The Art of Giving Feedback with Lonnie Weaver-Johnson

In this episode of the Reluctant Agilist, Dave Prior and Lonnie Weaver-Johnson delve into the intricacies of giving and receiving feedback. They explore personal experiences, the importance of empathy, and various models for effective feedback. The conversation emphasizes the need for clarity, intent, and kindness in feedback delivery, while also addressing the challenges of navigating feedback in professional settings. Lonnie shares her insights from years of experience in performance reviews and coaching, highlighting the significance of understanding individual differences in feedback reception.

Watch the video version here.

Listen to the audio version here.

You Need Comms More Than You Think with Ashley Lucio

In this conversation, Dave Prior speaks with Ashley Lucio about her extensive experience in communications, particularly focusing on the differences between internal communications and marketing. They discuss the challenges organizations face in deploying AI technologies and the importance of having communication professionals involved in these processes. Ashley emphasizes the need for effective communication strategies to manage organizational change and the potential pitfalls of neglecting this aspect. The conversation also touches on the evolving role of AI in communications and the necessity for a balanced approach that leverages technology while maintaining human insight.

The podcast is here: https://tinyurl.com/42h5evwd

How to Stop Treating People as Resources w/ Mika Trottier

If you'd prefer an audio version of the podcast, you can find it here.

In this interview, Mika Trottier and I talk through a subtle but significant shift that has to occur in the mindset of a traditional PM who is trying to adopt an Agile mindset. How do you flip that switch in your brain that thinks of the people who do work as resources and make them start thinking of them as people?

During the conversation, Mika and I also dig into some of the challenges facing introverts who become project managers and some of the coping mechanisms that have aided each of us.

If you’d like to get in touch with Mika, you can reach her via LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mika-trottier-848a7525/

Agile Coaching: Wisdom from Practitioners

In this podcast Michael de la Maza and Dhaval Panchal talk about their new book “Agile Coaching: Wisdom from Practitioners”. Michael and Dhaval are the co-editors of the book which is full of stories, tips, and advice from experienced, Agile coaches and trainers. In addition to talking about the book, Michael and Dhaval also share their own thoughts on topics around coaching and they offer advice for those who are headed down the coaching path.

SHOW NOTES

01:28 Podcast Begins

02:01 Who is the book for

02:26 What misconceptions do clients have when an Agile coach walks in the door 

03:52 How do you provide coaching in an organization that is not ready for it

05:04 How do you (as a coach) coach yourself when you are trying to work with individuals that do not want your help

07:12 Some tips for getting started with a coaching engagement

10:27 What does it take to become an Agile coach

13:17 What is the job of an Agile coach

13:53 When the client wants to pay large sums for you to MAKE them agile

19:06 When will we evolve past waterfall?

23:41 Do you have to be an expert in Agile to be a good coach? What do you need to do before you can be qualified to be a coach?

29:01 Are there people who should not be coaches?

32:05 Getting in touch with Michael and Dhaval

THE BOOK

Agile Coaching:  Wisdom From Practitioners

http://amzn.to/2fEV31F

TO CONTACT MICHAEL

Michael Email: michael.delamaza@gmail.com

Michael Twitter: https://twitter.com/hearthealthyscr

TO CONTACT DHAVAL

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dhavalpanchal/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dhavalpanchal

Edward Kay - Making Agile work in Digital

Edward Kay, the Founder of Tall Projects, has been managing software and digital projects for over 14 years. A few months ago Edward posted an article on The Digital Project Manager called “Agency Agile: 10 Agile Methods for Agencies”. In this interview, Edward and I discuss his article, some of the key things you need to do in order to get agile to work in digital, and why Scrum may be the one thing that just won’t work in an agency model.

SHOW NOTES 

04:04 - Interview Begins
04:48 - Background on Edward and Tall Projects
05:55 - How Edward got started doing agile
06:31 - How Edward’s clients develop a desire to try Agile
09:11 - Are the clients who want to “Go Agile” aware of what that will require and willing to take the steps needed to implement the change?
11:25 - Where in the organization is agile getting started?
12:17 - Why the clients bring Edward in
13:34 - There is no one true way
14:50 - Critical challenges facing Digital Agencies trying to adopt Agile
16:32 - Understanding how to look at work across the portfolio
17:32 - Different ways of measuring work in agencies that are using Agile
20:07 - “Why don’t we just smoke crack at work?”
23:52  - Tracking Happiness
25:10 -  Quantifying value and limiting WIP
28:26 - What is the client actually paying you for?
30:50  - Determining value at the project deliverable level
32:40 - Having a conversation about limiting WIP
35:38 - Getting the client to trust the practices agile team’s employ
36:16  - Multitasking is bad and doesn’t work… but it is still expected
37:45 - What Agile practices just do not work in an Agency model
38:49 - “The on system that is not well suited for Digital Agencies in Scrum”
41:15 - Kanban as an alternative for Digital Agencies
42:10 - What Agile tool/technique is the key to making it work in an Agency model?
43:17 - What is the piece that is missing when trying to make Agile fit in an Agency model?
44:18 - How to get in touch with Edward

CONTACTING EDWARD

Website - https://www.tallprojects.co.uk/
Email: edward@tallprojects.co.uk
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edwardkay/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/edwardkay or https://twitter.com/tallprojects
Edward’s article on The Digital Project Manager: Agency Agile: 10 Agile Methods For Agencies 

CSM Training and the 2017 Digital PM Summit

For information on the Certified Scrum Master class being held right before the 2017 Digital PM Summit, click here. Special Discounts are available for conference attendees. Contact training@leadingagile.com for more information.

For information on the 2017 Digital PM Summit, click here.

Tracking Scrum Master Performance w/ Troy Lightfoot

Troy Lightfoot joins Dave Prior to respond to a recurring student question “How can I track the performance of a ScrumMaster using metrics which are different form the ones I use to track the performance of the team?” Using the LeanAgile Intelligence tool he co-authored, Troy walks Dave through a few options that can be used to collect data that could provide clarity on performance of an individual ScrumMaster.

For more information on LeanAgile Intelligence: https://www.leanagileintelligence.com/
You can follow Troy Lightfoot on Twitter at https://twitter.com/g4stroy
You can follow Dave Prior on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mrsungo