Author: Coach Dan
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“Agiling in place” – Tales from agile managers
One of my favorite responsibilities is facilitating the Agile Leader Onboarding sessions. In these events – I get to talk to managers and leaders about the agile values and principles, how agile frameworks add value, and about how managing and leading people is very different in an agile environment. Inevitably we get into great conversations…
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What if I get it wrong…?
We’ve all heard that question (or some variant) in our head – often delivered in that ominous tone that our brain reserves for occasions when it truly wants to undercut our self-confidence – “OMG – what if I screw this up?” “What if what I say falls flat?” “What if this doesn’t work?” “What if…
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Excerpt – How Much Autonomy Should Teams get from Their Agile Leader?
As I was doing some exploring this weekend, I came across a great article that resonated with me on so many levels. I’m sharing an excerpt of the content here with you along with some thoughts to consider as you continue your agile journey! The full article can be found here if you’re interested. Ownership? When the…
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Report: New Capabilities Leaders Need…
In the spirit of growth and learning – I spend time every week exploring new ideas, reading and learning about agility and leadership. I came across a report published by McKinsey and Company in October of 2018 entitled Leading agile transformation: The new capabilities leaders need to build 21st-century organizations. It really resonated with me,…
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Beware! Zombies Approaching!
This agile coach was investing some time in himself this weekend and came across an article that warned of a topic he is aware of, and indeed himself has experienced- Zombie Agility! Now I know what you’re thinking – “He’s really off into the deep end this time,” but hear me out! I can assure…
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Thankful – not just today – but every day!
As we approach this holiday season (and despite the fact that my personal backlog keeps getting longer instead of shorter) I feel compelled to take a moment and share a list of things for which I’m most thankful. (Cliché’, I know – but deal with it… when it comes to Coach Dan, you take the…
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Coach’s Challenge – Do you control your commanding?
So first and foremost – kudos if you got past that horrible pun of a title. I’m (obviously?) thinking about the concept of command and control, and how as agile managers we can sometimes struggle with the voices in our head. You know what I’m talking about – the ones that say “Failure is not an…
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When are we “agile?”
I hear the questions all the time – “How long will it take for us to be agile?” “How do we know when we are agile?” “When will we be done transforming to agile?” Honest coach’s answer? I don’t know. I really don’t. Does it mean that all of the people in your organization are…
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You get what you measure…
Yesterday I was driving to meet a partner coach for coffee (yes I left my house…) and I heard a story on the radio that got me thinking about agile team metrics and how we use them. To be fair, the story had nothing to do with agile, teamwork, business, customer value or anything like that. …
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How do YOU define AGILE?
I received the best email from an agile marketer yesterday (if you want to see it, look to your right…) It came at the perfect time and made me feel proud to be working with these marketing teams. Now I always knew that our Marketers are among the very best and most creative in the…