• Tag Archives team

  • Agile Principle #11 – Better Products From Emergence and Self-organization

    Posted on by Tim

    Part 11 in a 12-part series. This post covers how emergence leads to better products.

    Of all the agile principles Blake and I have covered, simplicity is the one I ponder the most. It’s my “most and least favorite”. Why?

    Because of what it suggests in the process of creating products or services. Here’s a good question.

    How do we simplify this release so that it has a value that our client or customer will appreciate?

    The answer lies in the work not done. An outcome of not doing work allows for emergence because there is time to consider the point below:

    The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.

    Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

    Consider when a painter says, “The canvas compelled me to paint this.” Or a sculpture states, “The rock spoke to me about its ideal form.” In essence, the artist allowed emergence and beauty was created.

    Similarly, products emerge when teams are allowed time to ponder their options. What is notable is the authors mention “self-organizing”.

    In a practical sense, a self-organizing team has experts in different technical and non-technical fields. Emergence can occur when there aren’t external influences or constraints on how the team choose to work.

    Photo by Zoe Schaeffer on Unsplash

    Power of emergence

    For example, when developing software, a business analyst may assist with reviewing a user interface design. Quality assurance testers may work side-by-side with developers. The possible combinations for how a team supports each other are potentially limitless.

    Ideally, the entire team could be engaged in solving the problem at hand. Then they could work in pairs or triplets to bring working pieces together as a solution. The goal is to make sure the pieces fit together to create the whole.

    Additionally, the structures supporting development come from the team instead of being imposed on the team. Architectures and designs flow from requirements as understood by the team working alongside the customer.

    It serves not purpose to work independently of the customer. As well, it is counterproductive to impose structure on teams, as it stifles creative focus.

    To summarize, the people closest to the work learn the right ways to complete the work as it emerges.

    You can learn more about Agile Principles in Part 12 of this series: Reflecting to Improve.

    Principle 1, Principle 2, Principle 3, Principle 4, Principle 5, Principle 6, Principle 7, Principle 8, Principle 9, Principle 10, Principle 11, Principle 12


    📂This entry was posted in Agile 📎and tagged

  • Scrum Value #3 – Agree Or Disagree, Commit, And Act

    Posted on by Tim

    Part 3 in a 5-part series. This post covers Commitment. Agree or disagree, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is committing.

    The third value;

    People personally commit to achieving the goals of the Scrum Team

    Scrum.org

    One of my former IBM colleagues, says it something like this way.

    “We agree and commit, or we disagree and commit, we just need to commit to action.”

    Mo Shah

    At times, team members fail to personally commit to achieving a state goal. There are many reasons for this. It’s different for each person.

    More frequently, the team fails to set goals. That’s a bit of a “mic drop”.

    Agree or disagree just commit

    Problem-solving is never easy. It is a part of life that is unavoidable. As a result, it takes courage to tackle challenges.

    Gaining team alignment is challenging as well. Defining team goals is worth the effort to avoid friction.

    If there is disagreement about a goal, objective, or outcome then the difference can be worked out.

    A disagreement should not prevent team commitment.

    If Scrum is being properly applied, then changing goals in future Sprints is acceptable to address the disagreement. This goes to the heart of being transparent, inspecting the outcome, and adapting to get a better outcome.

    A wonderful, potential outcome is alignment as work is progressed. The act of moving forward can be a catalyst. As a result, commitment can help in getting past disagreement.

    Value 1, Value 2, Value 3, Value 4, Value 5


    📂This entry was posted in Scrum 📎and tagged

  • Agile Principle #7 – Progress Is Things Working Right To Delight

    Posted on by Tim

    Part 7 in a 12-part series. This post covers products and services that are working right to show progress.

    In part six of this series, Blake McMillian wrote about How We Communicate Matters. He explained how communication has changed over just the last few years. Highlighting effectiveness, quality, and richness of communication impacts team outcomes.

    Effective communication influences the theme of this post.

    Working software is the primary measure of progress.

    Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

    In the physical world, it’s hard to get away with manufacturing products or providing services that don’t work. Conversely, building software is a bit different story.

    Maybe it’s because software is intangible in a sense. The intangible nature of software is a post for another day!

    Yet, it doesn’t mean teams don’t build working software. It means that working software is a key measure for teams to assess themselves.

