Podcasts about agile coaching

Pascal Papathemelis: The Hidden Cost of Removing Scrum Masters from High-Performing Teams Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Pascal shares a cautionary experience with mature Scrum teams that appeared to function flawlessly. These teams demonstrated excellent Scrum practices with minimal impediments, leading management to conclude that Scrum Masters were unnecessary. When management removed all Scrum Masters from the department, the previously high-performing teams began to struggle significantly.  Team members had to absorb the responsibilities previously handled by their Scrum Masters, causing them to lose focus on their core value-creating work. Different teams adopted various approaches to fill the Scrum Master void, but none proved effective. Pascal reflects that the Scrum Masters could have made their value more visible by supporting Product Owners more actively and becoming more involved in team tasks. This experience taught him the importance of demonstrating the ongoing value that Scrum Masters provide, even when teams appear to be self-sufficient. Featured Book of the Week: Learning Out Loud—Community Learning and Networking Pascal draws his greatest inspiration not from a single book, but from active participation in the Agile community. He finds tremendous value in discussions within local communities, networking events, and sparring sessions with colleagues. Pascal particularly benefits from Agile Coaching circles in Helsinki, which provide practical knowledge and insights. He also gains inspiration from Agile conferences, but credits Agile Coaching Camps as having the biggest impact - these 2.5-day open space format events are intense and packed with valuable insights. Pascal recommends that Scrum Masters actively engage with their local Agile communities and attend coaching camps to accelerate their professional development and gain diverse perspectives. Self-reflection Question: How visible is the value you provide as a Scrum Master, and what steps could you take to make your contributions more apparent to your organization? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

Führung entscheidet über den Erfolg – oder das Scheitern – jeder agilen Transformation. Punkt.In dieser Folge spreche ich mit Dr. Thomas Karl, Stefan Kahl und Stephan Lang über das heißeste Thema im agilen Business: Leadership in Zeiten des Wandels.

Today we're examining Palantir's "Forward Deployed Software Engineers" - and separating fact from the hype!Everything old is new again! Move over companies that have been doing this for decades such as SAP, IBM, and countless consulting firms!https://blog.palantir.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-palantir-forward-deployed-software-engineer-45ef2de257b1Listen as we break down Palantir's 2020 blog post about their Forward Deployed Software Engineers (FDSEs) and discover what these engineers actually do versus what the marketing claims...Key topics covered:What FDSEs actually do, day-to-dayHow this compares to traditional consulting rolesThe difference between software configuration and software engineeringWhy embedded customer roles aren't newCareer advice for aspiring technical professionalsIf you're interested in understanding the reality behind tech industry buzzwords, this is your episode!#ProductManagement #SoftwareEngineering #TechCareers #Consulting #Leadership #AgileCoachingLINKS= = = = = = = = = = = =YouTube: https://youtu.be/SGvJK-aruJ8Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596Website: http://arguingagile.com= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Today, we're delivering a not-your-typical-leadership-book review: "Extreme Ownership" by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin!Ed Martin joins hosts Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel for a chapter-by-chapter review of how military leadership principles directly translate to product management, agile coaching, and team development. The core message? True leadership isn't about barking orders - it's about taking complete ownership, empowering others, and leading with discipline and humility.Some quotes from our discussion include:• It's not what you preach, it's what you tolerate• If you can run retrospectives people actually want to attend, you've got leadership skills• Communication isn't just part of your job as a product manager - it IS your job• There's no 100% right solution, but leaders must act decisively amid uncertaintyListen to discover the striking parallels between leadership skill and "agile practices" such as decentralized command and the ability to prioritize and execute under pressure. Whether you're leading a development team or coaching organizational transformation, these principles apply.#ExtremeOwnership #Leadership #ProductManagementLINKS= = = = = = = = = = = =YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagileSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596Website: http://arguingagile.com= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

When Business Owners assign business value during events such as PI Planning, they're considering a lot more than just a number. In this episode, Piotr Wojtera, Agile coach at Nordea describes a very important interaction that helps business owners determine the right number. Like what you hear? Connect with Piotr on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

BONUS: Never Stop Experimenting—Building a Culture of Continuous Discovery with Stavros Stavru In this BONUS episode, we dive deep into the world of continuous experimentation with Stavros Stavru, Ph.D. in Organizational Transformations and founder of EdTech ventures AhaPlay and The Caringers. Stavros shares insights from his latest book "Never Stop Experimenting" and reveals how teams can maintain their discovery mindset while balancing the pressures of delivery. The Exploration-Exploitation Dilemma "What would we choose? What we know, and try to exploit? Or go for something new, and better than we currently have?" Stavros introduces us to one of the fundamental challenges facing modern teams: the tension between exploration and exploitation. He explains how teams often start with an exploration mindset, focused on solving real problems through discovery. However, over time, there's a natural shift from discovery to delivery, and teams forget the importance of continued exploration. The title "Never Stop Experimenting" serves as an anchor for teams to remember the value of maintaining their experimental approach even when delivery pressures mount. Born from a Decade of Practice "All the techniques that I describe in the book were born during 10 years of practice." The book isn't theoretical - it's grounded in real-world application. Stavros shares how every technique and framework in "Never Stop Experimenting" emerged from his extensive hands-on experience working with teams over a decade. This practical foundation ensures that readers get battle-tested approaches rather than untested concepts. Software Development as Incremental Experiments "Experimentation requires a creative process." Stavros addresses a common challenge: while teams understand the benefits of experimentation and want to experiment, they often face management resistance that ultimately demotivates the team. He emphasizes that viewing software development as a series of incremental experiments isn't just beneficial - it's absolutely necessary for teams to remain innovative and responsive to changing needs. The Fatware Matrix: Putting Products on a Diet "The challenge: how do you convince the business that you need to spend some time removing features?" One of the book's standout concepts is "The Fatware Matrix," which helps Product Managers recognize when their product is becoming bloated. Stavros introduces a practical tool combining the Kano framework with maintenance cost analysis to illustrate the true cost and impact of maintaining old features. This approach helped one team successfully remove features from their software, with stakeholders later commenting, "Now this is more transparent for us." The key is managing feature creep and software bloat before they become overwhelming. The NSE Ratio: Optimizing Experimentation Rhythm "It's when we try something new that we learn what works. We need to change something on a regular basis." The NSE (Never Stop Experimenting) Ratio measures how long teams wait before introducing new approaches or experimenting with their processes. Stavros explains how teams should define their NSE ratio as part of their team agreements, establishing a regular cadence for trying new things. This systematic approach ensures that learning and adaptation become embedded in the team's rhythm rather than happening sporadically. Building a Safe-to-Fail Culture "Speak of your own failures. When we show our failures as leaders, we show the team that they can run their own experiments." Creating a truly safe-to-fail environment requires leaders to model vulnerability and transparency about their own mistakes. Stavros emphasizes that leaders must give the example by sharing their failures openly, which gives permission for the rest of the organization to take risks and learn from their own experiments. This leadership modeling is crucial for establishing psychological safety around experimentation. About Stavros Stavru Stavros is a Ph.D. in Organizational Transformations and a leading voice in Agile coaching, leadership, and soft skills. Founder of EdTech ventures AhaPlay and The Caringers, he has delivered over 800 trainings and authored Never Stop Experimenting, a powerful toolkit for continuous improvement across teams and organizations. You can connect with Stavros Stavru on LinkedIn, and check his book site at Neverstopexperimenting.com.

The Scrum community is buzzing about a new 55-page expansion to the Scrum Guide. Is this the depth practitioners have been asking for, or is it turning the lightweight framework into bloatware? In this episode, Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel and Product Manager Brian Orlando critically examine the "DLC" that claims the original guide was "deliberately oversimplified." We explore new concepts like outcome vs output definitions of done, the "supporters" role, and the inclusion of complex frameworks like Cynefin.Stick around as we debate whether these additions help teams navigate complexity or create more confusion, while highlighting crucial omissions around organizational structure and practical implementation guidance. #Scrum #Agile #ProductDevelopment= = = = = = = = = = = =LINKS= = = = = = = = = = = = http://arguingagile.comYouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@arguingagileSpotify https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Shift: From Product To People: A Novel About Product Development, and Shifting to People To Achieve a Holistic Agile Transformation is a new book written by Michael Dougherty and Pete Oliver-Krueger that focuses on shifting the Agile mindset away from a product-centric approach and towards a more a people-centric one. This interview centers around the need for collaboration, the impact of AI on Agile practices, and the significance of creating a humane work environment. The authors also highlight the role of mentorship in personal growth and the future of work in an AI-driven landscape. They also share some of the challenges they faced during the four and a half years of writing the book, the narrative style that allows for multiple perspectives, and the importance of real-life experiences in connecting with readers. If you'd prefer the video version of this podcast, you can find it here: https://youtu.be/lf_f_JdTWvM The Book Shift: From Product to People https://www.amazon.com/Shift-Development-Shifting-Holistic-Transformation/dp/B0D89NT9RD Contacting the Authors Michael Dougherty https://www.linkedin.com/in/agilemichaeldougherty/ Pete Oliver-Krueger https://www.linkedin.com/in/peteok/ Chapters 00:18 Introduction to the Authors and Their Journey 03:17 The Motivation Behind Writing the Book 06:15 Exploring the Narrative Style and Structure 09:21 The Importance of Realistic Coaching 12:13 Chapter Highlights and Key Themes 15:11 The Concept of Collaborative Budgeting 18:19 The Three Waves of Agile 21:12 Humanizing Agile Practices 24:12 The Future of Agile and Leadership Perspectives 27:26 Navigating the Agile Doom Loop 30:19 Crisis as an Opportunity for Change 32:38 The Evolution of Agile Frameworks 34:34 AI's Impact on Agile Practices 41:17 The Human Element in Agile Coaching

How agile is your coaching practice? In this episode of Coaching Revealed, Teresa Ramos, an Executive Coach with experience in theoretical physics, agile leadership, and artificial intelligence is interviewed by IOC podcast host, Emily Terrani. Teresa and Emily discuss how coaches can utilize the Agile methodology and how to prepare for the advancing wave of technological change. This episode covers: How coaches can respond to digital anxietyUsing agile methodologies to address identity and value concerns Discovering your power skills: critical thinking, powerful questioning, ethical reasoningContext-specific uses of agile principles Assessing your ‘area of genius' as a coach and individual 

Jensen Huang has 60 direct reports and does no 1:1s, so neither should you - right?!? Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel examine NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's claim that he champions "radical transparency" and his policy of no one-on-ones. Join us as we explore what this means for the rest and listen or watch as we agree that one-on-ones should be employee-driven, focused on growth over status updates, and designed to build the trust that actually gets work done, as well as other topics such as:Jensen Huang's leadership philosophy analyzedEmployee-driven vs manager-driven agendas Building trust through private conversationsRemote work and relationship buildingPractical frameworks for better 1:1sWhether you're a product manager, team lead, or individual contributor; whether you own a snappy leather jacket or not, owning your 1:1 agenda is crucial for career development.Now accepting all takes (hot or not) in the comments - do you vote for mass transparency or intimate coaching conversations?#Leadership #OneOnOnes #ArguingAgileLINKS = = = = = = = = = = = =YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@arguingagileSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596http://arguingagile.com= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

