Agile
Leadership vs. Management (via Leading Agile)
- Manage the system, lead the people.
- Instead of telling people how to move faster, remove the blockers that are slowing the system down.
- Leadership — the ability to motivate and inspire those around you to achieve something as group
- Someone can be a good project manager, but a poor leader.
- Don’t tell people how to do things; tell them what to do and let them inspire you with their ingenuity (version of the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry quotation)
- When you’re fearful, you’ll regress to command-and-control because it’s more comfortable. Don’t use fear as a currency. Be courageous and trust the team; be aware of what’s going on in the system so you can course-correct.
- How do we get safety for the managers to become leaders? Empower folks closer to the work to start making the decisions.
- What does the team think of you? Are you a leader?
- Don’t use authority; build structured partnerships with the teams inside the system and its context. Focus on outcomes, not roles.
- Sometimes you do need to grab the reins; however, this shouldn’t be the default mode, and this scenario should be used as a coachable moment.
- Humans make mistakes and we should learn from them; people don’t thrive in a system ruled by the fear of making mistakes.
- “If I’m not telling people what to do on a daily basis, I’m not a good leader.” Instead, monitor and respond to the system and how it’s helping people deliver. Identify bottlenecks and help develop solutions.
Outcomes over Outputs with OKR (via Agile Amped)
- OKR (objectives and key results) is an Agile approach to goal alignment (shorter cycles than, say, annual objectives); plan on the outcomes.
- Traditionally you come up with objectives, then you have initiatives that will help deliver those objectives. Challenge: No connection to the “why”; just build the thing. You can deliver something very well that delivers no value.
- To introduce OKRs as a new organizational concept, it helps to have on-the-ground experts and champions.
- It’s exciting to have ideas, but if you never measure if those ideas are any good, you can be flying blind and not learning.
- Transformations are journeys; not everyone moves at the same rate.
- Being able to test ideas quickly is crucial.
- OKRs help you break silos because you have to work together to achieve a common outcome.
- Senior leaders need to be engaged in helping people align the work of everyone in the company to key objectives for the org. You also need grassroots report.
- You need a well-articulated project strategy.
- To help thaw the “frozen middle [management],” you need to show them how they will add value in this new way of thinking and working.
- Useful first step: Bring in someone who’s already done something like this before. There’s so much advice out there, so you have to know what you want to achieve before you start.
Adult Developmental Stages and Leadership (via Agile Amped)
- Adult development explains gaps in organizational development literature.
- It’s not about learning additional knowledge; you look at the world differently (see Piaget). We used to think the brain was fixed in wiring; this is not true (neuroplasticity).
- Transformation is about installing feedback loops (e.g., tools, pair programming, ceremonies, demos). How does what’s happening compare to what we expected? Shooting the messenger doesn’t work in Agile.
- Leaders need to be involved for transformations to be effective; it’s about both practice and mindset. For example, people get too focused on Scrum as a process rather than a framework/mindset. You need a process, but you also need a goal (working software).
- See also: Westrum model
- If you have leaders that reject feedback (power-oriented), you’ll likely not get Agile to stick.
- There is a cognitive bias of group-think (e.g., space shuttle disasters). Certain kinds of information flows are so good at feeding information people want that no new/contrary information can enter (“self-sealing”). This can also manifest by people “sanitizing” information so the leaders never know the whole story.
- Feedback: fist-to-five or Roman voting (share information simultaneously)
- About 45% of leaders are focused on skills and efficiency, 35% focus on goal-achieving. The former think of transformations as a set of N linear steps; the outcome is not to complete N steps, it’s to have undergone a change. The latter tends to look for root causes and global maxima.
- You have to come to the conclusion that your current mindset isn’t working for some reason.
- Single-loop feedback: did we achieve a goal or not. Double-loop: was that goal the right goal?
- Johari Window
- Transformation takes time; it’s a long road.
Stay Organized (via Deliver IT Cast)
- You will always have more to do than you have time to do it in.
- Say “no” to things that have little value.
- Categorize your work, create rules around common patterns, make it easy to see/search.
- Use the 4 Ds from “Getting Things Done”: do, delegate, defer, delete.
- Be mindful of your notifications and which ones distract you.
- Mise en place — having things ready to reduce friction in your work
- 3S system: sort — get rid of unnecessary items, sweep — keep your place tidy, standardize — make recurring work repeatable or have a system
Bringing Agile to Non-Software Teams (via Agile Amped)
- Guest authored Agile for Non-Software Teams
- How is this book different? The first book was about leaders of people (not resources). The second book was about teams doing the motions of Agile, but things aren’t quite fitting. This book is more in the practical domain — how do you get to Agile when you’re not in software (e.g., office design, biotech). No industry has one solution around Agile.
- Organize collaboratively or by specialty? In a workflow, what do you need to pay attention to? Who pays attention to the outcomes and manages those? What are deliverables (getting to done)? How do you visualize work?
- How can you help people feel comfortable finding their own solution, as most people just want to be told what to do? “You can do this; here’s a bit of guidance.” Meet them where they are instead of claiming to know everything; be conversational.
- There are very few people that practice Agile outside of software. Many things do carry over: if you don’t have support of leadership (or leadership in general), if people don’t understand why they’re doing things…don’t bother. There is so much interest in this topic.
Training vs. Transformation (via Leading Agile)
- Training teaches new things (decreasing gap between knowledge and skill), but the ability to produce new business outcomes requires transformation.
- Just because you get training doesn’t mean you’ll have your org operate differently.
