The Daily Standup

Agile Is Not Dead. AI Didn't Kill It. And Waterfall Is Not BackA recent article claimed that Agile is dead, AI killed it, and Waterfall is back.It is a strong headline. It is also the kind of headline built to provoke a reaction. Yet beneath the noise lies a useful challenge that leaders should not dismiss too quickly. The article takes aim at ceremony-heavy Agile, vague user stories, weak delivery theatre, and the belief that feedback loops can replace serious thinking. Some of that criticism lands because many organisations have allowed Agile to become a label for meetings, boards, points, and process compliance rather than a way to deliver better outcomes.Bad Agile deserves to be challenged. Ceremony without impact should be removed. Estimation that does not improve decisions should be questioned. Product roles without real authority should be redesigned. Retrospectives that surface the same problems every sprint, with no change to the system around the team, are not agility. They are frustration with a calendar invite.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

How to Do Hard Things When You Have Zero MotivationOne of the biggest mistakes you can make if you want to be consistent is trying to “trick” your brain.We've all seen the advice:“Just do it for two minutes.”“Give yourself a reward.”When I was stuck and wanted to change my life, I fell for it too.I remember watching a YouTube video more than 10 years ago about “proven hacks” and trying it.Well, those techniques worked… for a few days..How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Agile Practitioners and Future JobsThere are insights that only come to me after a good conversation. My earlier self would have said “too late, a missed opportunity, again less than perfect”. Right now I rather think “moving forward mentally, another opportunity will come, great”. Recently, in the breaks between the recording, we had chatted about how wrong and unattractive the idea of “Scrum Masters should work themselves out of a job” is.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Why Every Software Project Needs Project ManagementWhen people think about software development, they often imagine developers writing code. However, building successful software involves much more than programming. Every software project requires planning, communication, teamwork and continuous monitoring. This is where Agile Project Management becomes essential.As I continue learning about software engineering, I have realized that even the best developers can face challenges if a project is not managed properly. Good project management helps teams stay organized, meet deadlines, and deliver high-quality software.

Isn't That My Manager's Job?When I work with product leaders on product strategy, one of the most common responses I hear is, “Isn't that my manager's job?” Sometimes it comes as a complaint. Sometimes it's a genuine question. Either way, it usually reflects the same belief: strategy belongs somewhere above them.On paper, they are not entirely wrong. It does sound like something a manager should provide. But there are a few reasons it rarely works that way. Even in organizations where leadership does bring a good strategy to the table (and not a generic direction sometimes mistaken for strategy), product leaders still have a major responsibility in bringing the strategy down to earth. Not by translating it to a roadmap and executing accordingly, the responsibility is at the strategy level itself.But if you think it's someone else's job, you don't do your own strategic job. You wait. You don't want to step on your manager's toes. You are not sure what to do.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Leadership as a Supporting RoleDo you find yourself huffing and puffing as a tech leader? Not sure how to keep all of those plates spinning? You, my friend, need to let go of your main character syndrome.The answer to the overwhelming load many tech executives report is rarely to work harder. Rather than piling ever more things on your plate, it's time to embrace the existence of your team.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Feeling The World Cup - A Sons Blind JourneyIn Iran, a father named Ardashir Babajani found a deeply creative way to share one of his favorite joys with his nine-year-old son, Alireza, who was born blind. Like millions of families around the world, they love soccer, and especially the World Cup. But for Alireza, watching the game on a screen wasn't enough to make the action come alive.So his father built something simple, but extraordinary. He made a tactile soccer field and used his hands to guide his son's hands across it, helping him feel the movement of the game as he narrated each play in real time. Passes, attacks, goals, suddenly, the match wasn't just something Alireza could hear. It was something he could experience.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