EP142 – 6° Aniversario Hormigas Agilistas PodcastY un “año hormiguístico” acaba de terminar, y la Temporada 6 de Hormigas Agilistas Podcast llega a su fin.Celebra junto con el hormiguero, y junto con Felipe Talavera, co-creador del podcast, quien vuelve al Hormiguero en este episodio especial.¿Qué te puedes llevar de este episodio?: revisamos algunos detalles de cómo Felipe y Rodrigo iniciaron esta aventura hace 6 años. Cuando el podcast aun no tenía nombre. Cómo algunas hormigas del presente se sumaron al equipo, y de qué trataron los primeros episodios. También revisaremos los 16 episodios de la temporada 6 del hormiguero. Y las anécdotas no faltaron, ni los ‘chascarros'. Ni tampoco la critica a la mala agilidad, y los ‘infaltables' mitos ágiles.Los episodios de la Temporada 6 (del EP125 a EP141):EP125 — Reinventando la búsqueda de empleo (Junio, 2024)EP126 — Ágiles Chile 2024, ¿qué onda? (Julio, 2024)EP127 — Los NO-Principios SOLID con Hernán Wilkinson (Julio, 2024)EP128 — ¿Kanban es Agile? y Team Topologies Criticado (Agosto, 2024)EP129 — [Fishbowl]: ¿Puede un DEV a la vez ser Scrum Master? Y si puede ¿Cómo se hace? (Agosto, 2024)EP130 — DevOps en tiempos modernos, con Cio Medeiros (Septiembre, 2024)EP131 — El Lado Oscuro de los Proyectos, con Lucía Hernández [Podcast] (Octubre, 2024)EP132 — Dolores en la Adopción, Agilidad desde las Trincheras, con Juan Riquelme [Podcast] (Octubre, 2024)EP133 — Lógica Formal y Lógica de Patrones, introduciéndonos en Human Systems Dynamics (HSD), con Mónica León y Celeste Benavides (Octubre, 2024)EP134 — ¿Y quién se ha llevado la Estrategia? la IA, con Yoko Perez, Etna Estrella y Paulina Valenzuela (Noviembre, 2024)EP135 — Ágiles Chile 2024: El 4to día (Noviembre, 2024)EP136 — Introducción a los LLM, o ¿Cómo la IA nos sale hasta en la sopa? (Diciembre, 2024)EP137 — El futuro de la Agilidad es el Flujo de Valor, con Ivan Gonzales (Enero, 2025)EP139 — ¿‘Velocity' como herramienta para el compromiso? (Abril, 2025)EP140 — Waterfall No ha muerto: El caso PMI y Agile Alliance (Abril, 2025)EP141 — [Libro] El Arte del Agile Coaching, con Camilo Velasquez y Damián Buonamico (Mayo, 2025)Nuevamente agradecemos a todas las hormigas invitadas en estos episodios.Y nos vamos a la Temporada 7 de Hormigas Agilistas Podcast.Si deseas conocer más sobre este episodio y todos los demás, visita el sitio: HormigasAgilistas.CL  o en https://medium.com/hormigas-agilistas/¡Gracias por ser parte del Universo de Hormigas Agilistas!IMPORTANTE: Siempre es bueno recordar que en Hormigas Agilistas Podcasts no somos buscadores de la verdad, el objetivo acá no es indicar los que se debe hacer; más bien, abrimos el micrófono para que las personas puedan contar sus experiencias, sus ‘heridas de guerra', y así los oyentes puedan tomar lo que más le haga sentido en sus organizaciones y avanzar en la mejora continua.#HormigasAgilistas #QueVivaLaAgilidad #CumpleañosHormigas #Podcast

"You can't do it alone. If you need to do everything for your client … then you're also blindfolded in only looking one way. You need to get many partners all together … so we have multiple visions, multiple cultures, and can be flexible. “ What started as a small network is now Connected Movement, an international consultancy that taps into the value and power of partnerships. In this episode, Adam talks to Jeroen Jan Elzinger, CEO, and Sukie Kang, SPCT, executive coach, and transformation architect about how the company is bringing people together to solve customers' problems. The trio discusses topics including why understanding cultural differences is important to extend their reach and expertise in more regions and markets, why building a diverse network and team is a strength, and they share examples of how communication styles and decision-making processes vary greatly across different countries. Like what you hear? Connect with Jeroen and Sukie on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

Do you want to hear a story about stifling growth and creativity through the lens of one developer's personal story?You're in luck! Join Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel as they watch and react to Theo's YouTube video: "Being a good engineer kinda sucks," April 28, 2025.It's a tale about the tension between excelling at your craft versus navigating organizational politics and dysfunction. That's right, today, we're talking about themes of career development, team dynamics, and leadership, so feel free to stick around for our thoughts on these and:The sustainability trap of overworking to meet unrealistic expectationsHow organizational politics can punish innovation and excellenceThe importance of product sense vs. documentation-driven developmentFinding and nurturing relationships with like-minded professionals#Leadership #ProductManagement #CareerDevelopment #TechCareersLINKS= = = = = = = = = = = =YouTubeAppleSpotifyREFERENCES= = = = = = = = = = = =Check Out Theo's Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VuM1GCadt4...and his YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@t3dotgg...and his website: https://t3.gg/MUSIC= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

If an organization's executives and managers don't understand the new way of working associated with an Agile transformation, how can they lead effectively? In this episode, Sukie Kang with Connected Movement shares his tips for coaches to help leaders become fully engaged. Like what you hear? Connect with Sukie on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

EP141 - [Libro] El Arte del Agile Coaching, con Camilo Velasquez y Damián BuonamicoEn el hormiguero nuevamente vamos a hablar de un libro, nuevamente con sus autores, y nuevamente en modo premisa pues este libro aun no se publica.Nos referimos “El Arte del Agile Coaching”, de nuestros amigos Camilo Velasquez y Damián Buonamico.En este episodio platicaremos sobre la inspiración, la motivación y el contenido del libro: explorando desde los modelos tradicionales y en enfoque propio, el valor agregado del libro. Camilo y Damián también revelaron alguna que otra cosilla interesante que hasta ahora no la habían revelado, como por ejemplo de quién es el prologo del libro. También platicamos sobre el público objetivo, y si el libro tiene sentido o no para personas mas allá de los tradicionales roles ágiles, como Scrum Master y Agile Coach.Participan en este episodio, las hormigas: Antonio Gallardo Burgos, Arturo Robles Maloof y Rodrigo Burgos Noceti.Además nos alegra anunciar que pronto vamos a cumplir 6 años de Hormigas Agilistas Podcast y vamos a tenener algunas sorpresitas para los proximos episodios.Si deseas conocer más sobre este episodio y todos los demás, visita el sitio: HormigasAgilistas.CL o en https://medium.com/hormigas-agilistas/¡Gracias por ser parte del Universo de Hormigas Agilistas!IMPORTANTE: Siempre es bueno recordar que en Hormigas Agilistas Podcasts no somos buscadores de la verdad, el objetivo acá no es indicar los que se debe hacer; más bien, abrimos el micrófono para que las personas puedan contar sus experiencias, sus ‘heridas de guerra', y así los oyentes puedan tomar lo que más le haga sentido en sus organizaciones y avanzar en la mejora continua.#AgileCoach #ElArteDelAgileCoaching #Agile #ComunidadesAgiles #AgileCoaching #HormigasAgilistas

In this episode of #AgileWay podcast, I have a conversation with one of the speakers of the Agile Prague Conference that is going to be on Sep 15-16, 2025 in Prague, Czech Republic. We talked with Mark Summers about Agile coaches, reflection on yourself, and courage to challenge organization status quo.#agile #businessagility #agileleader #leadership #agileprague #confernece #coaching #agilecoach #change 

