collaboration Archives - Page 3 of 22 - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Bram De Block: Discover how to break free from the trap of thinking you know it all and bring agile success to your team

In this podcast episode, Bram discusses the topic of thinking that one knows it all, and how this attitude can negatively impact a team’s ability to effectively implement agile methodologies. Bram notes that this mindset can lead to a lack of respect from team members and a tendency to focus solely on following the sprint guide without considering the needs of the team. To combat this, Bram suggests bringing up the sprint goal without mentioning it by name, and focusing on identifying areas where team members can work together effectively. Additionally, Bram advises using curiosity to engage team members and encourage collaboration. Listen to the episode to gain a deeper understanding of how to overcome the challenges of thinking you know it all and bring agile goodness to your team.

Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story – How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.

About Bram De Block

Bram is not an official trainer, consultant nor freelancer. He is just himself, supporting colleagues in applying and growing their own potential and getting stuff done. Bram started as a software developer for 10 years, then grew into a half-time agile coach, and finally, full-time “Global Agile Lead” at Skyline Communications. Something “special” he learned (even if he wishes it wasn’t special): the meaning and impact of “respect”.

You can link with Bram De Block on LinkedIn, or meet Bram face-to-face at this meetup he hosts in Belgium.

BONUS: Embracing Self-Awareness and Empathy in the Agile Change Process, Insights from Dustin Thostenson

In this episode, we explore Dustin’s personal experience with change during his career and share his lessons learned, and experiences with change in teams. Dustin notes that while he has found certain practices to be successful, sometimes things do not work out and this can lead to consequences like being fired. Dustin asks us to consider if our behavior could be perceived as telling others they are doing things wrong instead of being considered helpful by the team.

The Importance of Self-Awareness and Empathy in Agile Software Development

Continue reading BONUS: Embracing Self-Awareness and Empathy in the Agile Change Process, Insights from Dustin Thostenson

Pino Decandia: The Product Owner committee, a serious anti-pattern

The Great Product Owner: The perfect project, with the perfect PO

The Product Owner Pino describes was intimately familiar with the product, and the problem that needed to be solved with it. Because of this, the PO did not have to seek permission or confirmation from someone else before making decisions. The PO was empowered! Also critically, the PO was “the face” of all decisions with the client, which allowed him to protect the team from unnecessary pressure. As Pino describes it: “it was the perfect project”!

The Bad Product Owner: PO by committee, a serious anti-pattern

Instead of one Product Owner, this project had a committee of people who were assigned the overall PO role. However, in this case, the committee did not work to fulfill the PO role. The conflicting needs in that group of people led to decisions that took too long, and to the alienation of the team, who was not allowed to give input after a decision because the committee was not able to process the feedback.

Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.

About Pino Decandia

Pino started in software development but realized he was more interested in people than code. With experience, Pino came to believe that people can change; they don’t resist change but offer their own vision, which needs to be met.

Secondly, needs drive behaviors. To provide help, we must allow them to be clearly expressed. To set the example, we need to be ready to be the first to state our needs.

And thirdly, that ideological battles are meaningless.

You can link with Pino Decandia on LinkedIn.

Pino Decandia: Why do Scrum teams cancel Scrum meetings, and other reflections on success for Scrum Masters

When a Scrum Master leaves a team, and the team starts canceling all the Scrum ceremonies to “make space for work” in the calendar, that’s a critical sign that something was off with the work of the Scrum Master. In contrast, when the team takes ownership of the process, and the Scrum Master can start to step back, that’s a sign of success. In this segment, we also discuss how, sometimes, the team canceling meetings can be a good sign.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Metaphor based retrospectives unlock the fun and critical insights for Agile teams

Pino likes to work with metaphor based retrospective formats like The Speedboat Retrospective, or The Sailboat Retrospective. His favorite metaphors are around sports, and he describes how he would use a (European) football game as the format to help team members find their “place” in the team.

Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox!

About Pino Decandia

Secondly, needs drive behaviors. To provide help, we must allow them to be clearly expressed. To set the example, we need to be ready to be the first to state our needs.

And thirdly, that ideological battles are meaningless.

You can link with Pino Decandia on LinkedIn.

Pino Decandia: How company policies can destroy collaboration in Agile teams

This segment starts with a statement that we should understand and interiorize in our role as Scrum Masters, and continuous improvement experts: “Organization structures and policies are the cage we must free ourselves from in the day to day collaboration in the team.”

In this context, we discuss how the “it’s not my job” anti-pattern can cause intense conflict in a team, and how Scrum Masters can reach out to management and HR to help change this anti-pattern.

Featured Book of the Week: Nonviolent communication by Marshall Rosenberg

In Nonviolent Communication by Rosenberg, Pino found important lessons that helped him learn how to listen and think about what “they” say when talking about the problems they see and face.

In this segment, we also talk about Clean Language, a dialogue model that aims to help clients access their own inner wisdom and resources to achieve their goals.

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 Pino Decandia

Secondly, needs drive behaviors. To provide help, we must allow them to be clearly expressed. To set the example, we need to be ready to be the first to state our needs.

And thirdly, that ideological battles are meaningless.

You can link with Pino Decandia on LinkedIn.