    For a moment, I’ll pick on Microsoft. I upgraded to Windows 11 and understood not all the features or functions would work like Windows 10.

    I didn’t expect my speakerphone to fail along with the “reduced functions” line. To be fair, I had the warning and accepted the risk.

    I’m sure updating plug-and-play drivers are in the backlog, somewhere.

    Things Working Right

    In general, many products and services join the market working right from their introduction to customers.

    But, this is not always the case. Sometimes, products and services are available working somewhat right.

    I recently came across an article about construction updates to Penn Station in New York City. The writer highlights a somewhat right change to the station; $1.6 Billion NYC Train Station Doesn’t Have Enough Seats (msn.com).

    Moynihan Train Hall @ Penn Station, New York City, New York, United States

    Think about the story above the next time your team proposes just releasing a product or service that “might” work or is “somewhat” right. Is it worth the consequences?

    Missed opportunities abound due to avoidable misses. When stuff works right the first time, we all win.

    If a working product or service is the measure of progress, then trying to avoid complicated solutions should be a target. At times, waste is created simply because the solution gets over-engineered from the start.

    Consider this when designing and building the next product or service, regardless of type.

    You can learn more about Agile Principles in Part 8 of this series. 

    Principle 1, Principle 2, Principle 3, Principle 4, Principle 5, Principle 6, Principle 7, Principle 8, Principle 9, Principle 10, Principle 11, Principle 12


    📂This entry was posted in Agile 📎and tagged

  • Agile Principle #5 – Motivated People Get The Job Done

    Posted on by Tim

    Part 5 in a 12-part series. This post covers motivated people.

    In part four of this series, Blake McMillian covers Collaboration can Prevent Waste. Rightly, he points out, “Businesspeople and developers must work together daily throughout the project.”

    Consequently, this is key concept teams need to understand. Also, those people need to be motivated in their work.

    Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

    Principles behind the Agile Manifesto

    Work engagement is a challenge today. A Gallup article points to the prior statement.

    “Ways of working” and where work is done have changed. As a result, Principle #5 is more important today than at any time in the past.

    Truly understanding this principle helps teams navigate uncertainty. So, what does that look like?

    Enabling motivated people

    The last part of the Principle is key to granting the first part. It breaks down into three points.

    • “Give them the environment . . . they need”
    • “Give them the support . . . they need”
    • “Trust them to get the job done”

    If any one of these three points in bold is missing, then the team suffers. Consider these minimum requirements for motivation.

    What do these, environment, support, trust, look like to a team?

    The list is long and would take forever to fill in this post. However, I consider the following, for me.

    • First, low to moderate pressure (environment)
    • Second, genuine assistance (support)
    • Third, action on feedback (support)
    • Fourth, short, quick status reports (trust)
    • Fifth, fun and engaging (environment)
    • Sixth, open to feedback (trust)

    I’m curious, what is missing from this list? Please add your comments.

    Blake brings us to principle #6, in this post – “How We Communicate Matters“.

    Principle 1, Principle 2, Principle 3, Principle 4, Principle 5, Principle 6, Principle 7, Principle 8, Principle 9, Principle 10, Principle 11, Principle 12


    📂This entry was posted in Agile 📎and tagged

  • Scrum Value #2 – Focus On The Work Ahead

    Posted on by Tim

    Part 2 in a 5-part series. This post covers Focus. Distractions and busyness slow progress. Being busy is not being productive. Creative teams must focus on the work ahead.

    The second value;

    Everyone focuses on the work of the Sprint and the goals of the Scrum Team

    Scrum.org

    Given the fact that Scrum is an additive framework, processes outside Scrum can be used to help focus the team.

    This means making changes to how teams work. It means creating and maintaining working agreements.

    Restoring focus on the work

    Discovering what improves team focus is important. Unfortunately, the focus is not generally considered a priority action or behavior.

    Here is an example of how refocusing might happen.

    Some companies start applying Scrum with teams that are spread across several projects.

    If transparency is supported, then context switching is revealed. As a result, a choice is on the table for leadership.

    In some cases, that choice leads to having dedicated teams.

    Additionally, fear can cause teams to refocus. It’s not preferred, but it is effective.

    Alternately, making work visible enables focus. Because having the work physically or virtually in front of the team helps improve focus.

    Finally, look for opportunities to help teams focus. As a result, you will be surprised at what you find when you look!