Maike Abel ist Nestlé Deutschlands Marketingdirektorin Digital & Corporate und Vize-Vorsitzende der OWM.Mit Olli & Martin spricht sie über praktische Strategien für digitale Transformation und KI-Nutzung in einem globalen Konsumgüterkonzern, balanciert mit starken Marketing-Grundlagen.Maike Abel gestaltet seit über einem Jahrzehnt die digitale Landschaft bei Nestlé Deutschland maßgeblich mit. Als Marketingdirektorin Digital & Corporate und Vize-Vorsitzende der OWM verbindet sie strategischen Weitblick mit pragmatischer Umsetzungskraft. Sie gilt als zukunftsorientierte Denkerin, die Komplexität souverän orchestriert und Entscheidungen konsequent datenbasiert trifft – eine Haltung, die auch ihr Engagement für Automatisierung, KI-Nutzung und echte Innovation prägt. Ihre Stimme hat Gewicht, wenn es darum geht, digitale Potenziale mit Augenmaß zu heben, ohne dabei das Fundament starker Markenführung aus dem Blick zu verlieren.Key Takeaways:Offenheit für Impulse aus der Organisation und etablierte Methoden wie Agile Coaching sind Treiber für Innovation.Erfolgreiche KI-Einführung braucht klare Rahmenbedingungen und befähigte Menschen – ein cross-funktionales KI-Board kann helfen.Trotz aller Technologie bleiben die »Brilliant Basics« des Marketings – tiefes Verständnis für Marke, Mensch, Medium – entscheidend.Themen unter anderem:(ca. 12:30) Innovation nutzen. Innovation schaffen.(ca. 17:35) Automatisierung und Skalierung(ca. 28:55) KI in der Tiefe und der Breite der Praxis(ca. 37:45) “Mission Critical” für Markenartikler?Mit freundlicher Unterstützung von PAYBACKLinkedIn:→ Maike Abel→ Olli Busch→ Martin Boeing-MessingKeywords:FMCG, Konsumgüterindustrie, OWM, Markenführung, Datenqualität, Datenharmonisierung, Supply Chain, Agile Coach, Cross-functional, Predictive Forecasting, Cross-Media Measurement, MarTech, KI-Board, KI-Ethik, Mitarbeiterbefähigung, Innovationskultur, Kundenverständnis, Authentizität. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BONUS: Beyond Frameworks, A Provocative Guide to Real Agility With Erwin Verweij In this BONUS episode, we dive into the provocative world of Erwin Verweij's latest book: 'How the f*ck to be Agile?' Erwin shares his journey from frustration to clarity as he witnesses organizations adopting Agile frameworks without understanding their purpose. With candid stories from his coaching experiences, Erwin reveals what happens when teams wake up to real agility beyond dogmatic practices and how organizations can find their own path to meaningful change. The Wake-Up Call for Agile Adoption "What the f*ck dude! Do you even know what it means? Do you really know what it means?" Erwin's journey to writing this book began with growing frustration at how companies approach agility. He frequently encountered teams proudly declaring "We're Agile!" or "Our department is Agile" without understanding what that truly meant.  This disconnect between label and understanding became the catalyst for his provocatively-titled wake-up call. Erwin describes his exasperation with organizations adopting frameworks halfheartedly, following mindsets that were completely off track, and ultimately "doing stuff without knowing what they're doing and why they're doing it." The F-word in his book title serves dual purposes - expressing his frustration while also functioning as a power word to wake people up from their complacency. Breaking Free from Framework Dogma "We're not gonna do Agile. Forget it. And we're not gonna do Scrum, even though you're doing Scrum. Let's look at what really works for you people." Rather than imposing rigid frameworks, Erwin advocates for teams to discover what actually works in their specific context. He shares a memorable story of tearing down Scrum posters that management had installed, shocking team members who couldn't believe he would challenge the prescribed approach.  In another example, Erwin creatively used a manager's "quarantine" language by posting contamination warnings at a department's entrance with the message: "If you enter this room, you might get contaminated with a new way of working." These disruptive approaches are designed to shake people from blindly following orders and encourage them to think critically about their processes. Finding Your Own Path to Agility "Any coach who goes into a company with a strict plan and a set approach - don't hire them. They don't have a clue what to do." After the wake-up call, Erwin focuses on helping teams discover their own effective ways of working. He believes that the key is to observe what's already working well, emphasize those elements, and discard what doesn't serve the team. This approach stands in stark contrast to consultants who arrive with predetermined solutions regardless of context.  Erwin emphasizes that real transformation happens when teams take ownership of their processes, adapt them to their unique needs, and make them their own. He cautions against hiring coaches who come with rigid, predetermined plans, as they often lack the flexibility to address a team's specific challenges. The Never-Ending Journey of Adaptation "We need to help teams to stay open for the change that is coming." Erwin stresses that agility is not a destination but a continuous journey of adaptation. The world never stops changing, so teams must remain flexible and open to evolving their approaches. He encourages a mindset of experimentation with phrases like "let's try" and "what could we try" to keep teams responsive to new challenges.  According to Erwin, one of the most powerful ways to foster this adaptive culture is to model the behaviors you want to see in the teams you support. By demonstrating openness to change yourself, you help others embrace the continuous nature of improvement. Scaling Without Bureaucracy "Work with the system, learn what is needed, iterate." When discussing scaling Agile across an organization, Erwin questions why companies feel the need to scale in the first place. He uses cities as a metaphor for how complex systems can organize beyond small groups without excessive bureaucracy.  In one organization where he currently coaches, teams have found a pragmatic approach by adopting elements from various frameworks that work for them. They use quarterly planning sessions from SAFe primarily as a networking opportunity that connects everybody and focuses their efforts, even though the planning itself might be "basically bullshit." This practical, results-oriented approach emphasizes what works rather than dogmatic adherence to frameworks. Software as a Creative Process "Software development is basically figuring out how stuff works. It's a creative process that mostly is being dealt with within the brain of people." Erwin views software development fundamentally as a creative process rather than a production line. He explains that it's not about "typing as fast as you can" but about thinking, problem-solving, and creating. This perspective helps explain why iterative approaches with small steps work better than trying to plan everything upfront.  Erwin notes that when complex problems become routine, teams might not need the full framework structure, but they should retain the values that help them coordinate effectively. The essence of frameworks like Scrum, he suggests, is simply "start working, figure it out, and see what happens" - an approach that many organizations have become afraid to embrace. Awakening Organizational Intelligence "We raise children, which is basically programming another human being - it's really complex. And we just take it for granted. And then we go to work, and we don't know how to make decisions anymore." One of Erwin's most powerful insights is how organizational structures can suppress the natural intelligence and decision-making abilities that people demonstrate in their personal lives. He points out the irony that we navigate incredibly complex systems like raising children or driving in traffic, yet when we arrive at work, we suddenly act as if we can't make decisions without higher approval. This disconnect creates frustration and wastes human potential. Erwin challenges organizations to wake up to this contradiction and create environments where people can bring their full capabilities to work, rather than checking their intelligence at the door. In this section, we refer to Jurgen Appelo's Book Management 3.0. About Erwin Verweij Erwin is a seasoned Agile Coach, Certified Enterprise Coach, and author of Viking Law and How the f*ck to be Agile?. With 15+ years' experience driving meaningful change, he helps organizations embrace real agility through coaching, transformation, and workshops—cutting through complexity to spark courage, clarity, and action. You can link with Erwin Verweij on LinkedIn and connect with Erwin Verweij on Twitter.

Richard Brenner: Contracting for Success,  Establishing Clear Agile Coaching Outcomes Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Richard reflects on his evolution in defining success as a Scrum Master and Agile Coach. Initially, he believed that if his team was successful, he was successful—but soon realized this perspective was incomplete. Top management wanted tangible evidence of coaching impact, which became problematic without clearly defined metrics. Richard now advocates for establishing a coaching agreement at the beginning of any engagement, with both management and teams defining what success looks like for the coach. He emphasizes the importance of dual-sided accountability as a natural outcome of proper contracting, using metrics that matter to the organization such as flow metrics and outcome metrics to demonstrate coaching value. Self-reflection Question: How are you measuring your own success as a coach or Scrum Master, and have you created explicit agreements with both teams and management about what success looks like? Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Solution Focused Retrospective Richard recommends the Solution Focused Retrospective from the book "Solution Focused Coaching for Agile Teams." While traditional retrospective formats from books like "Agile Retrospectives" typically open a topic and dig deeply into the problem space, the solution-focused approach suggests spending only a short time discussing problems before pivoting to designing the desired future state. This format focuses on identifying the next step and emphasizing what positive outcomes the team wants to achieve, rather than dwelling on what's wrong. Richard values this approach for its ability to maintain a positive, forward-thinking mindset within teams. [Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

BONUS: Beyond Individual Talent: 2 Leadership Myths We all Believed in with Arne Roock In this BONUS episode, we delve into the complexities of team effectiveness with Arne Roock, an experienced Agile consultant who has worked with organizations ranging from startups to large corporations. Arne shares his insights on what truly makes teams perform at their highest level, why simply assembling talented individuals isn't enough, and how organizations can move beyond the "feature factory" mindset to focus on outcomes and impact. The Myth of Individual Talent in Teams "A team of experts is not an expert team." Arne breaks down the common misconception that placing highly talented individuals together automatically creates a high-performing team. Drawing parallels from sports, he points to examples like the "Red Army" hockey team and the famous "Miracle on Ice," where team cohesion proved more valuable than individual star power. Through his consulting work, Arne observed that quick-fix workshops often produced short-term improvements but failed to create lasting change. Sometimes, teams even deteriorated after temporary interventions. This led him to Richard Hackman's work on team effectiveness, particularly the 60-30-10 rule: leaders should spend 60% of their time designing teams, 30% launching teams, and only 10% on coaching interventions. Coaching alone cannot change a team's trajectory without proper design and launch Leaders should engage with coaches at the beginning of team formation Teams need sufficient stability to achieve meaningful impact Existing teams can be relaunched or redesigned to improve performance In this segment, wer refer to Richard Hackman's 6 conditions for effective teams, and to Margaret Heffernan's Superchicken Paradox Ted Talk, and to the episode with Heidi Helfand about Re-teaming. Balancing Delivery Focus with Team Development "Organizations trends go in waves." Arne discusses the pendulum swing in organizational approaches, noting how Agile emerged as a countermovement to process-centric methodologies. Currently, he observes a strong emphasis on delivery, with many organizations repositioning Scrum Masters as delivery leads. This trend, while addressing immediate business needs, often undermines the fundamental team-building aspects of the Scrum Master role. Arne suggests that we need to find balance between delivery pressure and people-centered approaches, treating these as polarities to manage rather than problems to solve. In this segment, we refer to the book Polarity Management by  Barry Johnson, and to Arne's blog post about cross-functional teams. Moving Beyond the Feature Factory "Delivery manager will undermine team responsibility." When organizations want to shift from deadline-driven development to outcome-focused work, Arne recommends examining team design fundamentals first. He cautions that adding delivery managers won't fix teams that haven't been properly designed and launched. Most organizations operate as "feature factories," focusing on output rather than outcomes. Arne suggests two high-impact practices that can help teams deliver more value: Implementing meaningful sprint goals and effective sprint reviews Using OKRs with specific checks on value delivered, not just features completed Arne emphasizes that the Scrum Master role is a full-time position, and when they're pushed to prioritize delivery management, important team-building work gets neglected. Proper team design creates the foundation for shared delivery ownership without requiring additional management roles. In this segment, we talk about an article that explains how to use OKR's with a “value-check” included.  About Arne Roock Arne works as a consultant for Agile methods and (leadership) team effectiveness. As a trainer and coach he supported both startups and big corporations in different industries. For the past ten years he took a deep dive into the tech industry as an embedded coach with Jimdo and Spotify. You can link with Arne Roock on LinkedIn and connect with Arne Roock on Mastodon.

Send us a textIn this episode of Definitely Maybe Agile, hosts Peter Maddison and David Sharrock tackle an often overlooked but critical topic: career progression for Scrum Masters and Product Owners. They explore how organizations initiate these crucial Agile roles but frequently fail to consider their long-term evolution within the company structure.The discussion contrasts the divergent career trajectories of these two roles. For Product Owners, a clearer path exists from managing individual products to becoming Chief Product Owners and potentially Line of Business managers, though challenges arise when the role lacks proper autonomy or is treated as a part-time responsibility. Meanwhile, Scrum Masters face a more ambiguous journey, with traditional progression into Agile coaching roles becoming increasingly limited in many organizations despite the valuable skills they develop.Peter and Dave highlight the critical importance of demonstrating value and making contributions visible, particularly for Scrum Masters whose impact often remains behind the scenes. They also discuss how understanding financial aspects of the business becomes increasingly crucial as professionals advance in either career path.Key Takeaways:Product Owners have clearer progression paths toward leadership positions, but organizations must properly position and empower the role from the beginning to enable this growth.Scrum Masters develop highly valuable skills in facilitating delivery and optimizing organizational flow, but need to actively demonstrate their impact to create career advancement opportunities.Both roles require increasingly strategic thinking about business value and financial outcomes to progress into higher leadership positions within organizations.