How To Develop People Skills?Developing people skills, often referred to as soft skills or interpersonal intelligence, is less about innate charisma and more about the consistent application of specific psychological frameworks.For a professional looking to manage teams or influence stakeholders, these skills are the primary lever for organizational efficiency.Here is a strategic guide to developing high-level people skills.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Scrum Needs Leadership Support - Mike CohnOne of the biggest mistakes leaders make is treating Scrum or agile as something isolated to the teams.The teams will be agile.The teams will do Scrum.The teams will hold the meetings.The teams will become faster.But the surrounding organization remains largely unchanged.That is not sustainable.Scrum asks teams to focus, collaborate, inspect, adapt, and deliver valuable increments of work. For that to happen, leaders have to create an environment where those behaviors are possible.That often means eliminating silos and forming cross-functional teams. It means giving teams a challenge and then getting out of the way enough for them to solve it. It means resisting the temptation to second-guess team decisions. It means allowing teams to tell the truth about overly optimistic deadlines, unrealistic scope, and risks they see in the work.A team cannot do its best work while being pressured to commit to things it does not believe are feasible.A team cannot be self-managing if every meaningful decision is made somewhere else.A team cannot deliver predictably if leaders constantly redirect it and then act surprised when the original plan is not met.Good leadership support means shaping the environment so teams can succeed.When a desired deadline or desired scope is not feasible, leaders and teams should treat that as a shared problem to solve.Maybe the scope can be reduced. Maybe more time is needed. Maybe a different approach is possible. Maybe another initiative should be delayed. Maybe the organization needs to accept more risk.The first step is telling the truth.Scrum works better in organizations where truth is welcome.Try this: The next time a team says a deadline or scope is not feasible, don't ask, “How can you still make it?” Ask, “What would need to change for this to become feasible?”That question turns the conversation from pressure into problem solving.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

What Do Product Managers Do All Day?If you read a typical product manager job description, the role sounds very polished.Define vision.Own the roadmap.Drive strategy.Work cross-functionally.Deliver impact.It all sounds important, structured, and clear.And to be fair, none of it is wrong.But it also doesn't quite capture what the role actually feels like day to day.So let me take you through a day in my life as a PM.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Lagging Behind? Metrics and Reporting MatterAsk any team what metrics they track, and you'll get some version of the same list…Velocity.Story points completed.Burndown.Sprint goal hit rate.Maybe defect counts if someone's been paying attention.These numbers feel solid. They're concrete, they're consistent, and they show up reliably at the end of every sprint.I get why teams hold onto them. There's comfort in a number that doesn't require interpretation — it either went up or it didn't.The problem isn't that these metrics are wrong. The problem is what happens when a team tries to improve them.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Happy Pioneer Day! Pioneer Day is a July 24th holiday that commemorates the arrival of the first group of Latter-day Saint (Mormon) pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley in 1847, and it matters to American history because it captures both the courage of frontier migration and the complicated story of westward expansion, religious freedom, and colonization in the American West.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

7 Principles on Building Trust From Ted LassoA few weeks ago, I found myself watching Ted Lasso, and what started as entertainment became something else entirely: a masterclass on what makes teams actually work, and I couldn't stop thinking about what I was witnessing, this peculiar alchemy where incompetence somehow creates excellence.What struck me wasn't the humor, though there's plenty of it, but rather the central paradox that drives the entire narrative: here is a man who knows nothing about football, managing a professional sports team, and somehow his team doesn't just perform better, they transform into something qualitatively different from what they were before.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Focus Requires Saying Not Yet ~ Mike CohnMany Scrum problems are really focus problems.Organizations try to do too many things at once. They have too many initiatives, too many urgent requests, too many stakeholders, too many priorities, and too little willingness to say “not yet.”Scrum makes this visible.A sprint creates a short planning horizon for deciding what the team can accomplish next. A sprint goal identifies the outcome that matters enough for the team to organize around it. A product backlog makes visible what is more important than what.Those are uncomfortable conversations in an organization that wants everything at once.So the difficulty often gets pushed onto teams and product owners.Product owners are asked to satisfy too many stakeholders. Teams are asked to start more work than they can finish. Leaders ask for predictability while priorities continue to change. Everyone wants the benefits of focus without making the tradeoffs focus requires.That does not work.A product owner can help by bringing focus to the team. That means saying what should be done and, just as importantly, what should not be done right now.But product owners need support.A product owner surrounded by stakeholders who believe every request is urgent will struggle to create focus unless leaders help establish the expectation that not everything can be first.This is one reason Scrum can feel frustrating.The team is asked to commit to a sprint goal, but the organization keeps behaving as if everything is urgent. The team is asked to be predictable, but priorities keep changing. The product owner is expected to make good priority decisions, but every stakeholder wants a different answer.Scrum exposes the need for difficult prioritization.That exposure is useful. It gives the organization a chance to make better decisions.Try this: Before the next sprint, ask stakeholders and leaders to complete this sentence:For this team to succeed in the next sprint, we are choosing not to work on ____ yet.If no one can fill in the blank, the team probably does not have focus. It has a list of competing demands.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

