The Agile Coach Podcast

Landing your dream job straight out of school sounds great, but there's a big hurdle to cross first: the interview. It's not just a quiz about what you know; it's more about how you're ready to grow and handle challenges. Confidence plays a big role here, but let's face it, interviews can be nerve-wracking. The key is to build up your interview confidence like you would a muscle, with the right approach and mindset. In this episode, we get into the nitty-gritty of job interviews with Neha, who's been through the wringer and come out on top. She's now a product manager and has some great insights on how to handle interviews, from the first handshake to the final questions. Neha's journey is pretty inspiring—starting off in business analytics, moving into the health tech industry, and now making waves at a company called Tree, where she's shaking up the influencer marketing world.

In this episode of The Agile Coach, host Vivek is joined back again with Adam Miner, an experienced Agile Coach with a background as a Scrum Master, to share his journey of breaking into his first Scrum Master role and transitioning into an Agile Coach role. He emphasizes the importance of personal growth and development outside of the nine-to-five job to set oneself apart in interviews. Adam also highlights the significance of understanding the company culture and team dynamics during the interview process. He advises candidates to focus on showcasing their unique experiences and perspectives to stand out from other candidates.HIGHLIGHT QUOTES"If you can speak to personal growth outside of your nine-to-five in leadership, communications, discipline, success habits, you will probably set yourself apart from eight or nine out of ten other candidates in the process.""It's very much about what you are saying that another candidate is not saying.""You do not need a degree to succeed in corporate or agile. You don't have to have a technical background."Get to know Adam and what she's up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-miner-77793129/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:Vivek's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/

In this episode of The Agile Coach, host Vivek is joined back again by Adam Miner, an experienced Agile Coach with a background as a Scrum Master. He has worked in various roles in the Agile space, including coaching and mentoring teams in Agile practices. Adam has a deep understanding of the Agile mindset and values and is skilled in facilitating change and driving organizational agility.Adam shares his experience transitioning from a Scrum Master role to an Agile Coach role. He emphasizes the importance of developing the skill of influencing people through organic trust and respect. Adam believes that the ability to influence is crucial for both Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches. He also highlights the value of understanding the Agile mindset and principles, rather than focusing solely on specific frameworks or certifications. Adam discusses the challenges of working with leadership and management teams, particularly in overcoming resistance to change. He emphasizes the need for Agile Coaches to balance their knowledge of Agile practices with strong interpersonal and leadership skills. Adam encourages new Agilists to be opportunistic and step out of their comfort zones to gain experience. He also advises seeking guidance from experienced professionals in the desired role.HIGHLIGHT QUOTES"The most effective skill in an Agile environment is the ability to influence people through organic trust and respect.""If you understand the mindset of agility and take the values and principles to heart, you can apply them to any process or situation.""It's difficult to convince leadership that changing the way they think is necessary to achieve different results.""The best coaches have a delicate balance of training and coaching, combining Agile knowledge with strong interpersonal skills.""The goal for any coach should be to scale Agile leadership and create self-organizing teams."Get to know Adam and what he's up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-miner-77793129/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:Vivek's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek is joined by Abbie DeMartino, a development manager at Meijer, to share her journey from a sports coaching background to becoming a scrum master and eventually a development manager. She discusses the transferable skills she gained from her previous roles and how she applied them in the tech world. Abbie emphasizes the importance of being competitive, continuously learning, and building relationships with team members. She also provides insights into the challenges and rewards of her current role, including the need to keep up with ever-changing technology and the satisfaction of driving change and coaching others.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESWhat is it like being a scrum master and product owner - Abbie: “I think the scrum master and the product owner roles are tough. Like they're, it's a unique personality that you need. You need someone who's driven. You need someone who can handle conflict. You need someone who's able to have difficult conversations”Scrum Master vs. Leadership Role - Abbie: “As a scrum master, I always felt like I could see pain points at the team level and I didn't have any power to do anything about it per se. Now being in a leadership role, I think I can drive change here. What's impacted my team? And I don't know what other word to say besides authority, but I don't mean authority but the ability to implement some of that change has been really exciting and just seeing wins in my team, right? So they're getting out a big body of work to production that they've spent, you know, multiple sprints on and to see it through and celebrate that with them.”Get to know Abbie and what she's up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbie-gortsema123/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:Vivek's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek is joined by Laurin Lukas Stahl, Head of Product at Trality, to discuss the world of product management, exploring its definition, differences from project management, and its essential role in the product development process. Laurin, a guest on the show, shares valuable insights into the skills, mindset, and structured thinking needed to become an effective product manager. The conversation also touches on the potential of AI tools like Chat GPT in assisting product managers with tasks such as generating frameworks, facilitating communication, and accelerating product development. Vivek and Laurin emphasize the importance of continuous learning and provide resources for further exploration. HIGHLIGHT QUOTESProduct Management: Delivering Products and Building Solutions - Laurin Lukas Stahl: “Product management is the idea that there is a central person within a product squad embedded in the overall idea of what the product needs, whose responsibility is finally to deliver the product, to shepherd it throughout each and every stage.”Product vs. Project Management: Understanding the Difference - Laurin Lukas Stahl: “The main difference is that projects have defined scopes or timelines, whereas products aim to continuously deliver value to users and strive for improvement.”Structured Thinking: Unlocking Effective Product Management - Laurin Lukas Stahl: “Structured thinking involves approaching problems with a clear process, using frameworks specific to the problem at hand, and communicating ideas effectively.” Get to know Laurin and what he's up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurin-stahl/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:VIvek's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek is joined by Jonaed Iqbal, the CEO and Founder of NoDegree.com. Jonaed talks about social media, branding, and helping people pursue roles even without a college degree.He walks us through the No Degree platform and how he creates content and interacts with people without degrees and helping them take the roles that best fit them. He shares key insights on constant learning especially when you don't have the "advantage" of having a degree.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESYou can learn so much by being proactive - Jonaed: "You've got a degree? Ten years later and new technology comes out, what are you going to do? Lean in on your degree? No, you have to get involved. Things are always changing so immerse yourself."Understand the role of recruiters - Jonaed: "The recruiter's job is not to help you out, their job is to help their clients fill roles. If you are their target market and they have a job for you, they'll be helpful. If not they will not be. This is a misconception people have because, the fact is, they're busy and they have their quota so you have to make it easy for them."Get to know Jonaed and what he's up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonaed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoDegreeDotComConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek is joined by Priyanka Gyawali, the Chief Technology Officer at Belong Technology. Priyanka digs into her journey in tech from software engineer to CTO and the immense value of upskilling to get there.She shares her thoughts on what makes a good product owner/manager and the changes ChatGPT is ushering in the way we process work for the better. For agile, Priyanka also champions giving people space to be creative to bring their ideas to reality.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESChanging and overlapping roles after going agile - Priyanka: "Things have changed like the number of roles in a project have changed. Previously it was the developer doing the designing as well, doing the QA, doing the BA, and then there was like a product owner. But like over time when things are more agile now, we have several roles, like people wear different hats, especially in my experience in the startup world."Leaders should take the lead on implementing innovation - Priyanka: "Someone being a leader, they might not think about the things that are in the market, but then a developer who has hands-on experience and who might have already done that in another project, we can utilize their skill on that. So I guess it's about giving space to people in the team."Get to know Priyanka and what she's up to:LinkedInConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek is joined by Joe Ziadeh, Chief Story Teller and Innovation Artist at Balanced Agility. They play around with ChatGPT to test if it can think and act like a scrum master in realistic situations.Vivek and Joe run a few prompts and are definitely impressed by some of the answers. Although some are a bit drawn out, the AI has produced impressive results throughout the session.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESHow does ChatGPT produce specific answers? - Joe: "After this is done, I want to try and give it something more generic. Because I feel like it could've picked this up off the web. But if it's coming up with these things, I am in shock."Get to know Joe and what he's up to:About JoeAbout Balanced AgilityBalanced Academy  WebsiteConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Welcome to another episode and today, Vivek welcomes Rye Hawley, a Scrum Master at Net Health. They discuss Rye's current role, his transition to tech, and his advice for his past and current self. Rye emphasizes the importance of continuous learning, identifying and resolving impediments, and striving for excellence in personal and professional growth. Learn more about Rye and his work in this latest episode of The Agile Coach.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESAcing an interview with less experience - Rye: “I'd recommend when people are in this interviewing stage, is really focusing on what you're bringing to a company, but also like how you're adding value to them, and also you have to think like the company's in a position where they need someone to fill this gap that they have, and so what can you bring to the table, focusing on the specifics there, I think that's what really helped and leveraged by success in interviews.”Defining what is an impediment - Rye: “Impediments can come in the form of many things, especially in this day and age, I think we'll just talk about my teams and what impediments look like it could be anything from a failed server, or a database or some technical blockage that our developers experiencing. So that could simply mean connecting that individual with a subject matter expert that can help troubleshoot it. That could be an example of an impediment.”Get to know Rye and Net Health:LinkedInNet HealthConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek sits down with Haley Prestwood, Scrum Master at Kroger Technology & Digital. Haley talks about her early experience in Agile and her transition from planning to go to law school to becoming a scrum master today.She shares her insights on how to reaffirm yourself and excel in your role even if you don't initially have any background in IT or software development. She highlights the importance of learning and continuing to grow and how essential this can be in the Agile environment.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESDon't be afraid to ask questions - Haley: "Don't be afraid to ask questions and get off mute in meetings. When I first started in my first role, I was so scared to come off mute and ask questions but that's really how you're going to improve and grow."Lean on the Agile coach community - Haley: "That has been so supportive for me is just staying connected. I've been in IT for 3 years now but I still stay in touch with so many people in the program and that's been very beneficial and helps me continuously grow my knowledge and improve."Get to know Haley and check out the book she recommended:LinkedInHow to do the WorkConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek sits down with Joe Justice, CEO of WIKISPEED and Chairman of the Agile Business Institute. Joe talks about all that he has learned about innovation and how it relates to Agile after working with Elon Musk.He gives us an inside look at a few processes at the Musk companies and the processes they implement for cost reduction and innovation. Joe shares his insights on scrum and how effectively it helps in calling different roleplayers to collaborate and work seamlessly all throughout.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESWhat is Agility? - Joe: "Agility is making change cheaper in time, money, and emotional willpower like making it less draining and even more fun. That is the game. How Elon says, it is "Pace of innovation is the only thing that matters in the long run." And that's working really well for Elon from a business perspective. Agility is that."Agile is to reduce the cost to make a change - Joe: "Change is expensive in a traditional mindset and then disruption increases the cost of your existing plan. If you're able to respond quickly to change, then change is a cost-advantage to you."Get to know Joe and what he's up to:LinkedInTwitterAbout WIKISPEEDConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

