Tag: Coach’s challenge
-
How to keep your transformation from stalling…
TLDR: We all want our product teams to be Effective, Efficient, and Engaged. But how do we keep our agile transformations from stalling out in the first place? Today, we take a proactive look at how to outsmart Larman’s Laws of Organizational Behavior, the “systemic gravity” waiting to pull you backward, so you can help…
-
Why “We’ve Never Done This Before” is the Ultimate Growth Killer
TLDR; Blindly following legacy rules kills curiosity and stalls innovation. When we defend processes without understanding why they exist, we turn our experts into disengaged box-checkers. This week, we dive into the famous “Five Monkeys Experiment” to break down why “we’ve never done this before” is a dangerous trap – and how you can build…
-
Are Your Quiet Rock Stars Feeling Invisible?
TLDR; When team members feel forced to “toot their own horn” just to be noticed, psychological safety plummets and corporate theater takes over. If you are noticing an epidemic of “CC everyone,” public channel performances, or people fighting over high-profile projects, the environment is accidentally incentivizing unhealthy self-promotion. As leaders and managers, it is our…
-
Catching the Shrapnel: The Art of Saying “Not Right Now”
Then, two days into the iteration, the shrapnel starts flying from three different directions at once: In an instant, your team’s precious focus is shattered. The “Middle Manager’s Vise” Reopened I’ve talked before about how Scope Churn is the silent killer of team efficiency. It erratically injects unplanned work into a fixed period of time,…
-
From Jira Jockey to Value Creation Mastermind
TLDR; The backlog shouldn’t be a list of chores. Move from being a “Jira Jockey” to a Value Mastermind by writing hypotheses instead of recipes. If the entire squad owns the outcome, not just the output, we stop completing tasks and start delivering actual results. Take the Coach’s Challenge this week and see how you…
-
You’re Getting Faster. Is Your Team Getting Lonelier?
TLDR; Shifting your team from “doers” to “directors” is the right move — but it comes with a hidden cost nobody is talking about: the social fabric of your team is quietly fraying. New research confirms that adding AI to a human team measurably reduces cohesion, trust, and shared identity. Your next leadership challenge isn’t just what your…
-
Are you Sprinting, or just Running?
Are You “Sprinting” Or Just “Running?” TLDR: A Sprint without a Goal isn’t a Sprint — it’s just a random collection of tasks. If you want a team that’s focused, empowered, and actually delivering value (instead of just “checking boxes”), it’s time to stop treating your backlog like a grocery list and start planning with…
-
Stop Writing Recipes, Start Building Problem Solvers
-
The Balancing Act: Protecting Your Team Without Losing the Win
tldr Explore the critical leadership challenge of protecting a team’s psychological health while simultaneously holding them accountable for high-quality delivery. Watch out for the “Nurture Trap,” where over-protection leads to stagnation, and the “Delivery Delusion,” where excessive pressure causes burnout and dysfunction. Instead shoot for a “High Support, High Challenge” mindset, where accountability as an…
-
From Directing to Coaching: The “Guide” Playbook
tldr; Directives are the siren song of efficiency that actually kill curiosity. If you want a team that thinks for themselves, stop giving them the answers. Today we look at how to build psychological safety, lead with questions, and start creating an environment of empowerment, today! In my last message, I talked about the Directive…