How to Give Clear Direction as a Leader, Without MicromanagingGiving clear direction is difficult. Honestly, we prefer that the people we talk to “just get it.” We go a step further, convincing ourselves that if they were smart enough, we shouldn't have to speak too much before they “run with it.”If you give an instruction to a team member but only discover they weren't aligned when the task is completed, you are a lazy leader. The best leaders ensure proper understanding, down to the context and nuances, if need be, before any execution starts.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Most Important Leadership Skill No One Talks AboutWhen you perform improv, you step on stage without knowing how long the scene will last. You build a situation in real time. You react. You escalate. You try things. Sometimes it's brilliant. Sometimes it's chaotic. Often it's both.What most people don't realize is that the actors don't decide when the scene ends.There's someone in the lighting booth. They're part of the troupe, but they're not in the action. The booth is usually behind the audience, so they see the stage exactly the way the audience does. Same perspective. Same distance. And when they turn the lights off, the scene is over.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Happy Birthday to My Wife!A special birthday wish for my amazing wife! How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

If Your ScrumMaster Only Runs Meetings... You're Wasting Your Best LeaderAsk ten people what a ScrumMaster does, and you're likely to hear ten different answers."They run the Daily Stand-up.""They schedule Sprint Planning.""They update Jira.""They remove impediments.""They're the Agile coach.""They're the team's project manager."Some of those answers are partially correct.Most of them are incomplete.And that's becoming one of the biggest challenges facing Agile organizations today.Somewhere along the way, many companies unintentionally shrank one of the most influential leadership roles on an Agile team into something much smaller.A meeting facilitator.A calendar manager.A process referee.Someone who reminds everyone when the Sprint Review starts.That's not what the ScrumMaster role was designed to be.In fact, if that's all your ScrumMaster is doing...You're probably missing the greatest opportunity that role has to offer.Let's imagine two ScrumMasters.The first arrives every morning with a checklist.Start the Daily Scrum.Update the board.Send reminders.Schedule Retrospectives.Close completed stories.Generate reports.Stay organized.Nothing wrong with those activities.They're important.But now let's look at a second ScrumMaster.This person notices that two team members have stopped collaborating.They coach a Product Owner struggling to prioritize competing stakeholder requests.They help leadership understand why multitasking is slowing delivery.They facilitate a difficult conversation before it becomes a lasting conflict.They identify organizational policies that create unnecessary delays.They mentor new leaders.They build trust across departments.They help people solve problems they didn't even realize existed.Which ScrumMaster creates greater long-term value?The answer seems obvious.Yet many organizations still spend far more time measuring the first set of activities than the second.Why?Because administration is visible.Leadership often isn't.You can see a meeting on a calendar.You can't always see trust being built.You can count completed ceremonies.It's much harder to measure improved communication.You can track whether a Retrospective happened.It's much more difficult to quantify whether people actually feel safe speaking honestly during it.That's the challenge.The most valuable work ScrumMasters perform often happens between the ceremonies.Not during them.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

AI Can Write User Stories... So What Does the Product Owner Do Now?If artificial intelligence can write user stories...What exactly is the Product Owner supposed to do?It's a fair question.Over the past year, we've watched AI tools generate acceptance criteria, organize backlogs, summarize stakeholder interviews, identify duplicate requirements, estimate effort, draft release notes, and even suggest Sprint Goals.Tasks that once required hours can now be completed in minutes.Some see that as a threat.I see it as an opportunity.Because for years, many organizations unintentionally reduced the Product Owner role to backlog management.Write stories.Prioritize tickets.Attend meetings.Answer developer questions.Repeat.Those activities are important.But they were never the reason the Product Owner role was created.The Product Owner exists for one purpose above all others.To maximize value.Not backlog size.Not story count.Not velocity.Value.That's where artificial intelligence changes everything.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

