Sean Robertson

Check out my new Skill Badge from Scaled Agile Inc! Through this SAFe® Skill I am able to demonstrate methods for coaching teams, identify practices for team collaboration, and model trust-building behaviors with stakeholders.

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Agile Coach Camp Canada - During lightening talks, I heard several people mention burnout. Not as a reference to a Neil Young song, but rather a comment on how people feel. I was struck, because I went through burnout myself nearly a year ago. I facilitated a session on Burnout in the dreaded 4pm session on Saturday afternoon. Half of Coach Camp was already at the Kingston Brewing Company, and yet lots of people wanted to join and contribute in this session. It's a pain point that many of us can relate to. When we're burnt out, we exhibit in three dimensions: Exhaustion, Lack of Productivity and Cynicism. Cynicism is particularly insidious, because it becomes the easy way out when we lack the resources to cope. **Burnout happens when our Acute Stress + Chronic Stress exceed our Resilience. ** Acute stress is the stuff that happens in the moment. Situations that involve novelty or unpredictability. Examples: car or bike accident, giving a speech in front of a crowd. Chronic Stress is the ongoing variety. Repeated exposure to the same stressors, often made worse if we know we can't escape them. Chronic stress can come from a variety of sources: dealing with a family member's ill health; constant checking on social media; lack of money; a poor team dynamic at work, are all examples. Since we can't avoid Acute Stress, our only options are to reduce Chronic Stress and increase Resilience. More on burnout tomorrow. Hint it effects teams as well. #ACCCA2024

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Check out my new Skill Badge from Scaled Agile Inc! Through this SAFe® Skill I can understand the value of the design thinking process. I'm enabled to use the phases of the double diamond model to support building solutions that delight customers.

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Check out my new Skill Badge from Scaled Agile Inc. Through this SAFe® skill, I know the flow concepts and their importance in Value Stream optimization and have the tools to run an effective SAFe® enterprise that can minimize delays, handoffs, and rework.

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Have you ever been frustrated explaining Scaled Agile and Lean Thinking concepts to a group of people who appear to have a “deer in the headlights” look? As an Agile Coach I may be completely comfortable with Mozart and music theory, but my audience is only ready for “Mary had a little lamb”. It's crucial to meet people where they are at and guide them with bite-sized, achievable actions. Advocating for a "Crawl, Walk, Run" approach ensures that teams progress steadily without cognitive overload, moving from basics to more advanced levels like "Fur Elise" and even "Flight of the Bumblebee." As long as they practice, of course. 😁

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🚩 Agile is meant to help teams work better together, adapt to change, and deliver value faster. But sometimes, in the push to "be Agile," we end up missing the point. Here are some red flags to watch out for that signal when Agile is becoming more about checking boxes than truly empowering teams: 📌 Using Story Points to Compare Teams Story points are for estimating, not measuring team performance. If they're being used to rank teams, it's time to rethink how we're tracking progress. 📌 Skipping Retrospectives "We don't have time for a retro" often means we're missing out on learning and improvement. Retros are crucial – they help us learn what's working, what's not, and how we can improve as a team. 📌 Calling People "Resources" Words matter. Referring to team members as "resources" can make the work feel impersonal and mechanical. Agile works best when we put people first. 📌 Leaving Technical Debt Out of Scope If we're constantly pushing tech debt to "some other time," it's going to catch up with us. Tackling it head-on is what keeps the product strong and sustainable. 📌 "Everything is a Priority" When everything's a priority, nothing truly is. Prioritization is key to making real progress and helping the team focus on what matters most. 📌 Rigidly Following Agile Agile isn't one-size-fits-all, and it's not about rigid rules. Every team is different, and Agile should be adapted to fit the team – not the other way around. 📌 Piling Up Backlogs and Roadmaps If there are 36 backlogs and year-long roadmaps, we might be missing the point. Agile is about flexibility and responding to change, not being weighed down by endless plans. Keep an eye out for these red flags so your teams stay true to Agile principles and work in ways that actually help them grow and succeed. Agile is about people, growth, and adaptability – let's make sure we don't lose sight of that. 📸 Image credit: 🪓🎯 Chris Stone 🎯🪓 (Virtually Agile) #AgileTeams #AgileTransformation #ProjectManagement #ContinuousImprovement

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One of the best parts of being an agile coach for me is helping people start out on their journey in learning to channel a more agile mindset. Once I start talking about the magic I see in agile ways of working, something lights up in me that then spreads to the teams I'm working with. Check out these reactions to my Intro to an agile mindset presentation and if they make you a bit more agile curious, get in touch.

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For years, I’ve been teaching my teams a different story mapping technique that goes beyond the standard approach you’ll typically find online. This method enables teams to pierce through the end-to-end customer journey and deliver customer value early. Unlike the classic Story Map, my approach focuses on the scenarios found in user journeys, rather than individual process steps. This leads to a story map that seamlessly translates into a structure of Features, Epics, and Stories, each focused on delivering meaningful functionality to the customer. Additionally, it makes it easier to identify MVPs and account for forks and deviations from the happy path, ensuring all use cases are captured within a single map. My experience finally crystallized in the following article that compares both the approaches and provides a good illustration of how my approach is different. #agile #product #storymapping

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Facilitation that works can feel like magic, but it’s all in the craft. When done well, facilitation turns complex discussions into actionable outcomes, aligns teams swiftly, and delivers a real return on time invested. In my Certified Agile Facilitator course starting on October 25, we’ll go beyond cheap tricks and spells; focusing on proven techniques to lead effective, engaging sessions. Whether you're guiding Agile teams, leading team events, or facilitating strategic workshops, this course will equip you to make every meeting count. Don’t leave facilitation to chance - register your place today and master the craft. (check out the featured link on my profile or head to the BeLiminal website) #Facilitation #AgileCoach #ScrumMaster #ProductOwner #WorkshopSkills #Agile

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