Should innovation be outsourced to specialized teams, or integrated into your existing product teams? That's what Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel and Product Manager Brian Orlando are debating today! Listen as we debate the pros and cons of separating innovation from implementation, exploring why "if you build it, you own it" should extend to innovation as well. Join us to learn about the pitfalls of innovation theater, the challenges of knowledge transfer, and how to truly empower your teams to innovate!#Agile #ProductManagement #TeamEmpowermentagile, product management, innovation, team empowerment, product leadership, agile coaching, product discovery, innovation teams, product development, team collaboration, organizational silos, knowledge transfer, MVP development= = = = = = = = = = = =YouTubehttps://youtu.be/Sn7B8zqNlnkSubscribe on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8XUSoJPxGPI8EtuUAHOb6g?sub_confirmation=1Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Kerri Sutey is an experienced executive and leadership coach with over 20 years of expertise in transforming individuals, teams, and organizations. In your Forbes article, how do you define a coaching mindset? What are the most significant barriers leaders encounter when shifting from a traditional, directive style to a more collaborative approach? Could you share an example (or a story) of a leader you have worked with who embodied the coaching mindset? In the context of rapid technological change and a multigenerational workforce, what unique challenges—and opportunities— do leaders face when adopting a coaching mindset for the future? For organizations just beginning this journey, what practical steps or strategies can they implement to start fostering a culture of coaching and continuous learning? Kerri Sutey Kerri Sutey is an experienced executive and leadership coach with over 20 years of expertise in transforming individuals, teams, and organizations. An ICAgile Certified Expert in Agile Coaching and Enterprise Coaching, as well as an International Coaching Federation Associate Certified Coach, Kerri seamlessly bridges Agile methodologies with professional coaching practices. Her coaching philosophy, centered on Lead. Grow. Thrive. empowers leaders to unlock their full potential, foster meaningful connections, and drive impactful change. Known for her engaging facilitation style and ability to inspire curiosity, courage, and compassion, Kerri has worked with industry-leading organizations such as Google, IBM, and Southwest Airlines. Whether through coaching, consulting, or training, Kerri is passionate about helping professionals adapt, innovate, and thrive in today's ever-changing landscape Excellent Executive Coaching Podcast If you have enjoyed this episode, subscribe to our podcast on iTunes. We would love for you to leave a review. The EEC podcasts are sponsored by MKB Excellent Executive Coaching that helps you get from where you are to where you want to be with customized leadership and coaching development programs. MKB Excellent Executive Coaching offers leadership development programs to generate action, learning, and change that is aligned with your authentic self and values. Transform your dreams into reality and invest in yourself by scheduling a discovery session with Dr. Katrina Burrus, MCC to reach your goals. Your host is Dr. Katrina Burrus, MCC, founder and general manager of Excellent Executive Coaching a company that specializes in leadership development.

Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel are listening and reacting to Melissa Perri on Lenny's Podcast as she makes claims about product management, agile, frameworks, and why most companies struggle with product management. We discuss many of her claims, including:Product Management has nothing to do with the Manifesto for Agile Software DevelopmentScrum is only for Large OrganizationsLarge Organizations Lack Infrastructure to support Product ManagementRigid Processes Can Crash Your Entire Company...and many, many more!Whether you're in a startup or enterprise, Silicon Valley or your average FinTech, this discussion offers practical insights on balancing process with customer-centricity.#ProductManagement #AgileLeadership #TeamDevelopmentTags: product management, agile coaching, scrum, kanban, product strategy, team development, organizational design, product owner, product manager, safe framework, agile transformation, continuous delivery, silicon valley, enterprise agileReferences:Lenny's Podcast with Melissa Perri, https://youtu.be/wbi9chsAHp4Marteen Dalmijn's newsletter about Waternet: https://mdalmijn.com/p/how-a-digital-transformation-canAA199 - W. Edwards Deming's Profound Knowledge for Transforming OrganizationsAA187 - The Future of AI, According to Big Tech= = = = = = = = = = = =YouTubehttps://youtu.be/c0htPyVTKeESubscribe on YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8XUSoJPxGPI8EtuUAHOb6g?sub_confirmation=1Applehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

"When people say Agile is dead, most of them have never seen it really working."In this insightful episode, Sander sits down with Arie van Bennekum, one of the co-authors of the Agile Manifesto, to discuss the current state of Agile, common misconceptions, and the evolving nature of agile practices in modern organizations. Arie shares his thoughts on why Agile is far from dead and how many organizations still struggle to truly implement it. They also discuss the importance of leadership in agile transformations and how to anchor agile practices for long-term success.Connect with Arie:Arie van Bennekum Check out our sponsor:www.xebia.comwww.scrummatch.comwww.wiserbees.comwww.masteringagility.orgHosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

We're exploring the false dichotomy between being good at your job and being seen as valuable by leadership!The framework for this conversation was an eye-opening yet brutally honest post about the tactics one product manager claims to use to advance his career without delivering real impact. We ask, "is success about making an impact or just being seen as valuable," while we explore the tactics described in the article:Focusing on vision while ignoring executionUsing positivity to mask problemsAvoiding accountabilityDealing with the Inevitable burnoutWhether you're a product manager, leader, or team member, you won't want to miss our conversation around building sustainable career success without sacrificing integrity.References:Ronald Westrum: A typology of organisational cultures, 2004AA201 - Mastering Stakeholder Communication and ManagementAA199 - W. Edwards Deming's Profound Knowledge for Transforming OrganizationsAA195 - Tyranny of Plans & Planning in Software DevelopmentAA117 - You Should Do Time-Based Estimates (Article Review)AA87 - Burnt-Out Product ManagersAP52 - Taylorism: The Principles of Scientific Management#ProductManagement #LeadershipCulture #AgileTeams= = = = = = = = = = = =YouTubeApplehttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596Spotifyhttps://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

