Aria shares a common team pitfall: sacrificing trust, transparency, and courage for camaraderie. In this case, a team’s cohesion eroded as they prioritized friendliness over addressing performance issues. One underperforming developer strained the team’s efforts, despite trying to help that team member. The team’s hesitancy to confront the issue led to a painful breakdown. Aria emphasizes proactive communication and recommends ‘The Hard Thing about Hard Things’ as a resource. He underscores the importance of clear warnings and transparent discussions to salvage a struggling team.
Featured Book of the Week: Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams by DeMarco and Lister
Aria discusses the profound impact of the book “Peopleware,” which predates the modern Agile movement. He notes its timeless relevance, emphasizing its focus not only on software but also on the crucial element of ‘peopleware.’ Despite lacking current Agile terminology, the book remains remarkably insightful. Aria also references Fred Brooks’ “Mythical Man-Month” in his exploration of timeless books that have influenced the Agile movement.
Transform Your Agile Teams with Hard-Earned Lessons from Super-Experienced Scrum Masters
Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches – Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!
About Aria Omidvar
Aria has 4+ years of experience serving as Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Agile Coach (CSM, A-CSM, CSPO) from single teams to multiple teams and the whole software organization. He’s a Software Engineer turned Software Developer turned Peopleware Developer and Agilist.
You can link with Aria Omidvar on LinkedIn and connect with Aria Omidvar on Twitter.
