PS: I want to thank Saralyn Hodgkin and her Practice Your Leadership newsletter for inspiring me to write this.

Stay agile my friends,

Bob.

Additional articles with more ideas for gratitude rituals…

• https://www.agile-moose.com/blog/2021/4/16/every-day-wake-up-and-ask-yourself

• https://www.mindful.org/an-introduction-to-mindful-gratitude/

• https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/40-simple-ways-practice-gratitude.html