What’s next for Agile coaching? Brian Milner and Andreas Schliep dive into the shifting landscape of Agile coaching, the differences between Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, and how to carve out a sustainable career in a changing industry. Overview In this episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast, Brian Milner and Andreas Schliep explore the evolving role of Agile coaching, the challenges coaches face in today’s market, and the skills needed to thrive in a shifting industry. They break down the differences between Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches, discuss how to develop a personal coaching style, and emphasize the importance of integrity and resilience. From navigating layoffs to redefining what it means to be an Agile leader, this conversation offers valuable insights for anyone looking to grow in their Agile career. References and resources mentioned in the show: Andreas Schliep Certified ScrumMaster® Training and Scrum Certification Certified Scrum Product Owner® Training Mountain Goat Software Certified Scrum and Agile Training Schedule Join the Agile Mentors Community Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast Want to get involved? This show is designed for you, and we’d love your input. Enjoyed what you heard today? Please leave a rating and a review. It really helps, and we read every single one. Got an Agile subject you’d like us to discuss or a question that needs an answer? Share your thoughts with us at podcast@mountaingoatsoftware.com This episode’s presenters are: Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work. Andreas Schliep is a Certified Scrum Trainer and executive partner at DasScrumTeam AG, helping organizations navigate complex projects with agile methodologies. A thought leader and co-author on Enterprise Scrum, he empowers teams—from startups to Fortune 500 companies—through high-impact coaching, training, and a passion for continuous learning. Auto-generated Transcript: Brian Milner (00:00) Welcome in Agile Mentors. We are back here for another episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast. I'm here as always, Brian Milner, and today I have someone we've been trying to get on here for a little bit, and I'm excited to have him here. Mr. Andreas Schliepp is with us. Andreas, thank you for being on. Andreas Schliep (00:17) Thank you for inviting me. Brian Milner (00:19) Yeah, very excited to have Andreas on here. Andreas has been in the community here for a long, time. He's been just really generous with his time and he's mentored a lot of people. He's a CST, a Scrum trainer. He's also a certified enterprise coach. So he has kind of those dual high level certifications with the Scrum Alliance. But he mentioned to me earlier, he's kind of always considered himself a Scrum trainer. But he's also a coach in this group called the Leadership Gift, or there's also another name here that they've used recently, Responsibility Immersion. So that might come to play in our conversation here because we wanted to talk about sort of the future of agile coaching and agile coaches in general. There's a lot of turmoil, there's a lot of upheaval and things that are shifting and changing every day in our profession. So I guess, you know, let's just dive into the topic here. Andreas, how do you see things currently? And, you know, in a broad sense, where do you see them going? Andreas Schliep (01:18) Yeah, so first of all, why am I concerned? So typically I say that I kind of, train coaches and I coach trainers. So most of my work is centered around the path of scrum masters and how they can kind of acquire the necessarily skills and insights to become actual coaches themselves. Or scrum coaches as I would prefer to say it. And that includes a lot of stuff like we want to equip them with facilitation, with training skills, with coaching skills, with systemic observations and other methods. And we've been doing that for a couple of years. And so of course we came across lots of good people, good coaches and good trainers, good consultants out there. And we kind of kept our community open. So it's not like people attend our classes and then we forget them or we only have closer relationships to our corporate customers. It's like we kind of managed to build some kind of little community. People keep coming back and we keep chatting about what's going on, what's happening in their environment. And as a mainly training focused company, one of the first effects that we notice is that our classes are getting emptier and emptier. So what's going on, especially advanced classes are not that well. So we still have some, well, yeah. basic attendance, but it's not as it used to be. well, a couple of years ago, we had like full classes and everything, and then COVID hit and we could say, okay, so COVID kind of reduced the demand for edutraining. And then the next crisis came and the next catastrophe and the next disaster. But there have also been some structural changes. I think that we are currently experiencing two effects that happen at the same time. So the one thing is that, well, Diana Larsen put it that way, Agile has won. So there's no doubt that organizations employ Agile methods and want to use Agile practices, some of them with, some of them without any clue about what that even means or what Agile thinking or Agile attitude behind it is, but still, there's no shortage on like the use of Agile or the, but there's also no shortage of the Agile basic training or educational videos, content or whatever. So people get lots of more resources than we used to get back then when we had like this one scrum book by Ken Schwabe. So read this and then you went out and said, how do I do that? So. And then came the second book by Mike Cohen and the third book and so on. had to, had all these puzzle pieces coming together where we needed to find our own way and build our proficiency. And now you get a flood of books and stuff going on, which is fine. So the one thing is that of course our profession is developing and it's kind of natural that you will notice some kind of within that. But there's another effect and this is one thing where we scrum trainers can kind of take responsibility for our own contribution. It's the fact that organizations can hire an unlimited number of low-level agile coaches nowadays. There's been no quality control. Anyone who went through a two-day CSM class could call themselves agile coaches and they got hired for lots of money and eventually produced nothing. some of them, some agile coaches or people who call themselves agile coaches even caused chaos. So, and the systems. that they were affecting started to kind of fix themselves and heal themselves from the Agile coaches by expelling those. So, and of course, maybe you have a third effect, which is sometimes it just doesn't work and you blame the Agile coaches. So if you just lay on your couch and you do nothing and your doctor tells you, you have to get moving, you have to get up and get moving and say, yeah, it's a bad doctor because... I still lie on my couch and my health is deteriorating and this doctor doesn't help me. He doesn't give me what I want. What do you want? Yeah, I want just, I would just want a pill that I can swallow that I'm healthy. It doesn't work that way. And then we had those people who were selling those pills, yeah, who were telling people, here we got a, we got a safe way that you can do this. All you need to do is implement this process, hire our consultants. Brian Milner (05:26) Yeah. Andreas Schliep (05:43) We kind of made all the thoughts and the heavy thinking ourselves beforehand and you just need to install it. Here's the roadmap, here's the process manual, here's the 300 page guide. Just do it this way. And this is also detrimental. now we have, I've been talking to many people, many great people, you've been laid off, who are looking for a new orientation. Brian Milner (06:05) Yeah, yeah, I agree. I mean, I think you laid that out really, really well because there's I think you're right. It's kind of a multi effect scenario. There's a lot of things affecting it. And I know I've had conversations with with friends and colleagues about this. And, you know, we've talked a lot about the I think more kind of the second thing that you're talking about, just that and It's sort of a chicken and egg thing because the industry has built up and spread agile concepts through offerings of usually two day classes. You and I both do those quite regularly. And I think we probably both would say that's a very valuable thing. to go through sort of that immersion kind of a couple of days to learn it and get a foundation in it. But there may have been sort of a misconception or it may have been sold incorrectly to say, now you're ready to lead an organization and transforming from zero to 60 in Agile. when you're not, right? I mean, you've got a good grounding. You're ready to begin learning with a team, but it's the first step. There's gotta be some sort of ongoing support system that when you come up against something that you don't really know how to handle, that you have someone to ask. You have somewhere to go to get help and get answers. Even the, you I work with Mike Cohn, I think he's a great trainer. But even a two day class with Mike Cohn, I don't think is gonna make anyone an expert that now you're ready to, you know, take on the huge challenge of cultural change within the organization, you know? Andreas Schliep (07:53) Yeah, yeah, it's like with anything agile, these classes are a starting point or a waypoint and not a designation. It's not the goal. So when I made my driving license, my driving instructor told me, and in Germany you have to spend lots of hours with your driving instructor. And my driving instructor told me gladly, now you can get to practice on your own. He was happy that he didn't have to co-practice with me any longer because I wasn't the best driver. So I actually aced the theory test, but the practical driving was a little more difficult and kind of probably was bad for the blood pressure of my driving instructor. yeah. And that way, but I never thought about this. So the idea was I get the permission or I get the next level to the next step. And the next step will be, I want to learn proper driving. And that's something that you need to do on your own. And with this understanding, we try to kind of provide a path for people to become better scrum masters and agile coaches by kind of revamping the CSP path, the scrum aligns and other things. A glorious project that also failed gloriously. I'm still not entirely sure why, but probably because the Scrum Alliance and many other people failed to understand the similarities between Agile Coach as a profession and the Scrum Master as a role. So they claimed that there were two different things. And I think that's also a structural issue in organizations. Brian Milner (09:16) Yeah. Andreas Schliep (09:25) that they see Scrum Masters and Edge of Coaches as different things. So the Scrum Masters work on the team level and they just know their Scrum and they facilitate the meetings and then they come up with nice cookies for the retrospective so that everybody on the team is happy. And occasionally they take one of the team members aside when they have some issues and help them go through that. That's totally fine, but the Edge of Coaches do the real stuff. release train engineers and the others, do the organizational thing and they don't bother with what's happening on the team level because they need to do the important things on the higher level. And with this attitude somehow fueled by some decisions by Scrum Alliance and other organizations like, yeah, in order to become a certified team coach or certified enterprise coach, you have to kind of prove that you're... had coached like 2000 hours or 2500 hours. But by the way, the scrum master worked. It doesn't count towards this coaching, which is totally ridiculous. So that means the misunderstanding of the role is a structural problem. Another structural problem is that the organizations that would need the most experienced scrum masters, they attract all the rookies. Brian Milner (10:16) you Andreas Schliep (10:34) because they don't even know what a good scrum master would cost like. They have those two day or even less day. I heard about a transformation at a large automobile builder in Germany. They had something like a half day class for scrum master training within the safe environment. And they wonder why they fail. They wonder why they're failing. Brian Milner (10:53) Ha Andreas Schliep (10:54) On the other hand, we have organizations, even here in Germany, they have great leadership and coaching concepts. So they develop the Scrum Masters. They have the finest Scrum Masters ever on such a high level that the teams actually don't need them because the teams also evolved by taking care and taking responsibility for themselves and paying attention to the work. So they're kind of over-coached. So like, I think it was at Rally 10 or 15 years ago. There was a period when the external rally coaches didn't get so many contracts. And so they went inside and coach all the software teams and rallies at Rally. And after three or four months, the software team said, please, please give us a timeout, give us a break. We over coach. It's just too much. We just want to do some work and maybe not get better for like a month or two before we, because it's Brian Milner (11:42) Yeah. Andreas Schliep (11:47) It's hard always to get better and even better and you're so excellent coaches, cut us some slack. So that's so, but this is the structure. So on the individual level, it's just the same as with any major shift in any kind of industry. If your current profession or your current job title doesn't fit any longer, focus on what you're good at and see that you Brian Milner (11:54) Yeah, yeah, yeah, right. Andreas Schliep (12:13) become excellent at that. So that's, it's an old formula. It's an old formula and it can be different things. So I know about some scrum trainers who go and went into software development again, because they said, actually, I'm passionate about software development. I can understand that. I have a developer background as well. So sometimes I'm not that unhappy about taking care of a website and other stuff. It's a nice distraction. But some are really great facilitators. But if they only go out with a label, agile coach, and do not let the facilitation skills and experience shine, then they might get a mis-hired. So we have great personal coaches in there. So people with various skill sets. And if you take a look at the agile coaching growth, we have Biomark, some of them others. Brian Milner (12:37) Right. Andreas Schliep (13:00) You see that it's a vast field. So you cannot expect anyone, maybe the two of us, but you cannot expect anyone to be, not even me, so anyone to be excellent in all these knowledge areas and to be such a light and catalyst in everything. So the idea is to find your own way how you can contribute best. and then collaborate with others in their fields. So for me, the most interesting areas in that field are training and facilitation. Because I think that's the main thing that agile coaches or scrum masters can shine in. Brian Milner (13:41) Yeah, I've always loved, know, Lisa Atkins has that kind of different aspects of a coaching stance. And one of the ones that she had there that I've always loved is the idea of having a signature presence. And I remember when I first kind of encountered that, was, when it kind of sunk in, it was a very freeing idea for me. Andreas Schliep (13:49) See you. Brian Milner (14:01) to, you know, kind of like you're describing there, there's so many different aspects that you could, you know, try to do and you could do well, but it's too much for any one person to do all of it. So that signature presence to me, one of the things that I really kind of took away from that was know what you're good at, right? I mean, there's something about you that you bring from your own personality and your history and and everything that's made you who you are that is unique. And when you can find what that is, then it's almost like prior to that recognition to me, I was almost even a little ashamed that that was where my strength was. And I felt like I had to make up on these other areas that I struggle with or I didn't do as well. But that concept to me, Andreas Schliep (14:47) Mm-hmm. Brian Milner (14:52) kind of help me see, no, there's something that's really unique about how you approach things. And if you recognize that, lean into it because nobody else can offer that, right? Nobody else brings that to the table because that's uniquely you. Andreas Schliep (15:06) Yeah. Yeah. I have to admit, well, we're both with Scrum Alliance and I've been with Scrum Alliance for more than 20 years now. But some of the biggest insights about Scrum and the role of Scrum Master were some things that I actually learned by looking through the Scrum.org certification parts. So just out of curiosity, I started digging into the... Professional Scrum Master Series by Scrum.psm1. Okay, PSM1 is a walking part, so that's no big deal. 50 minutes without preparation, A's are done. Okay, next thing, PSM2, was a little more chilling. Okay, there are some different concepts in the way they address Scrum. And I completely faded PSM3. So that's interesting. So I should have known that. And the point is that... Brian Milner (15:52) Huh. Yeah. Andreas Schliep (15:58) There are differences in the message and the Scrum Master and the Scrum.org framing of Scrum is far more of a leader. So they take far more responsibilities. They are much closer to a sports team coach actually, even taking care of the crew and even throwing people out of the team if necessary. Then the fluffy Scrum Master social worker thing. with no real responsibility always in the background that we appear to propagate sometimes that I even have propagated lots of times. And I see this in my own style as well. So I'm rather strong at the facilitation part and working from the side of the background of people. But sometimes I see, and I think that's a big challenge for many agile coaching scrummers out there. Brian Milner (16:32) Yeah. Andreas Schliep (16:48) When it comes to the situation where I should take the lead, I'm still reluctant when I say, okay, yeah, somehow I don't want to step under the feet of others. I want to give them room. I want to be in my facilitator stance because I love that stance and that's my personal brand or whatever. The calm way and listening to people and integrating all voices. But all of a sudden, I encounter situations where say, my voice first. So, yeah. So let's do it that way. this week, I kind of stopped the client workshop in the middle. I said, so yeah, what is that? here you booked me for the entire day, but I noticed that you're very upset about important stakeholders missing. Brian Milner (17:19) Yeah. Andreas Schliep (17:39) I also noticed that you don't see the point in reiterating some other concepts that I prepared. you could use these methods and then talk to your stakeholders, but you rather want me in this room with your stakeholders and have this discussion together. So let's just stop this now. And I offer you a gift. I will come back for another half of days. So we stop this half day. You can use your time for something else. I can use my time for something else. And then I come back, but only if you have your manager in here. So if you bring your boss, I will come for another half day and then we finish this and deal with these questions. And they were kind of impressed that I was offering them. But where's the point? I needed to change the mode. I couldn't stay and I think this is something Brian Milner (18:20) you Yeah. Andreas Schliep (18:29) which is another great opportunity for Scrum Masters or agricultural coaches to say, what if I stepped into this leadership role? Brian Milner (18:37) Yeah. Yeah, that's a great kind of approach to it. And I know we've had some similar things at Mountain Goat as well, where we've worked with some clients and you kind of show up and you start to get into the things. Or even sometimes in the kind of just pre-work calls where you're trying to arrange things and talk through what is it you want to get out of this. And you sort of get that feedback and understanding that this is really just checking a box, right? They wanna check the box that they did this, but really making the change. No, they really don't wanna make the change. They really don't wanna have to change what they do on a day-to-day basis. you kind of are, as a coach or a trainer, you kind of get to that decision point where you have to say, at what point do I call this out? At what point do I say, you know what? You're gonna waste your money. Right? mean, I can come and do this. I can take your check. I can go away, but it's not going to make any difference. And you're not ready for it yet. and, that's, that's always a really hard decision. When you get to that point, when you realize, you know what? It's not serving your needs for me to, move forward here. You know, it's, it's, you're not going to be happy with me. Andreas Schliep (19:48) Yeah. I think it's important to maintain the personal integrity. the whole point about resilience is that you kind of are able to change while you maintain your own identity. So the path that you are trying to. And this change can mean a lot of things. So if someone would tell me, you've got to stop with Scrum now because Scrum is now forbidden everywhere. I would kind of dig into the facilitation. So I joined the IAF, the International Association for Facilitators. I don't have a credential there yet, but this is something if I would go into more facilitation gigs, this would be very interesting for me. I also became a coach in the responsibility program with Christopher Avery. First of all, I think that was a nice addition to my training or to my work with leaders. But then I also discovered that this is kind of navigation aid for myself. So whenever I do something, I start with what do I want? So what do I want? How do I want the situation to evolve? What is the outcome that I want to achieve? And how am I blocking myself from that? So what is kind of my inner blocker that prevents me from getting what I want? Brian Milner (21:03) Yeah. Andreas Schliep (21:04) So I could also talk about external blockers, but these external blockers are sometimes just things on my path that I choose to say, okay, I can't go there because there's this blocker. And when I found these two things, so what do I really want and what is blocking me? I can go and make a decision. I can confront myself. And with this ability, I'm pretty sure that I'm able to respond to any kind of situation. So, and... whether I pursue the facilitator part further or whether I go into the coaching way. I love to work with groups so that just the one-on-one coaching is not so interesting for me. But these are kind of independent from what I'm doing now, but also based on what I'm doing now. So I can derive lots of good skills and insights and approaches from what I did as a scrum trainer so far, what I have done as a scrum trainer. Brian Milner (21:58) Yeah. Well, I think when I'm hearing and tell me if I'm misquoting this or saying it or misunderstanding, but it feels like there's sort of an element here that, you know, I think a lot of us sometimes, have some kind of a title that we've earned. and we, we sort of inherit from that, set of, activities or things that we feel empowered to do. based on that title. And what it sounds like I'm hearing from you is it should kind of be the reverse. You should think about what you do well and the titles may come and go. They may change the descriptors that people use to describe what you do, it might change, but what you love to do with the activity, what you're good at, that can shift and change a little bit and don't be so concerned with the title. Andreas Schliep (22:45) Yeah, so edge-hired coaches still can keep this kind of title for the tribe to identify a peer group. And I've also joined edge-hired coach camps even as a scrum trainer. because this identification is important to say, okay, I know a couple of people who have different skills or different things who are some more similar to me, but I don't think we should stick to Agile Coach as a job title and only look for Agile Coach offers. But rather go out and see what's out there, what opportunities do we see. Apply for weird stuff. So at the beginning of this year, I applied as a facilitator for United Nations volunteer program and even made an extra language proficiency exam before that because I had to kind of prove that I'm at least at level C1. for this job. I just did it because it was there because this opportunity came through the International Association for Facilitators. I just said, okay, I don't know. They didn't even throw me back. I don't have anything, but I just, I want to apply for this. I want to get this material together. I want to show that I'm potentially able to do this. I will be far too expensive with my current rate, but yeah. And I think anyone currently in the situation as an edge on coach being laid off or looking for another job should kind of step back and go through these steps. So what do I want? What are the activities that I'm really passionate about? Brian Milner (24:13) Yeah. Andreas Schliep (24:13) And the answer might be surprising. So sometimes, it's actually coding. Maybe we'll get back to the basics. Brian Milner (24:19) Yeah, yeah, you're right. I've known a lot of people or I've known several people, I guess I should say, that have kind of maybe migrated backwards. If you think of it in that way, I don't know that's backwards, but migrated to their roots a little bit more, you know, and maybe left training, but went back to doing, you know, managing software teams or even coding just because they enjoy it. And I think that's a great thing if that's... Andreas Schliep (24:41) Yeah. Brian Milner (24:45) brings them happiness, you know? Andreas Schliep (24:47) Yeah, you know, when the whole agile thing started, they came up with a little website and the website says something like, we're discovering better ways to sort fire customers or so. I don't have a probably and helping others to do it. And if even if you go back or if you go to actually start working as a developer again. You still bring the edge of spirit and you still bring the ideas and methods of collaboration. It's going to be so helpful in your environment. Especially with new technologies, AI stuff and remote work and all these things kicking in. Everything looks like it's making your work more difficult. Massive layers like even media firing developers now, not only edge of coaches. So we have... so many disruptions to deal with. And I think that, well, kind of resilient HR coaching tribe stance is helpful in whatever role you fulfill afterwards. Brian Milner (25:43) That's really good. Yeah. Well, this has been great. I really enjoyed the conversation. Sometimes you're not really quite sure where we're going to end up and where we're going to travel, but I've really enjoyed all the directions we've taken here, Andreas. So I can't thank you enough. Thank you for making time and coming on and sharing your experience and wisdom with everyone. Andreas Schliep (26:00) Mm-hmm. Yeah, was great fun and thanks for the opportunity and I hope that this will help some people find little more guidance, least a little more confidence if they don't find guidance yet. Brian Milner (26:13) Yeah, I agree. Thank you very much. Andreas Schliep (26:15) Thank you.