This episode of The Agile Coach is the second part of our conversation with Mikaylah McCarty, Scrum Master at Universal Parks & Resorts. She shares the best practices when building the resume, improving LinkedIn, and other aspects to focus on when interviewing or applying for an Agile role.Mikaylah talks about the importance of starting the role right and adopting the right mindset once you start doing what's needed from you. She also highlights the need to continue learning and that you are never confined to just one role as a scrum master.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESUnderstand your story so you don't have to lie - Mikaylah: "You can embellish, you can make something sound bigger, but never lie on your resume because that's cheap. A true scrum master when you're interviewing can see straight through that. I'd know you don't know what you're talking about."Show up with your best self every day - Mikaylah: "There are thousands of people who want to take my job at Universal and I remind myself that every single day. I am replaceable and I think that is the biggest mentality to note and that stems to everything."Get to know Mikaylah and what she's up to:LinkedInConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

The Agile Coach with Vivek and Pabitra sits down with Mikaylah McCarty, Scrum Master at Universal Parks & Resorts. Scrum Masters lead cross-functional and agile teams. They provide the how to the what and deliver realistic outcomes quickly to customers.She shares her journey to becoming a Scrum Master and how to capitalize on networking opportunities. Mikaylah advises aspiring Scrum Masters to seek out a mentor to guide them and to double down on the skill of communication as creating a safe space but also commanding the room is the role of a Scrum Master. HIGHLIGHT QUOTESScrum Masters provide the HOW to the WHAT - Mikaylah: "A Scrum Master's role is to then take whatever they're prioritizing and say, how are we going to get it done? Product owner is the what in the team. The Scrum Masters are the how, that's the value that we provide to the team is okay, they're saying we got to get this done. We have the team members ready to do the work. The scrum master will then say, this is how it's going to work."Lead from the front and add skills to your tool belt - Mikaylah: "Get down there with your team. If you don't know it, learn it. If all you can do is sit there, sit next to them and rub their back and give them a donut, like do that. Supporting your team. Never saying, it's not my job. Never say you can't do it, and gaining as many skills in your tool belt as you can." Get to know Mikaylah and what she's up to:LinkedInConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach Podcast, Vivek talks with Angela Johnson, Chief Change Officer & Certified Scrum Trainer at Collaborative Leadership Team and author of The Scrum Master Files. She talks about working with leadership as an Agile coach and working through resistance Agile transformation in organizations.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESYou have to have a handle on what you're trying to measure  - Angela: "People will say things like, 'we have to go faster' or 'we can't keep up with the competition.' But all of those reasons I firmly believe that they're sincere, they're just not measurable."It's okay to assume some leaders don't have clarity - Angela: "Even leaders who think they have a clear vision of where they're going, they may be assuming that people are doing what they think is the top goal but that's not necessarily the case until they follow up or verify." Get to know Angela and check out her book:About AngelaThe Scrum Master FilesConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach Podcast, Vivek talks with Angela Johnson, Chief Change Officer & Certified Scrum Trainer at Collaborative Leadership Team and author of The Scrum Master Files. She talks about the necessary people skills that scrum masters need and how to handle conflict effectively as a scrum master.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESDon't shy away from conflict as a scrum master - Angela: "Sometimes when people are just misunderstanding each other or communication is breaking down, a scrum master has got to get in there sometimes with their black and white stripes and their whistle almost like a referee but oftentimes it's just to help."How to provide better feedback - Angela: "Instead of making it about you and telling them what they're doing wrong, why don't you invite their participation? Why don't you get them to come up with the answer?" Get to know Angela and check out her book:About AngelaThe Scrum Master FilesConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach Podcast, Vivek talks with Pabitra about how she got into Agile, the transition from her first job to where she's now today, and if she would have changed her Agile Career today. They share about the different changes in the space and the overall process of starting a career in Agile. HIGHLIGHT QUOTESLeading a team to become a self-empowering unit - Pabitra: "Really think about how I help them in their personal or professional growth so that they feel like they're valued at work not just what they're producing but also their feeling valued at work because somebody actually cares about their growth."There are always transferrable skills - Pabitra: "No matter what job that you have, there are a lot of the non-technical side or more of the people side of things and business side of things because, at the end of the day, you work for a business. No matter what your role is, you're helping businesses do better."Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

