Simone Zecchi

For those in an #agile coaching role have a read of this shared by Bob Galen 🇺🇦 on his Substack blog. This really hit home with me. Take a look and see what think. #agilecoach #agilecoaching #AI #artificialintelligence #coaching

3

Cut through the noise & save hours of research With this map of agile resources [Broken down by competence] One of the biggest challenges I faced earlier in my career? I didn't know where to go to plan my learning It seemed like the answers were hidden in a million different blogs So I had to muddle through and pick up insights where I could Let me help you to avoid that struggle Scroll on to save yourself time [And energy!] I curated a freely accessible Miro board to make things easier Using the updated Agile coaching competency matrix shared by Jonathan Kessel-Fell and based on the work of Lyssa Adkins → I mapped 100's of resources against each competence Here's how to use it Step 1 - Baseline your current strengths → Reflect on where you are on your journey against each competence -At the beginning? Honing your craft? Or Established expertise? [Bonus] - Have a peer or manager share their perspective = 360 degree feedback + Avoid the Dunning Kruger Effect [Or imposter syndrome] Step 2 - Identify your development areas → You'll be weaker in a few areas - Note those down - Try to focus on just 1 or 2 Step 3 - Profit! Just kidding Southpark fans Actual step 3 - Find your next learning resources → Check the map to find where you'll focus next - Choose 1-3 options and take action [Another bonus] - Use this in your community of practice to aid their development too Comment "Learn" below and I'll share the link to the Miro board so that you can use it P.S - Which resources belong on this map? --------‐-‐--------------------------------------------------- Continuous Improvement begins with ourselves Join my new 2 day training focused on Continuous Improvement across teams and enterprises Only 17 seats available, DM me to learn more

378

130 Comments

There is a lovely trend emerging on LinkedIn from Agile Coaches criticising Agile Coaching, even calling it a scam or a scheme. The beautiful part of it is that the people writing the articles have changed their titles to something like 'Change Champion' or 'Transformation Specialist' or 'Elevating People' or some other absolute nonsense as if they are not part of the Agile Community because they rebranded. This will be fun for the next few months. Their history looks like this... 2018: Agile Coach 2019: Agile Coach 2020: Agile Coach and Remote Working Specialist 2021: Remote Working Specialist, Transforming Businesses 2022: 'Transforming People and Organisations' 2023: 'Transforming Organizations, Uplifting People' 2024: 'Helping Value Based Organisations and Valuing People' Even Stevie Wonder could see clearly what they are trying to do. Tech communities love self-immolation.

46

23 Comments

I love this metaphor by Mark McKergow & Helen Bailey. Facilitation vs Participation is one of the things that were very confusing for me for a long time. Should I be neutral towards the topic or should I join the conversation? In my experience, the nature of the engagement helps me to decide. Sometimes I'm hired to facilitate. I might occasionally join the group's conversation and share my knowledge - probably making it clear that I'm taking off my facilitator's hat at that moment. Sometimes I'm hired to host. I co-participate in the conversations. I step forward - also to serve others. I step back - to make space and encourage others to move forward.

12

5 Comments

A few of you may have seen the inaugural #PizzaandPostits happened earlier this week at the awesome Jet Age Museum in #Gloucester. It was an awesome evening with three lightning talks from Matt Spruce - Agile Coach, Wayne Smallman, and myself. The talks from Matt (feedback loops) & Wayne (accountability) were both powerful and though provoking that landed really well with the group by leveraging real world situations and how these topics influence products and teams. Keep an eye out for the next event. Hopefully we can get this in the dairy soon! Here is a short clip of my session which was based on the power of Radical Candor®. This exact piece is demonstrating obnoxious aggression. Take a look and see what you think? Is #radicalcandor something that you are familiar with? If not I can highly recommend the book from Kim Scott or taking a look at her organisation as there are some great resources there to grow your capability with this subject. #meetup #agile #feedback #accountability #businessagility

16

1 Comment

It is well worth a watch to learn more about how coaching and Kanban are the perfect combination with the fabulous Helen Meek

10

1 Comment

Are you CLEAR on what's important in your agile evolution with Giles Lindsay (FIAP FBCS FCMI)