We're taking a critical look at the Double Diamond model, aka. Dual Track Development, aka. Dual Track Agile.This widely-adopted model might be leading leadership and/or teams astray, so we're taking some time to explore its limitations in real-world applications. From the misconception of linear progression to the crucial importance of keeping customers involved throughout the process, Brian tries to convince Om that the model needs significant rethinking!Other things we discuss are:Why the "messy middle" is where the real magic happensHow to properly involve your whole team in both discovery and deliveryThe importance of continuous customer involvementWhy organizational support is crucial for success#ProductManagement #AgileMethodology #ProductDevelopment #Leadership #ProductStrategyproduct management, agile methodology, product development, leadership, team development, double diamond, product discovery, product delivery, agile coaching, product strategy= = = = = = = = = = = =Watch on YouTubeSubscribe on YouTubeAppleSpotify= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

BONUS: A Coaching Masterclass - How Our Language Affects Our Leadership Style, And The Culture We Create, With Michelle Pauk and Victor Pena In this BONUS episode, Victor Pena and Michelle Pauk dive deep into the power of language in shaping our work as leaders, Agile Coaches, and Scrum Masters. Together, we explore how the words we use influence relationships, decisions, and the success of Agile practices. From navigating the ambiguity of language to fostering effective communication, this episode provides actionable insights to help you thrive in a constantly changing workplace. Language as a Culture Carrier “Language is how we carry culture, but without clarity, it can lead to misalignment and conflict.” Victor and Michelle discuss how language reflects and shapes workplace culture. Misaligned terminology—like “servant leader”—can create tension between teams and executives. They highlight the importance of achieving shared understanding and the role of language in fostering trust and collaboration. “Start by asking what others mean by key words—it's the first step toward alignment.” Feedforward vs. Feedback “Feedback gets us stuck in the past, while feedforward builds a path to a better future.” Drawing inspiration from Marshall Goldsmith, we discuss how focusing on future-oriented improvement (feedforward) avoids the blame game and builds positive momentum. As Agile practitioners, shifting from root cause analysis to solution-focused coaching allows teams to move forward effectively. “Ask yourself, what can we do better tomorrow instead of dwelling on what went wrong yesterday?” The Ambiguity of Language in Collaboration “Words mean different things to different people—be curious about how others see the world.” Victor and Michelle unpack how language ambiguity impacts communication and decision-making. They emphasize the need to explore the assumptions behind others' words and how Agile principles like #NoEstimates challenge traditional views on planning and work management. “When you encounter a term that seems obvious, ask: What does this mean to you?” Semiotics and the Language of Work “Symbols are the silent drivers of collaboration.” Semiotics, the study of symbols, plays a vital role in Agile practices like visual management. From story cards to team boards, symbols help teams communicate and navigate their work. The duo discusses how the language of Agile evolves through symbols and how to introduce these effectively in organizations. “Create visual symbols that align with your team's values—they'll anchor your collaboration.” Beyond the “Agile is Dead” Debate, Raising The Bar Of Our Shared Conversation “What's trying to come forward in the evolution of Agile?” While some criticize Agile as outdated, Victor and Michelle argue that its core principles—delivering value faster and improving quality—remain timeless. They explore how Agile can evolve to meet current challenges while retaining its essence. “Instead of asking if Agile is dead, ask what the next evolution looks like.” About Victor Pena and Michelle Pauk Victor Pena is an Agile Coach dedicated to helping organizations achieve business agility. With a focus on innovation, collaboration, and delivering great customer value, Victor transforms practices to ensure long-term success in a dynamic environment. You can link with Victor Pena on LinkedIn and connect with him via email at victor@vpena.com. Michelle Pauk is the founder of Streamside Coaching, helping leaders and organizations thrive through change. With over 15 years of experience in Agile environments and certifications from the International Coaching Federation, Michelle specializes in leadership development and organizational growth. You can link with Michelle Pauk on LinkedIn and connect with her at StreamsideCoaching.com.

Success as a platform PM requires both technical depth and exceptional emotional intelligence to navigate complex organizational dynamics...That goes double if you work in banking or finance!In this episode of Arguing Agile, Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel and Product Manager Brian Orlando read and respond to a question from a listener who is a platform product managers at a Bank.Getting into the nitty-gritty of platform how-to's, this episode is perfect for product managers, agile coaches, and technology leaders working in traditional industries looking to modernize their approach to platform management!As industries embrace digital transformation (err... product operating model), platform product managers face unique challenges, including: How to effectively manage cross-functional relationships in siloed environmentsStrategies for prioritizing platform features that deliver organization-wide valueTips for reducing cognitive load across teamsWays to build trust and showcase value as a platform teamCreate value through standardization without weaponizing itBuild effective cross-functional relationships#ProductManagement #TeamTopologies #PlatformTeam #AgileLeadership #Banking #TechLeadership #ProductDevelopment #AgileCoaching= = = = = = = = = = = =Watch it on YouTube= = = = = = = = = = = =Subscribe to our YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8XUSoJPxGPI8EtuUAHOb6g?sub_confirmation=1Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3Amazon Music:https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ee3506fc-38f2-46d1-a301-79681c55ed82/Agile-Podcast= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

Mike Bowler: How To Coach Management to Support Agile Teams  Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Mike Bowler shares his philosophy that “failure is simply feedback,” emphasizing the challenges of maintaining team cohesion after stepping away. He shares how management often unintentionally disrupts Agile progress by disbanding teams or reverting to old practices. Mike identifies a key anti-pattern: breaking teams down due to a lack of understanding from leadership. He underscores the importance of coaching management to support Agile work and provides actionable tips, such as helping teams secure autonomy and applying the same coaching techniques used with teams to management.  Self-reflection Question: How can you support management to reinforce team autonomy? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