    Value 1, Value 2, Value 3, Value 4, Value 5


    📂This entry was posted in Scrum 📎and tagged

  • How Being Pragmatic Helps See The Glass As Half

    Posted on by Tim

    There is beauty in being a recovering perfectionist. Recovery led to a personality shift and the recognition that neither optimism nor pessimism works in for me in life. I landed on being pragmatic.

    pragmatic (adj) – relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters: practical as opposed to idealistic (credit Merriam-Webster.com)

    As a child, I saw the world through melancholy glasses and pessimism. For the most part, I was creative and not inclined to practical pursuits.

    At the height of trying to fit in

    That all changed when I enlisted in the U.S. Navy. I slowly shifted away from impractical pursuits to practical matters. I suppose “adulting” and responsibility do that to you.

    Being pragmatic on teams

    Teams evaluate trade-offs. They assess risk and reward for the choices they make. As a result, being pragmatic is important to team effectiveness.

    I appreciate what Dr. John Turner presents on his blog on team science. Specifically on the principles of teamwork.

    A theme I take away from the Team Principles, Category 1 – What is teamwork, is effective teams are pragmatic AND creative.

    No one checks their innate, creative potential when they join a team. Instead, they learn to judge the timing when it’s appropriate to be creative versus practical.

    Like most activities in life, there’s a need to strike balance. This is practical approaches to teamwork can achieve effective outcomes.

    One tools I use to help balance the team dynamics is the Cynefin framework. Cynefin enables problem space identification and team alignment.

    I would encourage you to take a look at Dave Snowden‘s work on Cynefin as its part of my toolbox for teamwork. As well, consider John Turners work on team science to help build understanding about what effective teams look like.


    📂This entry was posted in Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • To Be Creative Nurture And Spark Psychological Safety

    Posted on by Tim

    During a coaching call with Ravi Verma, I shared learning from the field of neuroleadership. Given this field is still emerging, I perceive a connection between it and psychological safety.

    Being a life-long learner has certain downs and ups.

    • First, I find connections between concepts that may not be directly related.
    • Second, it requires a time to build connections.
    • Third, it comes with opportunity costs.
    • Fourth, it can serve to improve humanity.
    • Fifth, if no practical action comes of the learning, then it was all wasteful.

    Which brings me to this post. The post is about the fifth point.

    Without psychological safety, a business’ culture cannot reach its full creative potential.

    As a veteran working through life impacted by post-traumatic stress (PTS), I view life differently than most people.

    Drs. David Rock and Al Ringleb wrote about research on “social pain” in the Handbook of NeuroLeadership. Simply put, people will not risk their group identity or status because of social pain (along with other factors).

    Cover of the Handbook of NeuroLeadership

    If you or I inflict social pain on someone, we cannot expect them to be creative. Social pain can cause a degree of trauma and lower team psychological safety.

    For people like me, dealing with PTS, social pain can trigger a “fight or flight” response which can lead to more social pain.

    Nurture Psychological Safety

    Drs. Amy Edmondson and Timothy Clark have written about the need for psychological safety in the workplace. I say it goes further than just business, it needs to be in homes and the public domain.

    We can choose to create cultures that minimize risk of social pain. As well, we can choose how to respond to people who may not be aware of the pain they create.

    A starting point to consider is The Flow System. It brings concepts around complexity, leadership, and teamwork together in one place.

    A key component of TFS is establishing and enabling psychological safety at both the team and organization level.

    I’ll finish with this question. What can you do to minimize social pain and maximize psychological safety today?


    📂This entry was posted in Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • Embracing Weakness Is The Essence Of Human Experience

    Posted on by Tim

    In high-performing teams, embracing weakness is important to team success. If everyone thinks they’re a star performer, then no one will be vulnerable in assessing their abilities.

    True strength is in accepting facts and asking for help to compensate for weakness.

    None of us are strong in every ability and skill needed to get work done. In fact, teams are created to bridge gaps in knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that one person can’t bridge!

    This is a hard concept for top performers to grasp. In both the military and business, more teams succeed than soloists in complicated and complex work. This fact does not diminish individual effort. It does highlight the need for cross-functional work.

    Inside AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, USA

    A struggle teams have is getting out of denial about weakness. That’s why people fail at recovery programs. Separately, teams fail at achieving high performance for the same reason, denial.