The Agile Coach with Vivek and Pabitra chats with Andrej Dzidic, Director of Project Management - Technical at Mastercard. He breaks down the role of people skills in the success of a product management role, as well as shares how he built trust to navigate people's expectations. Different stakeholders have different priorities, so being able to build a relationship with each of them creates less friction when actually performing your role as a product manager.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESSales skills are a good foundation for product management - Andrej: "I think sales is a great way to break into product management because you do have that people communication skills. You think about success, you think about revenue, and then you're also getting customer feedback so you are working with the product every now and then by providing input on what the customer wants. And second, with product management and product ownership, you care a lot about go-to-market strategy."Product managers need to earn trust - Andrej: "From the outside looking in, product management looks like such a cakewalk. It's not. There's a whole political landscape you have to navigate. And so, with product coming in, I knew some of the business stuff from the MBA and from previous roles I had in previous experience and I was pretty good with people so when it came to talking to people, okay, I got this in the bag. Now what I didn't realize is you have an engineering team who's like oh yeah, that's a ton of work. It's not. And so you have to decide for it and figure out what's actually true and what isn't. So you have to earn trust." Get to know Andrej and what he's up to:About AndrejConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

The Agile Coach with Vivek and Pabitra chats with Andrej Dzidic, Director of Project Management - Technical at Mastercard. He defines what product management is and how his team sets up strategies with buy-in from engineering leadership.Andrej also shares how he builds teams by performing a gap analysis and prioritizing a potential product manager's communication skills. He talks about mentoring others using prioritization strategies and clarifies that a degree is not needed to enter a product; so be aware that competition is tough but not impossible to break through.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESProduct management is about creating synchronicity - Andrej: "When I think about product management, you really don't have a successful product if you don't meet product market fit, right? So when you're thinking about it initially, you might think, okay, how quickly are we actually pushing things to the market and are we meeting that equilibrium point? But for me, what I really started to care about was predictability. So how in sync are our product managers with our business stakeholders?"Become great at the product by creating your own product - Andrej: "If you've never been a product owner or product manager, go out and build a product. Go and find someone on Fiverr who can do some light work for you that's relatively cheap. Make some wireframes, put together a backlog, and let's see you build a product. I mean, I do it in my free time, so even though I'm working in product, I'm trying to figure out how can I build something so that I can just go work because I love product management." Get to know Andrej and what he's up to:About AndrejConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

The Agile Coach takes a deep dive with Joe Ziadeh, Chief Story Teller and Innovation Artist at Balanced Agility, into his journey to becoming a certified ICE-AC agile coach. He shares the differences between mentoring and coaching, how to practice facilitation, and his own growth as a coach himself as his biggest learning experiences in this journey.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESMentors solve the problem with you, coaches help the person behind it - Joe: "As a coach, your coachee or client, however you want to call it, shows up and they say, hey, I've got a problem that I need to solve. And the coach comes in and says okay, cool. How can I help you? Not the problem. Let's talk to you and figure out what's going on in your life. How are you working on this problem? What can we do to support you so that you can solve the problem on your own."Teach the way the brain wants to learn which is through activity - Joe: "There are a lot of ways that we can learn that are more exciting, more interesting, and more effective. So then we start teaching based on the way our brains work. So gains, activity, getting people moving around, laughter, jokes, music, bright colors, interactivity. All of these things combined together create a much more effective and enjoyable learning experience." Get to know Joe and what he's up to:About JoeAbout Balanced AgilityBalanced Agility WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

