Dave Smith Archives - Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast

Dave Smith: The Culture Clash, Ownership vs. Approval, a Key Difference That Affects PO’s

The Great Product Owner: Openness and Decision-Making, Critical PO skills

A great Product Owner embodies availability, openness to change, and a genuine interest in the product’s success. How does a great PO foster innovation and take decisive action for the betterment of the product? Listen to this episode, to learn from this exemplary PO.

The Bad Product Owner: The Culture Clash, Ownership vs. Approval, a Key Difference That Affects PO’s

In this episode, we talk about a Product owner that lacked ownership. We explore how we can prepare those PO’s and use coaching as a method to help them succeed despite the initial lack of ownership. We also discuss a culture that undermines ownership can stifle innovation and growth. What are the underlying causes of Product Owner anti-patterns, and how can they be addressed? Listen to find out.

About Dave Smith

Dave, has over 20 years in training and consulting, having taught Scrum he continues to be active in the agile community, mentoring and helping others who are joining the agile community.

You can link with Dave Smith on LinkedIn.

Dave Smith: The Nanny McPhee Approach in Fostering Scrum Team Independence

In this episode, we discuss the Nanny McPhee approach to Scrum Mastery, where the ultimate goal is for teams to become independent and capable. Dave challenges the notion of necessity versus want in the context of a Scrum Master’s presence. And we explore how to foster independence in Scrum teams.

Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: 6 Thinking Hats

Dave shares his preference for the 6 Thinking Hats format to structure discussions during retrospectives, emphasizing the shift from problems to solutions. In this discussion we explore bringing in different perspectives to enhance the process improvement journey.

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 Dave Smith

Dave, has over 20 years in training and consulting, having taught Scrum he continues to be active in the agile community, mentoring and helping others who are joining the agile community.

You can link with Dave Smith on LinkedIn.

Dave Smith: Democratizing Leadership, Cultivating a Culture of Openness and Improvement in Open Source Agile Teams

“Leadership is not about titles, it’s about action.” Dave’s story on change leadership dismantles the myth of hierarchical leadership, advocating for a culture where anyone can step up. By introducing version control in a volunteer group riddled with anti-patterns, Dave demonstrates how leading by example and involving stakeholders in change processes can foster a positive approach to code quality and project management. Learn how creating psychological safety and inviting feedback can turn the most ardent resisters into advocates for change.

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 Dave Smith

Dave, has over 20 years in training and consulting, having taught Scrum he continues to be active in the agile community, mentoring and helping others who are joining the agile community.

You can link with Dave Smith on LinkedIn.

Dave Smith: Agile Adoption, How To Break Through Scrum Skepticism

In this episode, Dave talks about the importance of team-designed processes and shares a story from a local government group in the UK. Facing skepticism and pessimism within the team, Dave illustrates the transformative power of looking for the positive impacts of change, and Agile methodologies. Dave shares how embracing Scrum from all levels can lead to significant organizational change and why questioning what holds you back could be the key to your team’s success.

Featured Book of the Week: Essential Scrum by Kenneth S. Rubin

Dave recommends “Essential Scrum” by Kenneth S. Rubin, a treasure trove of learning and anecdotes that will enrich your understanding of Scrum. Dave shares some of the book’s insights on the importance of team-designed processes

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 Dave Smith

Dave, has over 20 years in training and consulting, having taught Scrum he continues to be active in the agile community, mentoring and helping others who are joining the agile community.

You can link with Dave Smith on LinkedIn.

Dave Smith: The Power of Ownership, Transforming Mistakes into Growth Opportunities As An Agile Leader

In this episode, Dave shares a compelling story that shines a light on the transformative power of ownership and learning from mistakes. He talks about a moment of oversight that led to a customer refund, highlighting the critical role of leadership in fostering a learning environment over assigning blame. This experience catalyzed a pivotal shift in his understanding of leadership and process improvement, underscoring the importance of scrum masters in creating a safe space for owning up to mistakes. Dive into Dave’s journey to discover how embracing failure can be a stepping stone to success and innovation.

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 Dave Smith

Dave, has over 20 years in training and consulting, having taught Scrum he continues to be active in the agile community, mentoring and helping others who are joining the agile community.

You can link with Dave Smith on LinkedIn.