BONUS: The Power of TWI in Transforming Supervisory Skills and Software Leadership With Hugh Alley In this BONUS episode, we delve into how Training Within Industry (TWI) principles can revolutionize leadership and supervision, and those principles can be adapted to the software industry. Hugh Alley, industrial engineer, author of The TWI Memory Jogger, and seasoned consultant, brings invaluable insights on how adapting these timeless methods can enhance team cohesion, productivity, and job satisfaction. From Toxic Workplaces to Transformative Solutions "When I first saw supervisors shouting in the workplace, I knew there had to be a better way." Hugh's journey began in the high-stress world of manufacturing where ineffective leadership was the norm. His turning point came when he discovered TWI, which shifted a company from zero employee suggestions to implementing 2-3 improvements per week. He shares the importance of recognizing poor patterns and seeking practical solutions that lead to lasting change. "A key insight? The power of TWI isn't just in theory; it creates immediate, real-world results." The Historic Power of TWI: Lessons from World-War II "We learned that repetition is essential for true skill mastery." Hugh recounts the origins of TWI during WWII when the U.S. War Manpower Commission had to quickly upskill the workforce and develop leaders. He highlights the drastic improvement in training time for complex tasks, such as lens grinding, reduced from five years to just five days. This approach emphasized breaking tasks into micro-skills and practicing them repeatedly. "The secret to learning is practice—not just once, but deliberately and consistently." Core Managerial Responsibilities: Mission and People "If you don't look after your people, they'll leave." Hugh elaborates on two often-overlooked managerial duties: achieving the mission and caring for the team. In software projects, where meeting deadlines becomes paramount, leaders may overlook their teams' well-being. He shares a case where training in TWI's Job Relations (JR) module reduced turnover from 60% to 10%, proving that attention to people directly impacts results. "Feedback isn't optional—it's the backbone of a motivated team." The Five Essential Supervisory Skills "Getting people up to speed isn't luck; it's skill." Hugh discusses the five essential skills for supervisors outlined in TWI: giving instructions, fostering performance, improving methods, setting priorities, and listening. These skills ensure that new team members integrate smoothly and that ongoing work aligns with team goals. For software teams, he emphasizes that structured training can prevent future issues and enhance productivity. "Supervisory success is built on clear guidance and active listening." Why TWI Gets Overlooked and How to Revitalize It "We don't need heroes; we need high-functioning teams." Post-WWII, TWI lost momentum as it was seen as outdated, and the culture shifted toward individual heroics in the workplace. Hugh argues that today's teams thrive not on isolated brilliance but on collective efficiency and shared learning. "Our challenge today is to reclaim TWI's structured approach for consistent team performance." Addressing Performance Issues with TWI "Inspection isn't just watching; it's understanding and acting." Hugh explains how the Job Relations module of TWI can be adapted for software teams to address performance issues. He shares practical steps for leaders to approach these conversations constructively, improving team trust and transparency. "Proactive feedback, rooted in observation, fuels team growth." Application for Scrum Masters and Agile Leaders "Basic certifications don't cover these leadership essentials." Hugh talks about how Scrum Masters can leverage the insights from his book, The TWI Memory Jogger, to build vital supervisory skills that foster better team dynamics and output. He emphasizes the importance of continuous learning beyond basic training to handle real-world challenges effectively. "To be truly effective, Scrum Masters must master supervisory fundamentals." The Art of Listening in Leadership "Respect starts with truly hearing your team." Hugh shares a story about a colleague named Angie, illustrating how active listening can uncover underlying issues affecting performance. He discusses how TWI encourages leaders to move beyond surface-level interactions and engage meaningfully with their teams. "Listening is the gateway to trust and respect in leadership." Improving Methods: A Supervisor's Guide "Ask better questions, get better answers." For supervisors and Agile Coaches, Hugh introduces six reflective questions that improve work methods. He explains how applying these questions can enhance retrospective meetings and process improvements in software teams, reinforcing TWI's impact on continuous improvement. "Improvement begins when you challenge every assumption and ask the right questions." TWI's Influence on Team Cohesion and Values Hugh shares a success story from his book where TWI principles transformed team unity. He shows how applying these principles nurtures an environment of mutual respect and shared responsibility. "True cohesion comes from shared learning and collective effort." Hugh encourages listeners to explore TWI resources and start with practical application in their teams. For those eager to dive deeper, his books Becoming the Supervisor and The TWI Memory Jogger offer accessible entry points to mastering these crucial skills. About Hugh Alley Hugh Alley is an industrial engineer, author, and consultant specializing in continuous improvement and supervisory skills. He has led multiple manufacturing firms and trained over 1,000 front-line leaders, authoring two books on effective supervision. Based near Vancouver, Canada, Hugh supports clients across North America with practical strategies for leadership development. You can link with Hugh Alley on LinkedIn.

Agile in Hardware: Agile for Physical Products, Insights from Dainese's Helmet Project With Massimo Terzo In this Agile in Hardware episode, Agile Coach and Consultant Massimo Terzo shares the story of his experience implementing Agile methodologies for physical product development, highlighting Dainese's journey to develop an innovative motorcycle helmet. Massimo shares essential strategies and unique challenges in applying Agile to hardware, emphasizing continuous learning, collaboration, and a customer-focused mindset. Whether you're in software or hardware, this conversation offers valuable insights for anyone navigating complex product development. The Agile Journey Begins: Adapting for Dainese's Helmet Project “Dainese is a cutting-edge company, but they faced market pressures that required faster development – this helmet project was all about innovation, under intense time constraints.” Massimo provides an overview of Dainese's motorbike helmet project, an Agile transformation journey for a purely physical product – with no software involved. As Dainese faced heightened competition and urgent market deadlines, they knew they had to accelerate product development. Massimo describes how Agile's typical techniques for software, like continuous delivery, had to be redefined for hardware. Instead of delivering functional increments, they focused on incremental learning to develop elements like airflow and ventilation. Prototyping became a central strategy, allowing the team to test quickly, gather feedback, and make informed design choices in a dynamic environment. “In hardware, Agile isn't about delivering functional slices but rather about acquiring critical knowledge incrementally to guide design.” Introducing Agile to Hardware Teams: Building an Agile Mindset "Getting the right people on board was key – we needed people open to Scrum values and willing to collaborate on cross-functional teams." Massimo talks about his initial steps coaching the Dainese team, who were accustomed to a waterfall approach. He began by training the team, especially focusing on the Product Owner, to adopt an Agile mindset. With enthusiastic support from the R&D Director, Massimo led a “Lift-Off” workshop to unify team goals, map out the project, and visualize workflows through story mapping. The team started to think of “increments” as stages of understanding rather than fully-functional slices (as we would do in software), and this helped shift them towards Agile principles of continuous improvement. “Starting with a ‘Lift-Off' workshop set a foundation for collaboration and got everyone focused on a common goal.” Bridging Agile and Waterfall: Working with Supplier Constraints "Suppliers were essential in this project – we had to adapt our Agile adoption to respect lead times and certain traditional practices." Massimo highlights the complex supplier relationships in hardware development and the need for hybrid planning. Agile principles like sprint planning and incremental development were adapted to accommodate suppliers' lead times and waterfall-style deadlines. The team balanced traditional Gantt charts for high-level planning with Agile sprint cycles for flexibility, using reverse planning to align the two approaches. By including a dedicated buyer in the team, they improved communication with suppliers and maintained transparency, ensuring project timelines could be met. “Adapting Agile to work with supplier constraints meant creating a roadmap that respected both Agile flexibility and traditional lead times.” Key Success Factors for Agile in Physical Product Development “Every Agile framework should be adapted to fit the product and the context. Don't get too focused on ‘doing Agile'—focus on making your product development faster and smarter.” Massimo provides his top advice for anyone looking to apply Agile in hardware contexts. He encourages teams to draw inspiration from Agile frameworks but adapt them to their specific product needs. Breaking down complex questions into smaller, testable hypotheses, fostering cross-functional skills, and investing in fast, reliable prototyping are essential steps to stay agile. He emphasizes transparency and reducing feedback loops as core practices to make informed, timely decisions, ultimately making the entire development process more efficient. “Agile isn't a template – it's a mindset for making product development faster, leaner, and more responsive to change.” Resources for Agile Hardware Enthusiasts “Whether you're new to Agile in hardware or looking to deepen your knowledge, these resources offer essential strategies.” Massimo shares his recommended reading list for those interested in Agile for physical product development. He suggests The Agile Factory by Claudio Saurin, Scrum for Hardware by Paolo Sammicheli, and Joe Justice's Scrum Master book. He also recommends exploring agile procurement and supply chain insights from Mirko Kleiner. About Massimo Terzo Massimo Terzo is an Agile Coach and Consultant with expertise in Agile methodologies for physical product development. Over the past decade, he has guided numerous organizations, including a major car manufacturer, through complex Agile transformations. Known for his knowledge in Agile for hardware and engineering, Massimo is a frequent speaker, inspiring teams to adopt agile practices for real-world product development challenges. You can link with Massimo Terzo on LinkedIn.

If an Agile Release Train (ART) is a team of Agile teams, how do you make sure your teams are collaborating effectively? In this episode, Mohamed Zouaghi, Lean-Agile coach and transformation architect, shares his tips. Like what you hear? Connect with Mohamed on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

As product managers and agile practitioners, we often struggle to communicate our value to management in terms they understand.In this episode, you'll learn how to better translate business value to management, make a case for additional resources, and overcome resistance to change in your organization.Join Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel as we discuss:Translating agile metrics into business valueMaking a case for additional resources in SMBsOvercoming resistance to change in organizationsBalancing new features with technical debt reductionStrategies for demonstrating ROI of agile practices#ProductManagement #AgileLeadership #BusinessValue #OrganizationalChange #TechnicalDebt= = = = = = = = = = = =Watch it on YouTube= = = = = = = = = = = =Subscribe to our YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8XUSoJPxGPI8EtuUAHOb6g?sub_confirmation=1Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/agile-podcast/id1568557596Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/show/362QvYORmtZRKAeTAE57v3= = = = = = = = = = = =Toronto Is My Beat (Music Sample)By Whitewolf (Source: https://ccmixter.org/files/whitewolf225/60181)CC BY 4.0 DEED (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)

“Why do we do PI Planning? It's so expensive.” When a leader or manager asks that question, how do you respond? Alex Menzinsky, an SPC, RTE, and Agile Coach in Spain shares his very convincing answer in today's episode. Like what you hear? Connect with Alex on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

In this episode, Stefano Giovannini Agile Transformation Director at Capgemini Invent, shares a story from the field about a recent PI Planning event that he and his team supported for a financial services company. He shares what they learned and what they'll do differently in the future to improve. Like what you hear? Connect with Stefano on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

What does an ant have to do with SAFe and becoming a more effective organization? Ludvig Åhlin, Lean-Agile Coach at Swedbank and iSPCT candidate explains in today's epsiode. Like what you hear? Connect with Ludvig on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

Dominika Bula: Tackling Resistance to Change with Effective Communication, A Scrum Master's Guide Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Dominika discusses the challenges of harmonizing tools across different teams within a project. As more teams join the project, the inconsistencies in tool usage become apparent. Dominika emphasizes starting with a discovery process to understand the current situation before proposing options for change. She shares tips on effective communication strategies, the importance of involving team leads, and how to tackle emotional objections to change. She also warns against focusing on tasks rather than end-state outcomes when defining goals for change. Self-reflection Question: How do you communicate changes in your teams, and are you focusing on outcomes or just tasks? Leave your answer in the comments, let's get this conversation started!  About Dominika Bula Dominika is an Agile Coach at SAP Signavio with a strong background in agile practices from her experiences at Oracle and Red Hat. She is passionate about Kanban and firmly believes that Agile and DevOps are the perfect combination. As a facilitator for the Women in Agile mentorship program, Dominika is dedicated to supporting and nurturing the next generation of agile leaders. You can link with Dominika Bula on LinkedIn.