The Agile Coach sits down with Joe Ziadeh, Chief Story Teller and Innovation Artist at Balanced Agility, as he shares how to approach and engage teams as an agile coach. Joe breaks down his insights when working with new teams, from entering the team with mutual respect to the very mindset that makes an agile coach effective.Joe gives tips on how to create psychological safety to encourage transparent conversation and shares some activities he does with new teams. He also discusses how he aligns with stakeholders and leadership and how key metrics are based on goals that leaders must first define. Lastly, Joe provides expert tips on hiring agile facilitators and some qualities to look for in product owners. HIGHLIGHT QUOTESCreate psychological safety by bonding with the team - Joe: "The first thing that you need to do is, as a coach, you need to connect with every person on that team. And there are going to be people who don't necessarily want to connect with you. And you have to set up one-on-ones. You have to bond with these people. You have to connect with them as human beings."Deal with leadership through expectation management - Joe: "The higher up in the organization you get, it's a question of, hey stakeholder, what is it that you want to see from this? What does this team need to do to make you happy, to be successful? In your mind, what are the things that you can see that would keep them from being successful, and how can we prevent them? And then what can we do so that in the future when the team needs help, you are in a position to help them?"Providing air cover for supporting difficult decisions - Joe: "You'll run into situations, where as a leader, your job isn't to make sure that the organization runs clockwork the way it's supposed to. The vast majority of your time is spent on when stuff goes wrong, how do I pick up the pieces and get us back to what we should be doing?"Get to know Joe and what he's up to:About JoeAbout Balanced AgilityBalanced Agility WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Today, we feature the best moments of our conversation with Richard Seroter, Director of Developer Relations and Outbound Product Management at Google Cloud. He discusses what it means to be a product owner and how to work with engineers, end users, and everyone in between.Richard shares how to exercise leadership as a product owner and work with stakeholders not as a boss but as a member of the team. He also talks about using data points to prioritize feature decisions, instilling self-governance and accountability, and promoting continuous improvement in the team.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESA product owner leads through influence - Richard: "A good product owner leads through influence. They don't have direct authority. They don't have a management staff of people. The engineers don't report to them. But you are leading often by showing that you have their back. And, for me again, that was a very underrated aspect that if you're a good product owner, the engineers think you are covering for them in a good way."Don't procrastinate and always ship at the end of each release - Richard: "I don't think you're going to have a good time if you don't force your team to ship after the end of each release, each sprint, because if you don't ship, what's really easy to do? Let's just roll it into the next one. If you have that failsafe, you're going to use it versus like nope, we ship at the end of each release."Get to know Richard and what he's up to:About RichardTwitterWebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Today, The Agile Coach looks back on our conversation with Banu Raghuraman who is now a Course Instructor with The Agile Coach and Digital Project Manager at EY. In order to lead, you need empathy, and being an emphatic leader has positive implications for how well you resonate with team members and stakeholders alike. Banu provides tips on relationship building and digs into the actual ways to communicate with stakeholders. She gives tips on influential leadership which informs how to negotiate with other people, how to open to new ways of thinking to resolve unprecedented problems, and how to be upfront about risk.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESCreate trust by following through with promises - Banu: "Trust comes from how much of what I say lines up with what I do. It's a massive input of integrity that you have to show because obviously when you're coming in and talking to a person for the first time, we can all be nice. There are plenty of internet articles out there that tell you how to make a good first impression. But after that, how much you follow through is what's important, and that sense of integrity is what people need to understand."Document when decisions are made so everyone understands the why - Banu: "If you don't understand the why behind a specific decision, then it really becomes a political game. And there are different ways of dealing with the political side of things, but if there was a rational decision that was being made and generally in product management, I've been fortunate enough not to get into the political side of things but really understand why a certain decision was made. Document that and make sure everyone understands the why."Get to know Banu and what she's up to:About BanuConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Today, we speak again with Joe Ziadeh, the Chief Story Teller and Innovation Artist at Balanced Agility. He knows how estimation is done best by pinning it relative against the size of another thing and determining if it is bigger or smaller than that. Joe also talks about story points and how to relatively size them and use the Fibonacci sequence because it is simply what worked for many people a long time ago. Get to know Joe and what he's up to:About JoeAbout Balanced AgilityBalanced Agility WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Today, we speak again with Joe Ziadeh, the Chief Story Teller and Innovation Artist at Balanced Agility. He discusses the differences between ideas and insights and how to perform a root cause analysis like the 5 Why's. This strategy reveals the insights hidden in the data and opens up possible experiments the team can perform to address the root cause of the issue.  Get to know Joe and what he's up to:About JoeAbout Balanced AgilityBalanced Agility WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Today, we feature the most impactful, thought-provoking, and actionable tips from our conversation with Joe Ziadeh, the Chief Story Teller and Innovation Artist at Balanced Agility. He shares how to facilitate team retrospectives by creating trust within the team first and using games and improv to actually brainstorm. These games can be used to overcome power plays in a team and create a space where it is safe to address problems and find solutions for them. Get to know Joe and what he's up to:About JoeAbout Balanced AgilityBalanced Agility WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

What roles does the product manager actually take in the company? Neha believes that, more than the job description, product managers play a huge role in enabling teams in overall processes even if we don't see it directly. In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek and Neha dive deep into the skills that are unnecessary and those that are important in order to become an effective product manager. AGILE HIGHLIGHTSNeha's transition from medical school to product managerCore skillsets needed in product managementThings you don't need to become a product managerYou have to be able to put things into perspective as you progressEmotional intelligence is needed to ask the right questionsConnection before correction AGILE MOMENTSOn what made Neha choose the path of product management: “Ultimately, it all came down to the impact that product managers have on decision-making within the company. You hear a lot of the time “product and CEO of the company” and I don't believe that as true. It's really that product people are enablers for their team.”Neha's on critical thinking as a core skill:“I think one skill that's also very important for a product manager is having critical thinking skills. So, really look at what the problem is at hand and work collaboratively with your teams to come up with the solution that balances need of the customer, the business, and why it's technically feasible.”Neha on how data can best back you up:“Everything that we mentioned, stakeholder management, all of that I think is basically the cherry on top if you have this to back you up which is data-driven. I think it's really important to use whatever data you have at hand to make the right decisions” Get to know Neha and what she's up to:About Neha Connect with Vivek through the links below:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach! We have a special episode for you today as we bring back some of the best moments of our amazing guest, Parth Detroja, Product Manager at Facebook and author of Swipe to Unlock.Tune in for some of the best insights and highlights in our previous interview with Parth! HIGHLIGHTSCan people become product managers without going to college?Being a product manager and the tradeoffs you should makeWhy Facebook bought a VR company “Showing that you've helped tangibly shape real products is the biggest thing that will open doors for you. Take any elite university, there are thousands of students at that same university so it's kind of hard to stand out in that regard.”-Parth on where the college degree adds value Get to know Parth and what he's up to:About Parth Connect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach Website If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Pabitra talks about assessing Agile teams in the sense of a Japanese martial arts concept which is the Su Ha Ri. She dives deep into each of the three stages, how scrum masters can work most effectively in each stage, and how you can also assess yourself and identify which stage you're in. AGILE HIGHLIGHTSExploring the stages of Su Ha RiSu is the beginning stage where the student follows one masterHa is where the student begins to branch outRi is the stage where students learn from their own practiceHow the scrum master can show up in each of these stagesAssessing yourself through the Su-Ha-Ri AGILE MOMENTSPabitra - When the team reaches the Ri stage:“This is a beautiful stage to be in and for a coach to see the team get to this stage is amazing to witness. If these are true and your team is at a Ri stage, you really need to let them go in a way.”Pabitra - Seeing the team become a high-performing team:“There are always different approaches to get the same results. So at this stage, the team can come up with their own solutions, they just need a coach to help them find different ways to achieve what they need.”Pabitra - Moving between the three stages as a scrum master:“Am I showing up as a teacher? A coach? An advisor? And that is what a true coach does is consistently evaluating and uncovering better ways of helping the team at the end of the day. Get to know Pabitra and what she's up to:About Pabitra Connect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach! We have a special episode for you today as we bring some of the best moments of our amazing guest, Diana Larsen, President and Leadership Agility Advisor at Eos House Consulting and author of Agile Retrospectives.Tune in for some of the most notable highlights and learning points in our previous interview with Diana! HIGHLIGHTSThe creation of the book Agile Retrospectives and its core pointsHow you should use gathered data for learning and generating insightHaving a shared understanding with your team and deciding what to do after thatHow long should we plan for a retrospective? “It's not about individual performance. It's about how we work together to create a system where we can make sure that people's best is good enough for what we need. ”-Diana on being able to push your team to their bestGet to know Diana and what he's up to:About DianaConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Pabitra continues the talk about identifying the anti-patterns for the different roles in a scrum team. This time, she discusses specifically about common anti-patterns of a scrum master. Tune in to find out and avoid these anti-patterns early on in your journey as a scrum master or improve if you've already been one for a long time. AGILE HIGHLIGHTSThe critical role of the scrum masterAnti-Pattern #1: Scrum master acting like a project managerAnti-Pattern #2: Being a scrum copAnti-Pattern #3: Making everything a teachable momentAnti-Pattern #4: Not prioritizing connectionAnti-Pattern #5: Being a scrum momBetter practices for a scrum master to improve AGILE MOMENTSPabitra - Believe in Agile in order to bring the necessary change:“If somebody is a scrum master or Agile practitioner, I believe that the person has to be passionate about Agile because it's so much about you uncovering yourself. ”Pabitra - On why prioritizing connection is important:“As a scrum master or change agent, when you come into an organization you have to understand that change is hard. There is a lot of fear when a lot of changes are happening in an organization.” Get to know Pabitra and what she's up to:About Pabitra Connect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach Website If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach! We have a special episode for you today as we bring some of the best moments of our amazing guest, Adam Miner, Founder of Miner Legacy Group and Agile Coach at Huntington National Bank.Tune in for some valuable nuggets of insight and information in our past two interviews with Adam! HIGHLIGHTSAdam relates the importance of communication in sports and the corporate worldMoving around impediments as a Scrum MasterBuilding relationships and forming a high-performing teamCelebrate your team's success and efforts “Number one is that I have to be the ultimate example of being transparent. Part of this is about not necessarily playing the bureaucratic, political game in organizations. My personality and style with my teams is not to be the stubborn optimist. If something is going wrong and it's on fire, I'll empathize with that and I'll say this is not a good situation to be in.”-Adam on fostering transparency in teamsGet to know Adam and what he's up to:About AdamGet to know Pabitra and what she's up to:About PabitraConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Pabitra talks about identifying the anti-patterns for the different roles in a scrum team. She dives deep into the usual anti-patterns observed for anyone in a product owner role so you can identify these and get rid of them as early as you can. Tune in to find out the common signs of these anti-patterns and the most effective solutions you can apply. AGILE HIGHLIGHTSThe primary roles of a product ownerCommon anti-patterns for the product owner roleHaving multiple decision-makers for one productNot knowing when and how to step away from your roleProduct backlogs not being readyThe better practices for a product owner AGILE MOMENTSPabitra - When product owners step into the role of a scrum master:“If they take the role too seriously and don't necessarily understand that a scrum master is not necessarily a project manager or manager for the developers, this can backfire and they mind end up being more controlling and interfering more than helping the team.”Pabitra - A solution for backlogs not being ready:“As a product owner, you always want to be thinking ahead. If the development team is working on starting user stories for whatever time box your company may have, you want to be thinking about the next sprint or iteration.” Get to know Pabitra and what she's up to:About PabitraConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