    How To Begin Embracing Weakness

    The following list is “thought food” and it is not comprehensive. It is a starting point for transparent conversation and a driver for outcomes.

    • Firstly, get out of denial. Confront reality and add up team strengths and weaknesses.
    • Secondly, start planning ways to minimize or narrow gaps.
    • Thirdly, ask for outside assistance if the team’s weaknesses can’t be narrowed by the team.
    • Fourthly, find and remove work that the team can’t be completed by the current members.
    • Fifthly, communicate success and note learning. Do this early and often around finished work. Communication includes stakeholders, customers, and clients.
    • Finally, celebrate success, build on strengths, and shore up weaknesses through continuous reflection and improvement.

    Make sure every team member is heard. Often the quietest people have the powerful ideas and an ability to find gaps.

    Focus on listening to what is said and what is left unspoken. Be a detective, look for clues, because weaknesses change over time.

    Remember to have fun! The joy is in the journey, not the destination.


    📂This entry was posted in Agile Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • Scrum Value #1 – Courage To Tackle Tough Challenges

    Posted on by Tim

    Part 1 in a 5-part series. This post covers Courage. Problem solving is never easy. It is a part of life that is unavoidable. As a result, it takes courage to tackle challenges.

    The first value;

    Scrum Team members have courage to do the right thing and work on tough problems

    Scrum.org

    Courage takes different forms in varied contexts. When I was in the military, it was doing work I was afraid to do. I chose to sail onboard submarines. As well, I chose to deploy to Afghanistan.

    In business, our context is different. Courage is overcoming the fear of speaking up when an observation could be unpopular. It is telling the team to stop work to fix a defect that leads to unsafe conditions.

    The examples above cover doing the right thing.

    Working on tough problems is less clear.

    I’ve heard teammates tell me, “It impossible to solve.”

    My response, “You’re probably right. If it weren’t impossible, what might the solution be?”

    That response take courage as I’m committing myself to exploring options and asking for ideas. It is painful to get past resistance and reaction.

    How To Find Courage To Tackle Challenges

    In my observation, finding courage is a series of small steps. I resolve myself to stink at what I’m seeking to find. I commit to doing small acts that require courage then build from one action to the next action.

    For example, Toastmasters meeting have a section called “Table Topics”. For two minutes a speaker talks about a random topic base on a card picked by another club member. It is a way for new members or visitors to act courageously and face public speaking fear.

    As well, Toastmaster clubs promote psychological safety for new public speakers. The clubs are gears to overcome fear through positive feedback. It is an amazing way to, step-by-step, exercise courage.

    Consider example above the next time the team is faced with a challenge. Use it as a starting point for developing courage to tackle challenges.

    Value 1, Value 2, Value 3, Value 4, Value 5


    📂This entry was posted in Scrum Teamwork 📎and tagged

  • Stop! Do Your Life Differently, With Coffee!

    Posted on by Tim

    Here’s my twist on a phrase. “Always be creating.”

    In the movie, “Glengarry Glen Ross“, Alec Baldwin’s character made an interesting point. “A-B-C. A-Always, B-Be, C-Closing. Always be closing, always be closing.” said Blake, Baldwin’s character.

    For context, closing is closing the sale. In this case, the real estate sale.

    A-B-C from Glenngarry Glen Ross

    I submit to you, dear reader, a variation of A-B-C.

    Always Be Creating.

    Always be collaborating, be communicating, be connecting, or be celebrating.

    Be human, humans being.

    My sense is we spend far too much time worrying about what may happen and not enough time making it happen. It could be “analysis paralysis” or fear. Trust me, analysis and fear have their place and time.

    In my office, I have a magnet on my whiteboard. Done > Perfect. What happens if I’m not getting work done, taking action, and doing “the thing”? In my understanding, I’m not in a state of “always be”.

    I do want to make an important point. Use this as a focus tool, mostly at work. At home, different contexts, and different focuses. Always be comforting, connecting, celebrating, or conscious are better than closing at home!

    If I’m focused on achieving outcomes in the team construct, at work, then “always be” and “done is greater than perfect” would get better results. Why do I write this? Because this might be a key to getting unstuck.

    Try it out! What do you have to lose?

    Colorful paint pallet on a wall
    Paint pallet – credit Dan Cook on Unsplash

    📂This entry was posted in Personal 📎and tagged