Assorted Agile Questions with Michael Guiler

Agile Coaches' Corner

This week, Dan Neumann welcomes his colleague Michael Guiler to today’s episode.

In this episode, they will be answering questions regarding several Agile topics, such as leadership, effective communication, Team readiness, best practices, motivation, and transparency, among others. Join this fun and insightful conversation with Dan and Mike!

Key Takeaways

• What is a good-to-go technique to help leadership transition from being tactical to being more servant leaders?
• • Enable people who are closer to the work to make decisions in their field.
  • Ask questions instead of giving directions.
  • Rewire the communication path to be more practical and direct rather than following a hierarchy where there are chances of getting “lost in translation.”
• What does a Team that is ready look like?
• • A Team that is ready is open to a conversation, they have an Agile Mindset where they know they need help, and they are open to discussing it.
  • An Agile Mindset is keeping the curiosity high at all times and the readiness to run an experiment.
• What are best practices for?
• • Best practices are just resources but certainly not “the way” of doing things correctly.
  • Best practices are ways that have been used successfully in the past, and when used again they are not assuring their efficacy; a Team needs to test them to see if they apply to that particular situation.
• What does it take to help leadership transitioning to the model of motivation that Daniel H. Pink proposes in his book Drive?
• • Daniel H. Pink proposes three pillars for motivation: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. He also addresses the distractions to motivation that organizations can fall into.
  • Know your purpose at all times.
• Is there such a thing as “too much transparency”?
• • There is no such thing as too much transparency; be open, get to know the people, share, and then you can moderate.
  • Make sure that you are sharing information with people who can handle it.

Mentioned in this Episode:

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel H. Pink

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