A TEAM THAT GROWS TOGETHER, STAYS TOGETHERIn this special episode of The Agile Coach, Pabitra goes solo to discuss the 5 stages of team development. As a scrum master, it is very important to be intact with your team and Pabitra is here to help you. Tune in to find out which stage is most crucial, and how you can get more ideas and feedback from your team. AGILE HIGHLIGHTSThe 5 Stages Of TeamsThe Forming StageThe Storming StageThe Norming StageThe Performing StageThe Adjourning StageAGILE MOMENTSPabitra - The most crucial stage of a team“Second is storming stage two of the five and it's considered the most critical and also the most difficult stage to go through. It can be riddled with conflicts such as individual personalities and working styles really clashing within the team.”Pabitra - Empower your team and let them be heard“Instead of thinking you have to have all the answers and give it to them, empower them to come up with your own answers, and do it as a team to facilitate those conversations. That way the team feels like they're being heard. And they feel like they can come and share their ideas and feedback.”Connect with Vivek & Pabitra and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach, and today will be special, as we will be bringing you some of the best moments of our guest, Matthew Philip, Senior Director, Agile Coaching and Kaizen Lead at Pfizer. Tune in and find out what's the best moment in our interview with Matt, and watch out for more highlights in the coming episodes.HIGHLIGHTSMeasuring outcome vs outputYou can build, but think if it's the right thing to buildRemember that the features are still just a hypothesis“The idea of focusing on outcomes to me is really putting the most important thing out there and saying, it's also a way of acknowledging that we don't know we work in a complex environment, and it's essentially putting us in a mindset of experimentation and hypothesis making.” -Matthew on focusing on outcomes and not outputsGet to know Matt and what he's up to:About MatthewAbout PfizerPfizer.comConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach, and today we are back with Laurin Lukas Stahl, as he and Vivek continue to discuss more details about product management, what it's like to onboard as a new PM, understanding product market fit, and the importance of making mistakes and making it a learning opportunity.HIGHLIGHTSOn-boarding as a product managerGetting the product strategy acrossUnderstanding what product market fit isIt's always a learning opportunityMinimum Viable vs. Minimum Lovable ProductHow a product manager prioritizesLearnings while working as a PMQUOTESLaurin - On-boarding as a new product manager:“The first 90 days are crucial to how you're going to basically get on-boarded to the new company, to a new product that you're working on. So when I was a new product manager starting out in that company, before I even had any leadership and strategic responsibilities, I really wanted to get an understanding.Laurin - Defining Product Market Fit:“It basically means you need to define the metric for your price, about what you based on what the nature of the product is, what product market fit would mean for you.”Laurin - Mistakes are part of the game:“You shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes, because otherwise, you will only try to make safe changes that don't change the game, then you'll just start optimizing and trying to improve metrics by a little bit because you're afraid to make big changes that could have a big impact.”Get to know Laurin and what he's up to:About LaurinAbout TralitySign up with TralityConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A CAREER IN PRODUCT MANAGEMENT? Then this is the episode for you!Learn what is a product manager and his/her role in the business as a whole, the ins and outs of this job in terms of day-to-day tasks, and its dynamics with the product management team.Today we have Laurin Lukas Stahl on board. Laurin is the Head of Product at Trality and is a great source of insight into product management. Meet Laurin and learn more from him in this latest episode of The Agile Coach.  HIGHLIGHTSLaurin's quest to become a product managerWhat is a product managerWhat's awesome about being a product managerThe day-to-day life of a product managerSkill set and attributes of a product managerQUOTESLaurin - Defining a product manager:“The product manager that is working on a specific product or feature in a specific scope, that's the person who's supposed to have all the information available to make the right decisions on how the product is supposed to be taken for.”Laurin - Role of a product manager:“Make all the decisions and have all the information available, while always trying to get as much value out as possible with as little resources as possible. So basically, how can I drive the product forward as efficiently as possible.”Laurin - Important attribute of a product manager:“One thing is curiosity. So I really like to understand how things work and to take things apart.”Laurin - Strategizing for a product:“The number one thing is actually having a product strategy and making sure that everyone that works with the product is following and agrees with the same strategy.”Get to know Laurin and what he's up to:About LaurinAbout TralitySign up with TralityConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek and Pabitra will go in-depth with explaining the difference between a Sprint Review and a Sprint Retrospective. Pabitra will be spilling all the juicy details from the definition, to how each of these two activities is executed.HIGHLIGHTSWhat is a Sprint reviewObserved patternsThe need for databasesWhat is a Sprint RetrospectiveMake the retrospective funIt's not a blame gameQUOTESPabitra - Defining a Sprint Review:“Sprint Review really is a more of an informal event that happens into the sprint and is really to showcase what the team has done over the sprint, really the product increment, what did they create.”Pabitra - The need for databases:“Even though the stakeholders might not understand the technicality of it, just talking about it and saying, we needed to create this database, or we needed to do this thing on the back end, and now because we have this, here is how it's gonna help.”Pabitra - Defining a Sprint Retrospective:“Sprint retrospective is a big deal for the team and also for the scrum master because that's one meeting that you solely are responsible for.Pabitra - Keep it fresh and fun:“You want to keep it spicy, you want to keep it fun and engaging, and so definitely restarts, research some things so that you can keep it fresh and keep alternating throughout.”Pabitra - Don't make it a blame game:“We want to talk on how we improve on these different things, but we're not here to blame anybody, and so really putting that up there, it's definitely important.”Get to know Pabitra and what she's up to:About PabitraConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PLAN.Vivek and Pabitra will be sitting down today to discuss the ins and outs of sprint planning. Tune in and learn how sprint planning is done, what challenges you may face and the best methods to use straight from our hosts, only here in the latest episode of The Agile Coach. HIGHLIGHTSThe art of sprint planningThe definition of readyAutonomy defines the team's capacityThe purpose of backlog refinementThe best method of conducting a standupQUOTESPabitra - The importance of goal-writing:“Coming up with goal-writing the goal based on what the team is committing to a lot of times it's not just like the user story, but the outcome is if we complete this set of a user story or this functionality.”Pabitra - Why autonomy is needed in a team:“We're trying to create self-organizing autonomous teams, and so if I don't give that autonomy to the team, we don't know what our capacity is yet.”Pabitra - The purpose of backlog refinement:“The way I see the purpose of backlog refinement is to look at the product backlog and create that shared understanding more than anything.”Pabitra - Best way of doing a stand-up:“The best method to conduct a stand-up, I found is to kind of walking the board. So instead of like calling on each person and making it seem like that person is giving a status.”Get to know Pabitra and what she's up to:About PabitraConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Lynnea is back for another round in The Agile Coach. In this episode, Lynnea will be talking about Radical Self Awareness, where she and Vivek will be touching on The Drama Triangle, its roles, and how it is observed. Tune in and learn more about how this awareness can be used in your daily role.Haven't checked Part 1 with Lynnea Brumbaugh yet? Don't miss Episode 58: CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP: What It Is, What It Does, How It's Done, With Lynnea Brumbaugh (Part 1)HIGHLIGHTSLynnea Brumbaugh is backThe Drama TriangleThe three main roles in the melodramaHow to look at the drama triangleHow to get out of the dramaQUOTESHow Lynnea defines radical self-awareness:“When life feels constricted, we start playing roles, we start putting on our masks, we show up not as our sort of glorious, amazing people that we actually truly are.”Lynnea talks about the roles in the drama triangle:“If there's a melodrama on stage, you've got a hero, you got a victim, and you got a villain. And those are the three main drama roles that the Drama Triangle place.”Lynnea presents the 3 steps of observing the drama triangle:“Step one would be we notice it and other people step, notice it in ourselves, and step three is stepping back and becoming curious becoming the observer of the drama. So it's always easier to detect ego behavior, like drama mask behavior in other people.”How Lynnea defines a healthy state of being:“A healthy expanded state of being means that our behaviors, and our thoughts and our emotions are literally responding to whatever is happening at this moment.”Get to know Lynnea and what she's up to:About LynneaAbout Quantum Empowerment AcademyQuantum Empowerment Academy WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Last week we talked about minding emotions as a leader, this week, we will be talking about conscious leadership. And there's no better way to do this than having Lynnea Brumbaugh in this latest episode of The Agile Coach. Lynnea is the CEO of Quantum Empowerment Academy, dedicated to its advocacy of transformational leadership. Tune in to Lynnea and Vivek as they unpack what conscious leadership is and how it helps leaders improve.HIGHLIGHTSIntroducing Lynnea BrumbaughWhat is conscious leadershipHow to become a conscious leaderHow to handle employee blindspotsWhat is focused energy flowTalking about emotionsEmotions vs. feelingsQUOTESHow Lynnea defines conscious leadership:“Conscious leadership is living from the present moments, like living in this moment. And then having the ability to lead other people from a deep place of this is now this is today, this is not what happened last week.Lynnea on handling employee blind spots:“Step one for blind spot awareness is taking a breath or two taking learning to take some conscious breaths.”How Sagar sees organizations strive to innovate:“Because when we work with our blind spots, we are by definition, tapping into our survival systems, that helped us to survive when we were little in the world.”Get to know Lynnea and what she's up to:About LynneaAbout Quantum Empowerment AcademyQuantum Empowerment Academy WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