As your organization progresses through an Agile transformation, how do you make SAFe—and ultimately business agility—stick? In this episode, Baptise Galea, manager of the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) for FedEx in Europe, shares three key tips around people, communication, and culture. Like what you hear? Connect with Baptiste on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

BONUS: The Creative Agile Coach: Jaques Smit's Lessons on Fostering Creativity in our Work and within Teams In this BONUS episode, we dive deep into the unique intersection of agile coaching and fantasy writing with Jaques Smit, an Agile Coach in the gaming industry, and master transformational coach with his passion for crafting fantasy stories infused with Positive Psychology. Join us as we explore how his dual passions inform and enhance each other, providing practical insights for both aspiring writers and agile professionals. Agile Coaching Through Storytelling "I explore ideas in agile coaching in my writing through characters and context, making complex concepts relatable and actionable to the reader." Jaques shares how his background in fantasy writing enriches his approach to agile coaching. By creating vivid characters and immersive contexts, he brings agile principles to life, allowing teams to better understand and implement them. This storytelling technique not only engages team members but also facilitates deeper comprehension and retention of agile methodologies. Deciding Which Ideas to Pursue "Fiction allows you to push ideas to the nth degree, exploring possibilities that can inspire real-world solutions." Drawing from his agile experience, Jaques discusses his method for selecting which ideas to develop further in his writing. He emphasizes the importance of iterative planning and feedback, much like agile sprints, to refine and enhance his stories. By focusing on one key idea per book and continuously improving based on reader feedback, he ensures that each narrative remains compelling and impactful. Gathering Feedback for Writing Projects "Understanding your target audience is crucial – you need to know your reader better than they know themselves." Jaques outlines his strategies for collecting and utilizing feedback to shape his writing projects. From selecting alpha readers to conducting in-depth conversations, he highlights the importance of targeted feedback in refining his stories. By defining the "value" of his books and aligning them with his readers' needs, Jaques ensures that his work resonates deeply and meets the expectations of his audience. Experimenting with Story Ideas "Character sketches and story outlines are invaluable tools for testing different ideas before committing to a full project." Reflecting on his early writing experiences, Jaques shares how experimenting with various story and topic ideas has been pivotal in his development as an author. He discusses the use of character and story sketches to explore different directions and gather feedback, enabling him to pivot and adapt his narratives based on what resonates most with his readers. From these stories shared by Jaques, we learn how the same principles can be applied in Product Development. Using Storytelling to Lead Change "Incorporating a coach into the book creates real coaching conversations that mirror transformative leadership practices." Jaques explains how he integrates his coaching expertise into his storytelling to illustrate effective leadership and transformational change. By embedding coaching dialogues within his narratives, he provides readers with practical examples of how to navigate challenges and foster growth, both in fictional settings and real-life scenarios. The Value of Fiction in Learning "Reading fantasy and sci-fi allows you to explore problems from a safe distance, offering a stress holiday while fostering creative solutions." Highlighting the benefits of fiction, Jaques discusses how genres like fantasy and science fiction can serve as powerful tools for learning and problem-solving. By presenting challenges and solutions in imaginative contexts, these stories encourage readers to think outside the box and apply creative thinking to their own professional and personal lives. Maintaining Momentum to Finish a Book "Focusing on early adopters and serving their needs provides the motivation and evidence needed to complete a book." Jaques shares his strategies for staying motivated and ensuring the completion of his writing projects. By engaging with his early adopters and continuously seeking their input, he maintains a clear direction and purpose, which helps him overcome distractions and challenges along the way. In Product Development, we can learn from Jaques' story and apply some of the same ideas when developing products. Writing Principles Applicable to Software Development "The principles of iterative improvement and feedback loops in writing are directly transferable to agile software development." Drawing parallels between writing and software development, Jaques emphasizes how practices like iterative drafting and continuous feedback can enhance both creative and technical projects. His insights reveal how the disciplined approach of writing can inform more effective and responsive software development processes. Overcoming Writing Challenges "Embracing challenges as opportunities to grow strengthens both your writing and your agile practices." Jaques discusses common obstacles writers face and how adopting an agile mindset can help overcome them. By viewing challenges as chances to iterate and improve, he maintains momentum and ensures consistent progress toward his writing goals. Closing Thoughts: The Synergy of Coaching and Writing "Integrating coaching techniques into storytelling not only enriches the narrative but also empowers readers to implement positive changes in their lives." In his closing remarks, Jaques reflects on the powerful synergy between his coaching and writing endeavors. He underscores the importance of blending practical coaching strategies with engaging storytelling to create meaningful and transformative experiences for his audience. About Jaques Smit Jaques Smit was born in Rundu, Namibia, and lives with his family in Wellington, New Zealand. As a games Agile Coach and master transformational coach, he writes about fantasy laced with Positive Psychology, aspiring to create compelling stories that touch the reader. You can link with Jaques Smit on LinkedIn.

“I had a bet with some folks during an engagement a couple of years ago … that if I ever say ‘SAFe says' then I have to do 10 burpees. That's the rule because it's not about dogma. It's about how can we facilitate conversations and find different ways to explore things.” In this episode, Adam talks to Tim Jackson, SPCT and Agile coach, who actually learned about Agile and product management from being in a band. The two discuss topics including why it's important to be pragmatic when implementing frameworks like SAFe, the value of effective discovery to understand the real problems and goals before jumping into a solution, and the distinction between consulting and coaching and how to be aware of your own limitations. Like what you hear? Connect with Tim on LinkedIn. Explore SAFe courses here.

What happens POST Agile Coaching? In future, the agile coach becomes a delivery leader, moving from cheering at the sidelines to playing an active role in execution, with delivery accountability. The idea that a Scrum team can be self-organizing and act in a silo is long-dead. The World is too complex for that. No single team knows everything about the business, the customer, the regulatory environment and the technology environment in which they work. It's why we have all the departments we do in organizations. The best teams know how to navigate necessary complexity and produce results together. This ability to navigate is where the future of the agile coach lies. 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/

Esther Schmit: The Power of a Positive Product Owner in Agile Teams Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. The Great Product Owner: The Power of a Positive Product Owner in Agile Teams In this segment, Esther shares an inspiring story about a Product Owner who truly excelled in his role. This PO was a student who brought enthusiasm, a willingness to learn, and a supportive attitude to the team. Esther discusses how his positive energy and eagerness to help had a ripple effect, boosting the team's morale and performance.  The Bad Product Owner: Customer First, How to Avoid PO's from Focusing on Technical Details In this segment, Esther shares how Product Owners who come from a technical background can become micro-managers for the team. She explains how these POs can sometimes get too involved in technical decisions, which can negatively affect the team's autonomy and effectiveness. Esther also shares tips on how Scrum Masters can help Product Owners can shift their focus from technical details to customer goals and business outcomes.    [IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We've put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO's collaborate.   About Esther Schmit Esther is a freelance Agile Coach and Scrum Master, leading Agile Pro Center, which provides online Agile Coaching, Training, and Mentoring for Scrum Masters. Esther also hosts the Online Scrum Master Summit. You can link with Esther Schmit on LinkedIn, and visit her site Agile Gatherings.

Esther Schmit: Setting and Achieving Goals with an Agile Approach to the Scrum Master Role Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. When it comes to defining Scrum Master success, Esther talks about the importance of setting personal goals and regularly checking in on them. She offers practical tips, such as defining your own success criteria, making your goals visible, and asking for feedback from teams and stakeholders. Esther also talks about the value of reflecting on each ceremony and how you can use metrics like Return on Time Invested (ROTI) to gauge effectiveness.  Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Story Cubes Retrospective When it comes to retrospectives, Esther believes that varying retrospective formats helps to keep team members engaged. She shares practical tips, such as using Story Cubes and encouraging team members to talk about themselves to build better relationships.    [IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he's learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox!    About Esther Schmit Esther is a freelance Agile Coach and Scrum Master, leading Agile Pro Center, which provides online Agile Coaching, Training, and Mentoring for Scrum Masters. Esther also hosts the Online Scrum Master Summit. You can link with Esther Schmit on LinkedIn, and visit her site Agile Gatherings.

The Future of Agile Coaching Agile delivery has conquered the world. Agile is everywhere. The industry dinosaurs have introduced Agile over the years. Public organizations have Scrum teams. It's omnipresent. Many active in the Agile space have discussed we have reached a saturation point. “Everyone” is doing it, so we should expect a decline in demand to introduce people to Agile. That doesn't mean Agile Coaching will become less relevant. On the contrary, introducing Agile is only one step towards effectiveness in creating value. 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/

Esther Schmit: Tips for Effective SAFe Implementation, Even if Teams are Already Using Agile Processes Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, we discuss scaling in Agile, and the challenges of transitioning teams from Scrum or other team-level Agile processes, to SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework). Esther describes common anti-patterns and resistance to change. She also shares insights on how to support teams, managers, and Scrum Masters through Agile coaching and other support groups, like community of practice.    [IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.   About Esther Schmit Esther is a freelance Agile Coach and Scrum Master, leading Agile Pro Center, which provides online Agile Coaching, Training, and Mentoring for Scrum Masters. Esther also hosts the Online Scrum Master Summit. You can link with Esther Schmit on LinkedIn, and visit her site Agile Gatherings.

Esther Schmit: Bridging Communication Gaps Between Agile Teams, The Communication Challenge Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Esther shares a challenging experience with two teams that struggled due to poor communication and unwillingness to collaborate. She provides tips on facilitating retrospectives and one-on-one conversations to address communication issues and set clear expectations. Listen to learn a method to improve communication in your teams. Featured Book of the Week: Mister Mindset by Michael Pilarczyk Esther discusses "Master your Mindset, Live a Meaningful Life: A book about mental health and personal success" by Michael Pilarczyk, a book focused on changing your mindset to improve the quality of life. She explains how understanding and altering one's mindset can positively influence professional and personal lives, especially for Scrum Masters who facilitate and support teams.    [IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM's that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!     About Esther Schmit Esther is a freelance Agile Coach and Scrum Master, leading Agile Pro Center, which provides online Agile Coaching, Training, and Mentoring for Scrum Masters. Esther also hosts the Online Scrum Master Summit. You can link with Esther Schmit on LinkedIn, and visit her site Agile Gatherings.

Esther Schmit: The Power of Feedback, Lessons from a New Scrum Master Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Esther talks about her initial experiences as a Scrum Master, feeling overwhelmed when her colleagues sought her guidance even if she only had a few months on the job. She discusses the importance of seeking feedback and asking for help, even when feeling uncertain. Esther emphasizes starting our work from a place of curiosity and validating understanding among team members. How do you overcome the fear of asking for help and ensure effective communication within your team?   [IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.   About Esther Schmit Esther is a freelance Agile Coach and Scrum Master, leading Agile Pro Center, which provides online Agile Coaching, Training, and Mentoring for Scrum Masters. Esther also hosts the Online Scrum Master Summit. You can link with Esther Schmit on LinkedIn, and visit her site Agile Gatherings.

Kirsi Sahlstén: When Protection Hinders Progress, A Guide to Tackling Psychological Safety in Agile Teams Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. In this episode, Kirsi shares an insightful story about a large team working on regulatory reporting that struggled with psychological safety. Even if the team tried to shut out Agile coaches, leadership noticed alarming employee satisfaction scores and helped the change get started. Kirsi reveals how the Product Owner's protective approach stifled team growth and collaboration. She explains the anti-patterns observed and offers tips on how to address such challenges by taking a more directive stance and encouraging continuous improvement. Learn how small changes can make a big difference in a team's dynamics and success. Featured Book of the Week: Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching by Bob Galen Kirsi discusses Bob Galen's book, "Extraordinarily Badass Agile Coaching," highlighting its comprehensive approach to Agile coaching. She emphasizes the importance of the Agile coaching contract, even for internal coaches, and shares how it helps in setting clear expectations. Kirsi also explores the significance of journaling for self-reflection. This book is not just for coaches but also for Scrum Masters seeking to deepen their understanding and practice of Agile coaching. [IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM's that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!     About Kirsi Sahlstén Kirsi is a wanna-be neuroscientist and full-stack developer who, in real life, ended up as an Agile coach. She is passionate about sparking and enabling learning and unlearning, working together across boundaries, and focusing on the essential. Her favorite question is "Why?" and she is fascinated by the complexity of simplicity. You can link with Kirsi Sahlstén on LinkedIn.