WAgile Isn't a Compromise... It's the Future of Modern Project Delivery"If Agile works so well... why are so many organizations mixing it with traditional project management?"For years, the conversation has been framed as a battle.Agile versus Waterfall.Scrum versus Project Management.Innovation versus governance.Speed versus predictability.Choose a side.Defend your methodology.Convince everyone else they're wrong.But something interesting has happened over the past several years.Organizations have largely stopped arguing.Instead...they've started adapting.Across healthcare, banking, government, defense, manufacturing, insurance, education, and even technology companies, leaders are discovering a simple truth.Very few projects fit neatly into a single delivery model.Some work demands rapid experimentation.Other work requires extensive documentation.Some initiatives benefit from short iterative cycles.Others must satisfy regulatory reviews, contractual milestones, compliance audits, procurement gates, or executive approvals before moving forward.The reality is that modern organizations aren't choosing between Agile and traditional project management.They're using both.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Freedom, Fireworks, and the Power of TogetherToday is one of those days that brings out something special in all of us.The flags come out.The grills get fired up.The music gets louder.The kids run around with sparklers.And for a moment, we all slow down long enough to remember what this day is really about.Yes, it is about fireworks.Yes, it is about food, fun, and family.But more than anything, it is about freedom.It is about the courage of the people who believed in something bigger than themselves.It is about the responsibility we all carry to protect what matters.And it is about the privilege of living in a country where we can still dream, build, speak, gather, and hope.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Bad Agile Is Dying... And That's the Best News Agile Has Had in YearsAgile isn't dying.Bad Agile is.And honestly...that's fantastic news.For nearly two decades, organizations around the world raced to become "Agile."Some invested heavily in coaching.Others purchased new software.Many reorganized entire departments.Unfortunately, somewhere along the journey, a surprising number of organizations confused Agile with process.Stand-ups became status meetings.Sprint Planning became project planning.Retrospectives became complaint sessions.Story points became performance metrics.Velocity became a management scorecard.Scrum Masters became meeting coordinators.Product Owners became backlog administrators.The framework remained.The mindset quietly disappeared.Over time, employees became frustrated.Executives questioned the investment.Teams felt overwhelmed by ceremonies that no longer seemed connected to delivering value.Then something predictable happened.Organizations didn't reject Agile.They rejected bad experiences disguised as Agile.That's an important distinction.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

AI Won't Replace ScrumMasters... Or Will It?Will artificial intelligence replace the ScrumMaster?It's a headline that keeps resurfacing. Social media is full of bold predictions. Industry blogs continue debating it. Conference sessions are packed with people looking for answers. And if you've spent any time on LinkedIn recently, you've probably seen more than a few posts claiming that AI is either the greatest thing to happen to Agile—or the beginning of the end.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Thinking Leader vs Talking LeaderMany leaders confuse constant talking with teams as real progress, but having discussions is not real progress, nor clear thinking.The reality is that leadership runs on two types of work: Thinking and talking.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Agile Estimation and Story PointsStory points are a way of estimating the effort required to complete a user story or any other piece of work in agile software development. A user story is a short description of a feature or functionality that the customer wants from the product.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Three RulesJoin us for this episode where you learn the three most important rules to bring you love light and happiness in your personal and professional life. - [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Return of In-Person Private TrainingThe return of AgileDad's private in-person training reflects a growing realization that while virtual learning is excellent for knowledge transfer, face-to-face experiences remain one of the most effective ways to build trust, strengthen collaboration, and create lasting organizational change.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

WAgile - Is Hybrid Project Management Finally Real?WAgile is a hybrid project management approach that uses traditional governance and planning to establish direction while using Agile practices to continuously adapt execution based on learning and feedback.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

AgileDad & AI For Product Managers, Project Managers, and LeadershipThe real value of AI is not just that it helps us move faster. It is that it helps us slow down in the right places so we can move better in the places that matter most.That is the shift.AI should not just help us produce more. It should help us think more clearly before we produce anything at all.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

AgileDad and Agile LeadershipAgile is not a magic word. It is not a sticker you put on a broken system and suddenly expect better outcomes. Agile leadership training should do one thing above all else: help leaders create real change that people can feel in the work, in the culture, and in the results.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Finding Your Happy Place and What That Means To You Do you have a happy place? What sparks great joy for you? - [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Difference Between Leading & FacilitatingLeadership often asks you to do two hard things at once: move the organization forward and lead in a collaborative way.On their own, each of these roles is challenging. Together, they can create a tension that strains your ability to be effective at either.It has nothing to do with you personally and everything to do with the fact that decision-maker and facilitator are two different roles. Two different mindsets.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