There's a misconception that the tech world is not a place for emotions, but Sagar Satyal completely disagrees. For Sagar, emotional intelligence is a key factor in communication and is very very vital. Join Vivek as he welcomes Sagar, and they will be talking about the ins and outs of emotional intelligence factoring in the NVC framework, only here in the latest episode of The Agile Coach.HIGHLIGHTSIntroducing Sagar SatyalImportance of psychological safetyEmpathy and InvulnerabilityWhat is self-awareness vs. self-deceptionThe Jackal vs. the GiraffeThe language to use in NVCSagar's final thoughtsQUOTESHow Sagar sees organizations strive to innovate:“The way I see it, having worked with individuals and teams in organizations, obviously, they want to innovate. They want to stay relevant. I think that's the fundamental thing because it's an ever-changing world.”Sagar's opinion on teamwork:“I think teamwork and collaboration are very important, I don't think it's just a matter of individuals performing in silos and then moving up, and then that turning out to be a great creative process, I don't think it works that way.”What Sagar thinks about empathy:“I think it requires vulnerability to be empathetic because I have a lot of things to say to you, but I also keep that in mind that just like me, you also have your own needs, objectives, and challenges when you show up at work.”Sagar on emotional intelligence in leadership:“Ultimately, it trickles down to emotional intelligence. It's about being able to recognize emotions, understand emotions in yourself, understand emotions in the other person, and acknowledging these emotions that are at play.”Sagar on actions and consequences:“A lot of times we lack emotional intelligence because we don't see the consequences of our actions. We don't see the long-term ramifications of our actions right.”Get to know Sagar and what she's up to:About SagarAbout My Emotions MatterMy Emotions Matter WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

