Rules of Engagement in Program Management

This story takes place as we lead a government-mandated multimillion-dollar, multi-year program. In order to deliver on this program, we need to work alongside and coordinate with more than 20 internal teams, and several external vendors. Each team has its own leadership structure, priorities, way of working, and language (yes language). In order to be […]

Agile Organizational Design / 30 Apr 2022

Blocking Off Time for Deep Work

I AM IN MEETINGS ALL DAY! As I worked from home this past week, I found that my workload was gradually getting larger, my workdays were getting longer and I was starting to feel burnt out. I was surprised to be feeling this way. I was home, after all, and thought that would make my […]

Coaching, Continuous Improvement / 30 Mar 2020

Coaching From Home

THIS IS DIFFERENT… As agile coaches, we know ourselves as agents of change and servant leaders. Historically, the effectiveness of our service has been best accomplished through in-person human-to-human interaction and the exchange of ideas. The idea of working from home is, well, different. It brings forth a brand new world and one that calls […]

Coaching, Team Collaboration / 21 Mar 2020

How to Run A POWERful Meeting

Have you ever looked up halfway through a meeting wondering what the heck the reason for the meeting is!? Have you ever ended a meeting, with no clear direction or action items? I know I have, and it can be frustrating. As an Agile Coach, traditional boardroom meetings are not something that we tend to […]

Team Collaboration / 17 Sep 2019

Build a ‘House Rules’ Artifact

Often teams experience daily issues that they feel can be improved but don’t feel like they have an outlet to bring it up. How should a team maximize the ability to continuously improve? Here is the story of a team that was experiencing events that they were eager to improve, and here is what they […]

Continuous Improvement / 12 Sep 2019

Merge Your Sprint Planning & Retrospective Using A CFD

I’ve worked with self-starting teams that enjoy the opportunity to discuss improvement opportunities. However, that is not always the case. It is unfortunately common for teams to struggle to see the value in getting together regularly and identifying areas for improvement. There are many possible reasons for this. Some are internally driven. A feeling of […]

Delivery Planning / 29 Aug 2019

Use a CFD to Plan Your Team’s Delivery

When working on a new initiative, teams often have a tough time thinking through the strategy and mechanics of how it will be delivered. Most times Agile teams will go with a burndown or velocity approach. A velocity approach negates the appreciation of what happens between start and finish. You miss the opportunity to enhance […]

Delivery Planning / 29 Aug 2019

Setting Expectations

SETTING THE STAGE Oftentimes when two people start working together, they can go through, what’s commonly referred to as the storming stage. They get to a place where they begin to rely on one another and begin expecting certain things from each other based on the requests they put forth. What they may experience early […]

Team Collaboration / 17 Jul 2019