5 Hidden Costs of Sprint Planning And the Agile Approach That Actually WorksHidden cost 1 — Meeting time multiplied by shallow decisionsHidden cost 2 - Inflated estimates driven by groupthinkHidden cost 3 — Hidden work and untracked dependenciesHidden cost 4 — The false economy of large batch planningHidden cost 5 — Overcommitment as a culture problem- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Agile is Dead. Welcome to the Era of “Agent-Driven” DevelopmentAgile was invented for humans — biological entities that need coffee, sleep, and two weeks to understand a complex requirement. But we are no longer just building software with humans. We are building it with agents. Agents that don't sleep, don't need standups, and can iterate in seconds, not days.Welcome to Agent-Driven Development (ADD). The era of the 2-week sprint is over. The era of the Continuous Loop is here.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Simplicity in Agile: The Art of Maximizing Work Not DoneSimplicity is preached in Agile, yet somehow, we are tangled up in complex system processes and frameworks. And if you've worked with Agile at scale, you've probably seen it: what started as a powerful mechanism for flexibility and speed now seems more like a convoluted system of frameworks, metrics, and reports, ironically complicating the very agility it sought to enhance..This paradox isn't just a minor hiccup. It's a core problem in the way Agile is scaled today. The idea of simplifying work gets lost under layers of practices and processes that complicate the very thing Agile is meant to improve: Agility.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Levity, Trolling, and BalanceDo you have the correct balance in your life? Can you work and have fun all at the same time? - [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Jira Turned Agile Into a Micromanagement ToolThere was a time when Agile felt liberating. Teams owned their work, conversations mattered more than documentation, and progress was measured by outcomes, not activity. Then somewhere along the way, tools stepped in to “support” the process. What followed in many organizations was not support but substitution. Jira did not break Agile by design. It became the easiest place for organizations to quietly reintroduce control, visibility, and ultimately micromanagement under the label of transparency.- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Cost of Rework No One Talks AboutHere's a number that stopped me cold when I first saw it: 30 to 50 percent of all effort on software projects is spent on rework.Not building. Not shipping. Redoing work that was already done.That stat comes from software measurement research that's been replicated across multiple studies — and yet somehow, it doesn't come up in sprint planning, or project retrospectives, or any of the conversations where teams talk about why things are taking longer than expected.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

AI Didn't Speed Up My DiscoveryThere is a thing that happens in domain conversations. We talk about something, agree we understand it, and proceed. Then I show a sketch and the client says, “No, that is not what I meant.” The talking did not catch the gap. The visual did.AI lets me put a draft visual in front of a power user in the time it takes to have a conversation about it. Half-formed. Sometimes wrong on purpose. The draft becomes the thing we discuss. The client, who is the actual expert, validates or breaks it. The expensive part of the design moves earlier, into the cheap part.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Psychology of High-Performing TeamsThe most critical psychological factor in team performance is psychological safety. This concept describes a shared belief held by members of a team that the group is a safe place for interpersonal risk-taking. In environments with high psychological safety, team members feel confident that they will not be embarrassed, rejected, or punished for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.When a team lacks this foundation, members enter a state of self-protection. This cognitive load diverts energy away from problem-solving and toward managing one's own reputation. Google's extensive “Project Aristotle” study confirmed this, finding that psychological safety was the single most important factor in determining a team's success, outweighing the individual intelligence or experience levels of the members.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

A Beautiful Day In The NeighborhoodWe all have a LOT to learn from Fred Rogers! His kindness and willingness to serve has not gone unnoticed! How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Traditional Product Management Is Ending in 2026For years, product management followed a familiar playbook.Gather requirements. Write PRDs. Prioritise backlog. Run sprint rituals. Coordinate across teams. Ship features.That model worked in a world where building software was slow, expensive, and engineering bandwidth was the biggest constraint.But in 2026, that world is changing fast.AI is reducing execution time. Prototypes can be built in hours. Research can be synthesized in minutes. Code generation is accelerating delivery. Design iterations are faster than ever.Which means something important is happening:Traditional product management, built around coordination and process, is losing relevance.And a new version of product management is taking its place.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

What Cinco de Mayo Can Teach Us About Agile - Mike CohnToday seems like a good day to celebrate Cinco de Agile.Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Battle of Puebla, when a smaller, less-equipped Mexican force defeated a larger French army.There's an agile lesson in that.The side with the bigger plan, more resources, and more confidence doesn't always win.Sometimes the winner is the side that can adapt faster.That's one of the biggest differences between agile and waterfall.Waterfall assumes that if we plan thoroughly enough up front, we can control the outcome.Agile assumes that once real work begins, we'll learn things we couldn't have known at the start.When customers change their minds, markets shift, or the team learns something new, fast feedback beats slow certainty.A team that delivers something small, gets feedback, and adjusts can outperform a team that spends months moving confidently in the wrong direction.That's the real lesson.It's not that small always beats big.It's not even that agile always beats waterfall.It's this:In changing conditions, adaptability is your biggest competitive advantage.So if your current plan feels a little too certain, it may be worth asking one uncomfortable question:What are we doing to learn faster?Because in product development, learning speed often determines who wins.Happy Cinco de Agile.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

The Hole in Your Product Team That Keeps Swallowing UsersA new employee engagement platform launched its pilot with a perfect customer. Warm relationship at the CEO level. Company-wide mandate. Strong early results from the users who engaged. One problem: most of the company never touched it. Despite the mandate. Despite the results sitting right there in the data.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

What Servant Leadership Actually MeansWhen I first heard the term “servant leader,” I pictured someone endlessly helpful. Always available. Always saying yes. Smoothing every edge, softening every message, making sure nobody was ever uncomfortable.I was wrong. And for a while, that misunderstanding made me a less effective Scrum Master.Here's the truth I had to learn the hard way: Servant leadership isn't about making everyone comfortable. It's about making everyone capable.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Be Quick NOT To JudgeAre we quick to form opinions about others? We should not be... How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

AI Breaks the Agile Sweet Spot For Team SizeHow big should your Agile taem be? Does Agentic AI change everything? Lets listen and explore how team sizes may EXPLODE! How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

A Plan is Not a Commitment - Mike CohnOne of the fastest ways leaders create overcommitment is by treating a plan like a guarantee.An agile team builds its plan from what it knows at the time: assumptions, estimates, priorities, and constraints. That means every plan is probabilistic. It has some chance of coming true, but that chance is not 100%.That is why I coach teams to aim for about 80% success.Aim much higher than that, and teams will often bring too little into the plan. Aim much lower, and others in the organization do not get the predictability they need to make their own plans.So yes, it is fine to ask a team for a commitment. But the team determines what they can commit to.And leaders need to understand what that requires.A team asked for a commitment will include a margin of safety between its plan and its commitment. It has to. A commitment has to survive interruptions, surprises, dependencies, and the normal friction that shows up once work begins.That means a commitment needs margin.And margin is the part leaders often resist.A team may plan to complete forty points of work. That does not mean they should commit to forty.If they commit to all forty, they are assuming very little will go wrong.That is not a real commitment. It is simply hoping the plan goes perfectly.Real commitment is what the team can stand behind, even when the sprint is not perfect.So if you want an honest commitment, do not ask the team to commit without changing anything else.Ask instead: What could you commit to with confidence?What margin do you need?What would have to be true for this to be a real commitment instead of a hopeful plan?Those questions force the real tradeoff into the open.If the date is fixed, scope may need to flex.If the scope is fixed, time may need to flex.But something usually has to move.That is the part leaders often skip. They hear a plan, silently upgrade it to a commitment, and then act surprised when the team misses it.Do not do that.A plan is useful. A commitment is valuable. But they are not interchangeable.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Your Retrospective Never Actually Fixes the Alignment ProblemThe retrospective is one of the most protected ceremonies in agile. Scrum teams hold it every sprint. SAFe bakes it into every iteration. Coaches run workshops on how to run better ones. And yet, the same misalignment issues resurface sprint after sprint.This isn't a facilitation problem. It isn't a psychological safety problem. It is a structural mismatch: teams are applying a periodic, backward-looking review to a continuous, structural problem.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Memorial Day Special EpisodeBy late morning, the small town square was already filling with folding chairs, fluttering flags, and families dressed in red, white, and blue. The air smelled faintly of fresh grass and hot pavement, and the sound of a high school band warming up drifted across the park like a promise. People did not speak loudly. They smiled, hugged one another, and found their places with the kind of quiet respect that feels different from an ordinary holiday.At the edge of the crowd stood an older woman named Evelyn with her two grandchildren, Nora and Luke, each holding a small paper flag. Nora kept turning hers between her fingers, watching the wind catch the fabric. Luke, who was too young to understand the full weight of the day, looked mostly curious. He asked why everyone was gathering if Memorial Day was supposed to be a day off from school and work.How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠⁠- [instagram] ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠⁠- [facebook] ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/

Losing Yourself In The Service of OthersHow do you serve others? How to connect with AgileDad:- [website] ⁠https://www.agiledad.com/⁠- [instagram] ⁠https://www.instagram.com/agile_coach/⁠- [facebook] ⁠https://www.facebook.com/RealAgileDad/⁠- [Linkedin] ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/leehenson/