You gotta learn a little bit of everything. These are the best words from Sangya Gyawali, Head of Product at Flextock. Sangya has a mix of business analytics and entrepreneurial background and will be sharing with Vivek and the audience her background, what it takes to be in her role, and how she deals with challenges in her daily routine.HIGHLIGHTSSangya Gyawali: Business Analyst & EntrepreneurBeing a business analyst in bankingThe day-to-day routineChallenges in communicatingSangya's tips to new BAsQUOTESAligning teams the Sangya way: “A lot of it is around aligning your team that you're a part of, in making sure that we're still progressing, and we're still trying to achieve the same thing.”Sangya's responsibility as a BA: "As your role suggests, you're there to offer the technical pattern recognition, analytical skill sets that your team doesn't have.”How Sangya deals with the challenges of her role: "My technique has always been to be good at a little bit good at everything, and I tried to go deep when I can, and that's usually in more my analytical skill set.”Sangya says adaptability is key: "Your competitive edge is how much you can adapt and be flexible as techniques change and methods change."Get to know Sangya and what she's up to:About SangyaAbout FlextockFlextock WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Dilip, author and now the Founder, CEO, and Chief Product Therapist of Nimi is back in the pod with Vivek. This time around Dilip will go deep with Vivek as he shares his personal journey, his dream to work in America, and the challenges he had to go through to get where he is now. The two will also be exchanging their personal experiences in moving to America and their humble beginnings. HIGHLIGHTSDilip's backgroundThe 3 phases of Dilip's careerAspirations can hold you backThere are many paths in lifeExchange of personal experiencesQUOTESDilip on his background: “Getting your products to market or scaling it, growing products that have been so that's my background, my career.”Dilip on being held back by aspirations: “I have a good career, and I have a good life now. So I think what it tells us is that sometimes we have these aspirations, and they can hold us back.”Dilip on the different paths of life: “There are many paths in life, and you can make the best out of any path that you're taking. The goal is, are you growing? Are you questioning yourself? Right? Do you have a growth mindset?”Vivek on the journey to the USA: “It was like this journey that I went to, there's the whole world, new people, opportunities, and there was a lot to learn.”Dilip on making mistakes: “People should make mistakes. That's how they learn from mistakes. We should minimize the costly ones. Of course, we should have. It's more on processes.”Get to know Dilip and what he's up to:About DilipAbout NimiNimi WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

It's ANU day, ANU episode, and in this latest edition of The Agile Coach, Vivek Khattri welcomes Anu Jayasinghe. Anu is the Design Lead at Publicis Sapient. Formerly a UX Designer at IBM, Anu would be a great resource of UX design insights and he will be sharing big chunks of it here, in The Agile Coach.HIGHLIGHTSHow Anu get into UXFinding the first jobAnu's first experience with agileThe UI-UX differenceCurrent projects and challengesHow to start with UX designWhat sets a designer apartQUOTESAnu: “My internships and all that I realized I loved what I did. But when I saw the reality of what that's like, professionally, it wasn't exactly what I wanted to do. But I realized that UX and the whole digital space were a lot more interesting to me.”Anu: “We started doing agile in two weeks, sprints, all of that. And we would, at the end of every two weeks, delivered the design, to engineering.”Anu: “The biggest thing that sets apart a designer from an engineer or business analyst or product owner, whoever is that, for a designer, the, what they care about the most is that end-user, like the human being, who is using whatever the product or services, and that's what they care about, that's the person they care about.”Get to know Anu and what he's up to:About AnuAbout Publicis SapientAnu's WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Joe Ziadeh is back in another value-packed episode of The Agile Coach with Vivek Khattri. Vivek and Joe will be diving into the art of estimation and will be exploring a lot of interesting bits and pieces today such as what is estimation, why do it, the right approach to estimate, amazing story points, and when teams should estimate. Tune in and learn more about estimation now.HIGHLIGHTSThe what and why of estimationProbabilistic vs. Deterministic approachDissecting story pointsUtilizing the Fibonacci sequenceDo's and Don'ts of EstimationThe problem when comparing two teamsWhen do teams estimateQUOTESJoe: “In the end, somebody's like, hey, I need to have this done by a certain time. And we estimate so that we can make sure that we get that stuff done.”Joe: “What it's basically saying to an Agile team is, we're going to roughly size this work so that we can determine how long it will take.”Joe: “When we're talking about agile estimation, what we're saying is, we're not going to take that gut feel we're going to instead focus on empirical estimation.”Joe: “We're going to use the Fibonacci sequence to estimate our stories instead of just 1,2,3,4,5 level blah, and he was like, Okay, why? And they said ‘ ‘because the Fibonacci sequence is cool.”Joe: “Never be afraid to change the stuff that your teams are doing. I mean, try it and see if it works. If it works, yeah, keep doing it.”Joe: “That's what happens when you have two teams. So even if they're comparing the exact same task, no two teams have the exact same amount of experience with that task.”Get to know Joe and what he's up to:About JoeAbout Balanced AgilityBalanced Agility WebsiteConnect with Vivek and find out more about what he's up to:About VivekAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Dilip Ramachandran took the uphill journey to become a product manager, learned as much as he can, and now has reached the level he has wanted to achieve. Dilip is an author and now the Founder, CEO, and Chief Product Therapist of Nimi. Vivek and Dilip will be talking about his journey and the valuable lessons he learned along the way, only here in The Agile Coach.HIGHLIGHTSDilip's Professional StoryThe Uphill Journey To Product ManagementThe Love Of Product BuildingThe Learning Curve As A Product ManagerBecoming An Analytical LeaderLeadership Through EmpathyUnderstanding Executive PresenceQUOTESDilip: “as you progress in your career later on, okay, my mindset was, well, I've been kind of taking, I've been kind of, you know, you know, benefiting from the system, how am I going to give back, what's the next phase of my life.”Dilip: “I really thrive in a small environment where I'm building products, and creating products or ideating products.”Dilip: “When you become a leader, your job is not in creating perfect estimates, your job is not be the person who knows all the answers, your job is to be the guide, your job is to be the person taking the team to the tunnel.”Dilip: “Empathy is really not sympathy. Empathy is really trying to feel what somebody is going through. And you really can't feel what somebody's going through until you really are in their position.”Dilip: “Figure out what you're really passionate about, and try your best to figure out your path, your purpose, it doesn't have to be perfect.”Get to know Dilip and what he's up to:About Dilip: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dilipramachandran/About Nimi: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nimidev/Nimi Website: https://nimidev.com/Learn more about our host with the link below:Vivek Khattri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