- Another angle is that training can let orgs know what the gap is so they can decide whether the transformation will be successful (e.g., feel out Agile and see if it will fit).
- Some orgs may not be able to fully switch to Agile, so there may be value in knowing something about Agile. There needs to be a transformation strategy. Once you get going, you need some way of staying aligned with that destination.
SAFe in a Virtual World (via Agile Amped)
- Virtual makes it harder to support one another in keeping the change going.
- Continue to engage and be thoughtful in the interactions.
- Things will take longer than you expect (e.g., keep release dates, continue as if things were normal, people won’t be distracted); these original expectations may not be realistic.
- Leaders need to exhibit more empathy so that you can reset and recalibrate.
- Every time you start something new (e.g., WFH), take the learning moments and reflect on them; be optimistic.
- How do we help enterprises that are new to SAFe? Middle-out transformation is about getting teams of teams working in a new way. Then work your way up into leadership about what we want to be (portfolio agility).
- If you’re going to be a team, you need to learn together so your discussing terms and concepts at the same time so that you have consistency. Virtual makes for a different kind of friction. There are more distractions in a virtual world.
- The SAFe exam pass-rates are about the same virtually as they were in-person.
- Look for regional teachers (i.e., close to you geographically because of time zones). Ask what kinds of tools they use for collaboration. It’s tempting to multitask while learning virtually; avoid this and truly block out the time.
- Delays in the efficacy of virtual Q&A may require that a 2-day course actually occupying 2.5 days.
Career
Make the Most of Your Relocation (via Harvard Business Review)
This article covers the advantages of working abroad; it also outlines the challenges — regulatory, occupational, psychological, and economic. There are also cultural barriers that can exist. Although it helps to make multi-national moves early in one’s career, this article provides a framework of things to consider.
How to Reimagine the Second Half of Your Career (via Harvard Business Review)
No one has all the answers to manage a career landscape that is so unpredictable in today’s world. Some of the suggestions (e.g., continuous learning) are applicable, but others are necessary but not sufficient (e.g., tell your story). I would argue that curiosity and building relationships are things that help you become more vocationally resilient.
The Thing about Burnout (via Software Lead Weekly)
- Being busy is a status symbol. If you’re not busy, you must not be important.
- Startups breed heroes with the promise that if you work your ass off, you’ll be rich. This is generally untrue; the founders get rich.
- Burnout can be similar to PTSD. If you recover after two weeks of vacation, you may not be truly burned out.
- Honeymoon phase: Say yes to everything because we don’t know our true capacity.
- Onset of stress: Not volunteering for as much; motivation lowering.
- Interpersonal problems at home and at work, reduced performance and cognitive problems, can’t get excited about work anymore
- Physical symptoms: many are misdiagnosed with depression, leading to covering up root issues with medication. Digestive issues are also fairly common.
- To avoid:
- Get clarity about what your job is and is not
- Stop multitasking
- Set boundaries around what you’re willing to do and not do; it’s okay to say no
- Take control of your notifications
- Do things outside of your career
- Get enough sleep
- For managers:
- Be clear about expectations
- Help your people understand their value
- Enforce reasonable work hours
- Don’t contact your people after hours
- Encourage people to take vacation time
- Have regular 1:1s — which are about your reports, not you
- Recognize the small stuff
Managers who used to be engineers: what’s one thing you wish you knew/did before switching? If you could redo the experience, what would you change? (via Software Lead Weekly)
This thread has opinions from both sides: manage and be an engineer vs. don’t do both. I’m solidly in the “don’t do both” camp. Your new role is to empower and support; great engineering comes through you, not from you.
Culture
Don’t Let the Pandemic Sink Your Company Culture (via Harvard Business Review)
- It’s not sufficient to have a culture be aligned and strong (i.e., intensely valued); it must be adaptive in real-time.
- Hire and promote people who are resilient, adaptable, and exhibit grace under fire.
- Curate and communicate examples of how the organization is adhering to its cultural values through new practices.
- Model transcendent values.
Economics
Equality in the U.S. Starts with Better Jobs (via Harvard Business Review)
- “Think of the U.S. economy as an enormous ship with a hole in its hull. Those in the lower decks are at risk of drowning. Upskilling may move some of them to a dry deck, but there isn’t room there for all, and, anyway, the ship is still sinking. We need to fix the hole right now so no one drowns.”
- “Performance suffers as it is harder to keep up good attendance, focus on the job, be productive, and do your best for customers or coworkers.” If you pay people enough, well-being improves and reliance on government assistance decreases.
- Business schools and society in general need to move away from maximizing shareholder value and focus on making profit in a responsible and decent way.
Fixing U.S. Politics (via Harvard Business Review)
I had too many sections highlighted, notes in the margins, or sentences underlined to summarize fully here. The fundamentals are rooted in a business-based duopoly that acts in its own interests instead of those it governs. It’s working exactly as it was designed. To move forward on social progress that the majority of citizens want (and would benefit from), we need to rewrite how elections and governance work.
Leadership
Our book club finished chapter 5 by talking about boundaries, and moved on to guidance. There were some good questions about digging for feedback and handling small requests that could lead to larger ones.
5 Ways a Crisis Can Help You Cultivate a Growth Mindset (via Harvard Business Review)
- Be patient
- Teach the growth mindset to others, and reinforce it in yourself
- Send the right signals
- Reset expectations and revisit established practices
- Get to know your teammates better
What’s One Thing That a Manager’s Done to Skyrocket Your Growth? (via Software Lead Weekly)
A thread of examples that is useful to managers and those being managed.