10

2 Comments

One of the parts of working with agile that I love the most but often gets overlooked in favour of clinging to frameworks and processes is how human centred the world of agile thinking is. One of the best places to bring this to life is in retrospective meetings. Back when I was a scrum master the retro was one of my favourite parts of the sprint because it was an opportunity to pause with my team and check in not just on the work progress but also on how they were doing emotionally and mentally. One of my most successful retrospectives actually came during a time of crisis during the COVID pandemic. The same week our retro was due it had been announced that everyone would now be working from home. The news had created an air of unease at our stand ups so I decided to use the time booked for our retro to check in around that. The call opened and I announced that today rather than looking at completed story points, progress towards sprint goal we were instead going to focus on and answer the following question: How are you all feeling about the current situation? From there we talked about the worries and what we could do as a team to help with them. A team that had started the session nervous and uneasy, ended it feeling brighter and more in control. Had I stuck to the framework we'd have discussed their sprint metrics and then addressed work adjustments for the next sprint. But here is a confession I never overly cared about the process side, I fell in love with agile working because I saw its potential to help the humans in teams collaborate, share and most of all be vulnerable with each other in the spirit of working together to be better. It's this that has kept me wanting to continue to bring some agile magic in my solo work as an agile coach with the added spice of some mindfulness practice brought in to help teams take a deeper more meaningful look at where they are and most importantly where they'd like to get to. If you'd like to explore the idea of this kind of connection with your own team, drop me a message. I've got great retrospective plans that will work for a multitude of teams and I'm ready to facilitate those discussions for you by creating a safe space for open discussion and an invitation to grow. If that sounds like a bit of you, drop me a message

2

A lot of talk about the death of the Agile role. There is some data to suggest it's definitely waning. From IT Jobs Watch in the UK Agile Coaching is down 9.8% across the sector for permanent roles in the last 6 months Agile Coaching is down 24%-28% across the sector for contract roles in the last 6 months But Agile Delivery Lead is up 2% Junior IT Project Manager is up 73% Other project management roles are similar I would suggest we are not seeing the death of Agile, we are seeing a pivot to a hybrid model of spiral / waterfall / agile project management. Just kind of getting things done with a bit more governance/assurance. Agile is still a listed requirement in 17% of all IT jobs across the industry. All hail the well-rounded delivery person of which Agile is just a set of values. Interestingly Six Sigma is up 120% . .

110

33 Comments

How to measure psychological safety? We know it's important for team performance, agility and innovation – but how can we measure psychological safety? I wrote about it in the Agile Compass: https://lnkd.in/eM_8SEAN #psychologicalsafety #agile #teams #leadership #metrics

1

1 Comment

🎙From Scrum Master to Systems Thinker a Deep Dive🎙 Ever wondered how systems thinking, psychological safety, and queuing theory connect to agile success? In this podcast, Venkatesh Krishnamurthy takes us through his journey from early experiences with Scrum to working with agile luminary Craig Larman. Discover the experiments that shaped the Large Scale Scrum (LeSS) framework, why leadership buy-in is essential, and how psychological safety transforms teams. If you're curious about the evolving role of Scrum Masters and whether "agile is dead," this episode is a must-listen!  🔊View now for deep insights, practical takeaways, and inspiring stories. Link in comments 👇

17

2 Comments

As the Head of PMO, one of the most challenging yet crucial aspects of driving success is influencing and changing mindsets. Regardless of whether your organization adopts Agile, Waterfall, or any other framework, these methodologies exist to simplify our work and help achieve goals. However, if they are not implemented correctly, they can quickly become obstacles. To navigate this, it's essential to start by understanding your organization's culture and existing ways of working. Rather than imposing a framework you believe is ideal, take the time to conduct thorough due diligence. Engage with your team and leadership to gain a clear understanding of their objectives, priorities, and pain points. Based on this insight, tailor a framework that aligns with the organization's goals and environment. Remember, the objective is not to force change but to adapt a structure that complements the existing ecosystem. Once the framework is in place, focus on continuous improvement. Gather regular feedback on what is working and what is not, and refine the approach iteratively. This adaptive mindset ensures the framework evolves to meet the organization's needs, fostering buy-in and long-term success.