It's Round 2 in this latest episode of the Agile Coach, as Vivek Khattri once again welcomes Michelle Pauk, the Director for Agile Coaching and Kaizen Facilitation at Pfizer. Michelle will be sharing her views on resistance to change and how it affects Agile Transformation, her views on maintaining psychological safety, and the SCARF Model.HIGHLIGHTSResistance to change in leadership and teamsMichelle on Psychological SafetyThe More Humane Way of Applying AgileGiving a good experience to your Agile teamThe SCARF ModelQUOTESMichelle: “The studies that come out about Agile transformation and resistance to change are cited as one of the main reasons why Agile transformation isn't successful.”Michelle: “I see my role as a change agent is to help people navigate through that process in a way that is humane and gentle and respectful of their choice throughout the entire process.”Michelle: “There are many people who are just told you are going to be part of a scrum team, or you're, we're going Agile, buckle up, buttercup, and they, you know, and they're just, they're along for the ride, but they may not be really into it.”Michelle: “SCARF is an acronym that stands for Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness.”Learn more about Michelle in the link below:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-pauk-82a88316/Learn more about our host with the link below:Vivek Khattri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Many people hesitate in getting into the Agile, Scrum, or Product Ownership career simply because they don't have a background in tech or they come from a different industry. In this episode of The Agile Coach, Kevin King, a Sr. Product Owner for Data Analytics/Integration at Charter Communications will be sharing his story and prove that is not the case. Kevin hailed from a Sales career before getting into Agile and Product Ownership, which led him today to his very fulfilling career. Learn more about Kevin now, so tune in!HIGHLIGHTSKevin's professional careerFrom Sales to Product OwnershipMisconceptions in Agile and ScrumProduct ownership requires learningAlways ask if neededQUOTESKevin: “I worked with I met some of my best friends that I still have today in sales. And it really made me a better person, to be honest, persevering through all the rejection and the hustle you have to have it really set me up for success in my current role.”Vivek: “If you have the work ethic to work 50-60 hours and grind it out. If you can't do tech, you're gonna be really appreciated because, in my opinion, tech is there's a lot of work-life balance.”Kevin: “One of the most common misconceptions about getting into the Agile space is that you need to have this glorious background of coding and what infrastructures look like.”Vivek: “The challenge is not having the tech background, the challenge is you're not being adaptable, you're not being able to learn new stuff, you are not able to like listen to another Product Owner/Product Manager.”Learn more about Kevin in the link below:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/king-kevin/Learn more about our hosts with the link below:Vivek Khattri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra Khanal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this latest episode of the Agile Coach, Vivek Khattri welcomes Michelle Pauk, the Director for Agile Coaching and Kaizen Facilitation at Pfizer. Michelle will be sharing her unlikely entry to the world of tech and her personal experience from her humble beginnings in Agile and Scrum, to the mindset shift of anticipating risks, to the struggles of being a new Scrum Master.HIGHLIGHTSThe start of Michelle's tech careerGetting into Agile and ScrumMindset shift of anticipationStruggles of being a new Scrum MasterCoaching new Scrum MastersQUOTESMichelle: “We are drawn to the things that we need to learn, or we teach the things we need to learn. I think that is absolutely true.”Michelle: “I guess the mindset shift for me was realizing like, as a project venue manager, I genuinely felt bad that I didn't anticipate that these things would happen.”Michelle: “One of the things that I try to make space for people I'm mentoring or coaching to think about that reflects on that conversation, but also encouraging them to do some of that reflection work themselves.”Michelle: “I would just say, you know, the learning process is very messy. Learning happens in the mess. And if you can be comfortable with that, like, you can know everything there is to know about agile, so is it really about you? This is about the team.”Learn more about Michelle in the link below:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-pauk-82a88316/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

Jolene Jangles is back!Vivek Khattri and Pabitra Khanal welcome Jolene back in this latest episode of The Agile Coach! Jolene is a Transformation Coach and the CEO of Balanced Agility, a company dedicated to developing organizations' capabilities to use agile as a strategic business asset.  HIGHLIGHTSAbout Balanced AgilityGetting aligned with clientsEffectively choosing leadersScrum masters in new organizationsWhat a Scrum master really isQUOTESJolene: “So balance, agility, the concept, the name, really even try to convey our approach to everything that we do. So we mainly play in the space of training and coaching.”Jolene: “It goes to an approach that we take in everything we do, really a balanced approach, as we took a look at what differentiates us from a lot of folks.”Jolene: “It really starts with the very first conversation that you have with them. So way before the actual engagement. And this is going to vary for the role.”Jolene: “When it comes to the balanced approach is going there is an understanding what is the job that they're looking for you to do? That's one of the things to know. And knowing if you're going in, where are they in?”Jolene: “Being a great leader means being able to ask great questions. So when I interview folks, when I'm hiring for these roles, the questions that they ask are almost as important as the answers.”Jolene: “My biggest tip for Scrum Masters is it's not about the Agile tools. They're just tools and techniques to get you there.”Learn more about Jolene in the link below:LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jolene-jangles/Balanced Agility: https://www.linkedin.com/company/balanced-agility/Website: https://www.balancedagility.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

It's round 2 of our two-part series of The Agile Coach, where Vivek Khattri welcomes a former colleague, Nikhil Nambiar. Nikhil was a former Lead Technical Instructor in the Agile Coach and is now a Senior Consultant for Slalom Consulting. Nikhil will be spending the time of this 2nd episode discussing the basic understanding a scrum master should have, and what is really important with the role of a scrum master. HIGHLIGHTSUnderstanding APIKnow the basics, be curiousWhat's important for Nikhil when interviewingScrum Master problem solvingDealing with compliance problemsHandling objections from other scrum mastersWhat is DevOpsQUOTESNikhil: “No, you don't have to be technical to be a scrum master. But you need to have a certain level of understanding and certain level of curiosity around what technology is, and what are the things that developers go through in order to be a great scrum master.”Nikhil: “It's not about knowing how to solve the problem. It's about identifying the problem. And getting the right people in the room to solve that problem.”Nikhil: “Scrum Masters, first of all, don't even look at that as a problem. Because they'll go like, Oh, this is compliance. This is how the company operates.”Nikhil: “Agile is not about perfection. So whatever you're trying to do here, is like, you need to view it from the lens of this team. Yeah, not from one Agile principle that has been followed in the industry.”Nikhil: “DevOps, in general, is a team that is responsible for maintaining the infrastructure where code is deployed.”Learn more about Nikhil in the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nambiarnikhil/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc