Agile
Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) 4.5 Distilled (via Wade Chandler)
Part of my professional development as Director of Agile Coaches is to understand what tools and frameworks exist in the Agile space. SAFe is a framework for doing Agile beyond one team.
Using a Trojan Horse to Introduce Agility (via Agile Amped)
- Transformation is a phenomenon in which something becomes a more evolved and capable version of what it already is.
- Agility is a way to catalyze evolution. It’s a set of practices of org development. Agile software processes are a scaffolding that create conditions where it’s possible for people/systems to evolve into something better.
- To get to sustainable agility, it requires a shift in how we think about the world around us. Leading from the top doesn’t work in a VUCA world. Leadership can happen anywhere (be the reason). This is not about getting rid of middle managers.
- The book “An Everyone Culture” by Kegan and Lehey was mentioned.
- Reading to learn content that can be applied has value, but reading philosophical works (e.g., Martin Heidegger) is a different approach. You’re learning how to restructure how you think.
- Meet people where they are, using the vocabulary they use. From here you can bend things toward where they want to go.
- See “Hawthrone effect” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect)
- Trojan horse: A company calls you in for some reason but there’s usually some other reason they need you. You may be able to bring about change they didn’t know about/expect.
Business
Research: Knowledge Workers Are More Productive from Home (via Harvard Business Review)
While it’s admirable to do a 2013-to-2020 comparison of knowledge workers and productivity, I think there are some confounding variables. First, are they doing the exact same work, but from home? Many businesses have had to pivot on priorities (and even business models), so those workers may be doing different work (or even someone else’s work because of layoffs). Second, working from home is not the same as working during a crisis.
7 Strategies for Leading a Crisis-Driven Reorg (via Harvard Business Review)
- Move quickly, but always with a plan
- Analyze your human capital resources
- Set differentiated targets and consider making focused investments (not every department needs the same percentage adjustment)
- Involve your full leadership team
- Allow some flexibility in how the new organizational model is implemented
- Communicate the changes as quickly — and humanely — as possible
- Create a positive feedback loop
Marketing in the Age of Resistance (via Harvard Business Review)
- Be about it instead of just talking about it
- Step beyond your company’s perspective (i.e., not just internal expertise)
- Listen, process, validate
- Apologize without caveats or explanations
- Don’t make a one-off statement
Career
Why Specializing Early Doesn’t Mean Career Success (via TED)
- There’s plenty of buzz around “deliberate practice” (i.e., 10,000 hours of useful practice to master something).
- Our educational approach currently focuses on specialization early so that the time spent (e.g., 10,000 hours) is fruitful. However, there are examples of going broad first and specializing later leading to increased “match quality.” This is likely related to the explore vs. exploit mentality; explore first, then exploit.
- Kind learning environment — next step and goals are clear, the rules don’t change, feedback is quick and accurate. Examples are golf and chess. Most modern work is a “wicked learning environment” where those characteristics are flipped.
- I’ve seen this myself in my lifetime — liberal arts vs. STEM.
- Blocked practice (e.g., AAABBBCCC) vs. interleaved practice (e.g., “ACBCABABC”)… interleaved outperformed in terms of resilience and long-term performance.
- There is no one sure-fire path. Tiger Woods did the specialize approach, and Robert Federer did the explore-then-exploit approach; both are successful.
- Freeman Dyson talked about frogs and birds, where frogs are close to the ground (specific) and the birds are high above (general). You need both.
Culture
Cultivating the Kind of Culture Employees Crave (via Leading Agile)
- “But the practices alone don’t breed a better work environment.”
- “Culture is what we do + how we do it + why we do what we do.”
- At fifty people… “We knew early on that building these small working groups [tribes or pods] was going to be crucial to creating the feeling of connectivity and camaraderie that’s important to any workplace, but especially in one that’s remotely distributed like ours.”
- They have Operations & Intelligence calls three times each week for people to take the pulse of what’s going on in the company. Pod leaders give updates and executives present strategy updates. Every month, they talk finances.
- Having personal connections (e.g., friend at work, communities of practice, book clubs, happy hours) are also essential.
Being a selfish jerk doesn’t get you ahead, research finds (via Adam Grant)
- “…they allow jerks to gain power at the same rate as anyone else, even though jerks in power can do serious damage to the organization.”
- “It’s a critical question for managers, because ample research has shown that jerks in positions of power are abusive, prioritize their own self-interests, create corrupt cultures and, ultimately, cause their organizations to fail. They also serve as toxic role models for society at large.”
- “Disagreeable people tend to be hostile and abusive to others, deceive and manipulate others for their own gain and ignore others’ concerns or welfare.”
- Four paths to power
- Dominant aggressive — fear and intimidation
- Political behavior — building alliances with influencers
- Communal behavior — helping others (<— this is me)
- Competent behavior — being good at one’s job
Leadership
Our book club wrapped up Chapter 6 with the following topics: gender, formal reviews, preventing backstabbing, peer guidance, and speaking truth to power.
Become a More Patient Leader (via Harvard Business Review)
- Good leaders strike a balance between task-oriented and relationship-oriented.
- Don’t confuse operational speed (moving quickly) with strategic speed (reduced time to deliver value).
- “Research in experimental psychology has found when people feel more grateful, they are better at delaying gratification and are more patient.”
Leading senior engineers: lessons learned (via Software Lead Weekly)
- Senior engineers are humble… but they still appreciate appreciation.
- They do NOT expect you to be the smartest engineer in the room… but they do expect you to show up for them.
- Senior engineers know their work style… support it, even if it challenges your ideas about “how work gets done”.
- Senior engineers have seen some stuff… promote safety on your team by encouraging them to share their stories.
- Senior engineers have a LOT going on outside of work… make room for it on your team.
- Related: remember, they’ve got options.
- Senior engineers are just like you and me… foster a team where they feel safe to fail, learn, and grow.
Process
Insist on Focus (via Software Lead Weekly)
- Most people have a list of things to solve that are usually in two categories: B-level tasks where you know the solution, and A-level tasks where the solution is unknown but the problems are of higher value. It’s easy to procrastinate on the A-level tasks, even though we know it’s better to work on those.
- Otherwise, I disagree with his simplification of only be solving one problem. I’ve rarely worked in an org where this was feasible. It works great in principle, but the application is not straightforward and may be impractical.
Psychology
An Exercise to Help Your Team Overcome the Trauma of the Pandemic (via Harvard Business Review)
This post outlines an exercise for storytelling with the aim of post-traumatic growth. “In the end, participants come up with a two-word narrative compass that serves to instill new insights and meaning.”
Security
Boost Your Resistance to Phishing Attacks (via Harvard Business Review)
- Sheer repetition of rules training can be counterproductive
- Use mindfulness techniques (e.g., does this email request action, what is the timing of this email, can someone else verify this).
- The more central/connected people were, the less likely they were to succumb to attacks. Therefore, it’s helpful to identify susceptible employees.
- “External motivation turned out to be far and away more effective than intrinsic incentives.”
Technology
What Does Building a Fair AI Really Entail? (via Harvard Business Review)
1) Think of fairness as a collaborative act, 2) regard AI fairness as a negotiation between utility and humanity, and 3) remember that AI fairness involves perceptions of responsibility.