38

3 Comments

Context is key - insightful presentation by Nigel Thurlow 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇬🇧 and Dave Snowden - and an official introduction to Hexis https://lnkd.in/ebFbDeHY #lean #agile #leansixsigma #transformation #boundedapplicability #theflowsystem

12

1 Comment

Some harsh truths about Agile Coaching And how to be a GREAT one This topic is so hot right now. In my 12 years in the agile space ↳ Here are just a few of my learnings Trust me → I've fucked up with these too Agile Coaching isn't: ❌ Having all the answers to every problem [Or being the hero] ❌ Enforcing strict adherence to a specific framework [Like a list of commandments] ❌ Obsessing over tools & methodologies [Or even events & ceremonies] ❌Only asking questions rather than getting stuck in [Another Powerful Question anyone?] Do those? → You'll probably be moving further from Agile [And piss people off in the process] Instead, it's about: ✅ Helping people to discover their agile [That fits their context & goals] ✅ Fostering a culture of continuous improvement [It doesn't matter the industry, we all seek to improve] ✅ Listening more than speaking [Understanding concerns & providing guidance when needed] ✅Encouraging experimentation & embracing failure [Don't fail fast → learn fast] ✅Leading by example & being the first to change [This will break down resistance!] ✅Turning impediments into opportunities for growth Remove → Don't just manage dependencies] ✅ Using feedback loops to drive progress [Shorter loops = Able to alter your trajectory] ✅ Systemically reducing the dependency a company has upon you [Making yourself redundant = success] ✅ Facilitating conversations that lead to actionable insights ["When all is said and done, more is said than done"] ✅Creating a safe space where people challenge one another [Conflict is healthy & breeds innovation] Want to shift your perspective? Get started with these questions: 1. Why do we want to be Agile? 2. What outcomes are we seeking? 3. What challenges are we facing now? 4. How are we continuously improving? 5. What data tells us we're getting better? 6. What's holding us back? 7. What does success look like for us? 8. How can we measure if we're on track? 9. Are we measuring the right things & do they truly matter? 10. What feedback loops can we improve to be more responsive? 11What bureaucracy can we {remove} rather than add? 12. What do our people say about our ways of working? 13. How can we involve them more in co-creating change? 13. How are we celebrating both success AND learning from mistakes? Oh and: 14. What tools might ENABLE our individuals and their interactions? Despite what many might say about Agile ↳ It isn't dead [It has succeeded] ↳ It isn't easy [Not a panacea for all problems] Don't forget. The customers of agile ways of working are the employees [Who have experienced multiple attempts at 'transforming' their ways of working already!] Involve Co-create Invite Don't inflict change P.S - What makes a GREAT agile coach? P.P.S - Want to gain a toolbox you can use immediately to bring about improvement at scale? My next Continuous Improvement Practitioner course starts tomorrow https://lnkd.in/eVrtVwJd

1,116

64 Comments

This is the final part of a series of four long-form, transcribed conversations that I had with Sam Z. about his meta-framework Aqua. This one was a lot of fun 😀 (and possibly my favourite). The theme is around organisational change and Agile transformations. We discuss: the Three-Act structure and storytelling, the Compromiser’s Pyramid (Sam's layered approach to change), developmental stage models (teal organisations), John Kotter’s dual operating system, and the Kübler-Ross model as experienced by Homer Simpson. Link to article in comments #change #transformations #agile #agiletransformations #changemanagement #williambridges #kublerross #reinventingorganizations #homersimpson #aquametaframework

10

4 Comments

New on the blog, I wrote about how overemphasizing Agile practices makes it easy to lose sight of their purpose and our goals. For example: - Retrospective meetings aren't important, but continuous improvement is. - Stand-ups aren't important, but team collaboration is. - Sprints aren't important, but frequently completing releasable work is. - Scrum Masters aren't important, but coaching teams to be self-managing is. Question what each practice is trying to achieve and what problem they're trying to solve. Focus on your goals and the behaviours you're trying to encourage, or you'll trap yourself in implementing practices that don't solve the problems that matter in improving the agility of your teams and organization. https://lnkd.in/gZPtRJYm #agile

11

2 Comments

Are you going to Agile Cambridge this year? Agile on the Bench is back again at Agile Cambridge, and we’re looking for speakers to do short talks. Agile on the Bench is a friendly, low-fi, lunchtime outdoor meetup hosted by Cara Bermingham and me. It happens outside, with no stage, no slides and no tech (props are allowed). We are looking for 10min fun talks with insights about people, teams, users or getting things done. Past topics include: How training my reactive dog has made me better at my job, constellating Agile Cambridge, what carpentry can teach you about pairing and what learning to knit reminded me about learning. If you already have a conference ticket, you're not already a speaker and would like to pitch a talk or chat about options; please get in touch with Cara Bermingham or tag her in your comment.

40

3 Comments

🛠️ Tune in to the @scrumpodcast and hear Tom and Jeremy discuss how mastering work intake can help your team stay focused and productive. Essential listening for agile practitioners! 🎙️ https://lnkd.in/dpQW5RtC #agile #lean #productowner #kanban #lean #leadership @scrumpodcast

1