Danielle Braun Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Danielle Braun: Vision, Strategy, Collaboration, The Art of a Remarkable Product Owner

The Great Product Owner: Vision, Strategy, Collaboration, The Art of a Remarkable Product Owner

In this episode, the spotlight is on an exceptional Product Owner known for inspiration and skill. With a crystal-clear product vision and a strategic approach, she collaborated closely with the team to refine requirements. Their prowess extended beyond internal teamwork, as they maintained strong connections with customers and stakeholders. Employing the MoSCoW method for prioritization, she empowered the team to discern not only what to work on but also what to omit. A key takeaway is the emphasis on “maximizing the work not done,” demonstrating how a focused approach to prioritization can drive efficiency and success in Agile product development.

The Bad Product Owner: From Micro-Management to Empowerment, A Tale of PO Transformation

In this episode, Danielle tells the story of a new Product Owner (PO) who struggled to transition from project management to the PO role. Initially they took a micro-managing and instructive approach, and the team’s efficiency suffered, leading to frustration. Danielle intervened by providing constructive feedback using Nonviolent Communication (NVC) techniques. A candid question about the team’s feelings prompted the PO to realize his negative impact. Acknowledging their mistake, the PO adjusted their behavior, reestablishing team motivation. A key lesson emerged: allowing patterns to develop before intervention and fostering open dialogue can lead to positive change. Ultimately, collaboration between the PO and team led to improved dynamics and shared responsibility.

The Ultimate Guide to Supporting Product Owners as a Scrum Master

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 Danielle Braun

Danielle is a Scrum Master and systemic coach. She strongly believes in the power of teams and that we carry the solution to all challenges within us.

You can link with Danielle Braun on LinkedIn

Danielle Braun: The Art of Active Listening, A Scrum Master’s Success Strategy

In this episode, Danielle emphasizes her approach as a Scrum Master to keenly listen and observe. Key points include assessing team autonomy, understanding and embodiment of Agile principles, delivery of results, customer satisfaction, and collaboration. Challenges arise when new team members struggle with Agile adaptation, prompting her to focus on aiding their transition. By prioritizing individual integration into Agile methodologies, Danielle fosters a cohesive and effective team dynamic. Her dedication to attentive listening and targeted support underscores the role of a Scrum Master in facilitating successful Agile implementation.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The Amazon Retrospective

In this episode, Danielle describes the “Amazon Retrospective“, where the team approaches their last sprint like reviewing an Amazon product. They give titles, rate it with stars, and write replies from the seller’s perspective. This unique perspective enhances reflection and understanding of the sprint’s outcomes. However, Danielle cautions against using this approach during conflicts. Another technique, the “Marie Kondo Retrospective,” involves evaluating team processes by asking if they “spark joy.” Inspired by the decluttering philosophy, it aims to streamline and optimize processes. These inventive retrospective methods offer fresh ways to assess and improve team performance.

How can I, as a Scrum Master, supercharge my facilitation?

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 Danielle Braun

Danielle is a Scrum Master and systemic coach. She strongly believes in the power of teams and that we carry the solution to all challenges within us.

You can link with Danielle Braun on LinkedIn

Danielle Braun: Practical Strategies To Cultivate Change Acceptance

In this episode, Danielle recounts her initial Scrum project involving a transformative team seating arrangement. Despite a grand vision, initial resistance to change emerged, with the team rejecting the idea. Reflecting on the first lesson learned, the importance of their buy-in was highlighted. Employing strategies to shift perspectives, they focused on making the change appealing, visiting bustling areas to contrast with a quiet space. Key tips emerged: showcasing benefits visually, active listening to needs, and creating a receptive environment. Danielle underscores the significance of adapting to individual requirements and prioritizing customer feedback for successful change implementation.

Want to Improve Your Change Management Results? Discover the Lean Change Management Approach Today!

As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.

About Danielle Braun

Danielle is a Scrum Master and systemic coach. She strongly believes in the power of teams and that we carry the solution to all challenges within us.

You can link with Danielle Braun on LinkedIn

Danielle Braun: Unlocking Team Performance By Addressing Communication Challenges

In this episode, Danielle shares potential negative effects of insufficient communication and avoidance of conflict in teams, and how important it is to maintain openness and transparency in daily interactions. We share some tips to help you detect communication gaps through cues like facial expressions and interactions. Danielle offers practical tips for addressing this issue: observing interactions, validating assumptions through questions, changing perspectives, and seeking external observations. Danielle also emphasizes the significance of active questioning and fostering an environment of open dialogue to counteract the negative consequences of communication breakdowns.

Featured Book of the Week: Night Train to Lisbon, by Pascal Mercier

In “Night Train to Lisbon” by Pascal Mercier, a teacher grapples with significant life changes and embarks on an unexpected journey. The protagonist’s quest to learn Portuguese leads to a book about a revolutionary doctor in Portugal, igniting inspiration for a trip to Lisbon. Initially paralyzed by change, the character evolves, embracing transformation. Danielle highlights the lesson of embracing change despite its difficulty and emphasizes the importance of self-reflection, a valuable tool for Scrum Masters. The story illustrates how openness to change and introspection are essential qualities for navigating challenges.

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 Danielle Braun

Danielle is a Scrum Master and systemic coach. She strongly believes in the power of teams and that we carry the solution to all challenges within us.

You can link with Danielle Braun on LinkedIn

Danielle Braun: Agile Beyond Tech, Transforming Company Seating Arrangements with Scrum

In this episode, Danielle discusses her initial experience with applying Scrum to a non-tech project. The project aimed to reorganize company seating, involving a change process to address employee concerns. Initially met with resistance, employees feared task loss. Efforts to engage and define needs through workshops proved challenging, and the team underestimated employee buy-in effort. They adapted their change strategy, incorporating World Cafe for needs collection. Over time, improved presentation of solutions led to changed perspectives. By integrating feedback and sharing plans each sprint, trust was built. Danielle emphasizes the versatility of Scrum beyond tech, highlighting the iterative approach for complex, uncertain projects.

The inspiring story of how a failing hospital turned things around with Agile and Lean

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 Danielle Braun

Danielle is a Scrum Master and systemic coach. She strongly believes in the power of teams and that we carry the solution to all challenges within us.

You can link with Danielle Braun on LinkedIn