When organizations set out to adopt Agile, they always have a business reason. It’s never just because they really love Scrum, or SAFe, or LeSS. But when the teams start doing all the Agile things, and they’re met with resistance from the organization around them, it’s hard to point to success because not much changed. So, we start defining success as “do the roles and ceremonies exist and are we following all the Agile dogma.” That’s a poor definition of success, and we have to get better at ch...
May 04, 2023•55 min•Ep. 425
Today, the market for Transformation is a transition period. We see some companies looking for the next big thing, and others going back to what they know. Is this a sign that Agile is waning? Is it evolving? Or is Agile so deeply engrained in the way business gets done, people have just started calling it something else to deny the fact they just aren’t very good at it? Mike Cottmeyer and Dave Prior sit down to discuss this interesting moment in time for our industry and more in this episode of...
Apr 27, 2023•57 min•Ep. 424
Agile practices don’t automatically lead to Business Agility. In the presence of dependencies and organizational impediments that the teams have no ability to change, going through the motions of Scrum or SAFe isn’t going to lead to greater Business Agility either. So, you can train the teams all you want, but if it doesn’t lead to greater Agility, who cares? Listen as Mike Cottmeyer and Dave Prior discuss some common misconceptions about Agile Transformation, how training often leaves businesse...
Apr 13, 2023•43 min•Ep. 423
People have debated whether or not SAFe is Agile for as long as it’s been around. LeadingAgile CEO, Mike Cottmeyer, joins Dave on this episode of SoundNotes to explore the roots of small team Agile and to discuss how SAFe stacks up against the ideals of the Agile Manifesto. Contacting Mike Cottmeyer If you’d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at: LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mco...
Apr 03, 2023•46 min•Ep. 422
There’s a layer to communication that is most important for understanding: intention. It’s the most often overlooked aspect because it’s hard to decipher if people are saying what they mean or if you actually understand what they’re saying. By hunting for a shared understanding of intention, you can more deeply understand what people are saying and why. If you aren’t aligning on intent, you could be missing the mark, which can be detrimental, especially in a business environment. In this episode...
Jan 13, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 421
During Transformation, we need a way to measure its performance and improvements to the organization so that leaders continue to support the initiative. Metrics need to be used to help teams get better over time and drive the right kinds of outcomes that leadership is looking for. In this episode, Mike Cottmeyer shares his insights into different Agile metrics and what are the right ones that give leaders what they need to make the necessary changes to the system and improve overall performance....
Nov 09, 2022•45 min•Ep. 420
In this episode of SoundNotes, Len Greski joins Dave to discuss leadership and emotional systems. Len is a Principal Consultant at LeadingAgile and he has a background in sociology. As Len explains, “The most difficult challenge in delivering great products is getting people to work together." During the interview, we explore emotional systems theory and how that can be applied within our organizations and teams to create sustainable change and deliver great products. The Bowen Family Systems Th...
Oct 19, 2022•43 min•Ep. 419
This week’s podcast was created as a response to a question we were recently asked by some of our CSM/CSPO course students. This one is for all the team members and Scrum Masters, the people on the ground who see why Agile could make a huge difference in their entire organization but just don’t have the title or agency to sign the contracts to make it happen. What they wanted to know is: How does someone who isn’t at contract-signing level create a conversation where they can get the leaders abo...
Oct 07, 2022•56 min•Ep. 418
So an Executive walks into a Daily Scrum and demands Team Member X who must immediately begin work on something that is not part of the Scrum Team’s commitment for the Sprint. If you are a Scrum Master, this has either happened to you, or it is going to… soon. What do you do? You know this is not ok. The Executive, who may have the power to fired you on the spot. should know better too, but apparently, they are “extra-agile”. Your job is to protect the team from interruptions just like this. But...
Oct 06, 2022•34 min•Ep. 417
This week in SoundNotes, Chris Barton joins me to talk through a problem that shows up one way or another in every single CSM class I teach… How do I get my team to want to do Agile when they don’t want to do Agile? During the interview, Chris and I talk through different lenses you can employ to get a better understanding of what is driving the resistance and strategies for overcoming it. We also spend some time near the end of the conversation on how to influence when you have no sway. This on...
Aug 31, 2022•33 min•Ep. 416
In this week’s episode of SoundNotes, LeadingAgile Senior Consultant, Matthew Oatts joins me to talk about what to do when you are placed in a leadership role, but not given a lot of clarity on what you are specifically supposed to do or how you are supposed to do it. How do you lead people when you don’t have clear boundaries or you don’t have clarity on what your leadership is looking for. Oftentimes, this guidance is lacking because the people you report to don’t actually know and are just wa...
Aug 16, 2022•48 min•Ep. 415
Agile Transformation is more than just installing Agile processes or Agile principles. It’s more than simply training your team on Agile methodology. But if that’s the case, then what is the actual path to becoming an Agile organization? You must create the conditions where Agile processes can be deployed and exploited for better outcomes than you had before—so you can get more value, better ROI, more predictability, and more. But to create this foundation, you need a way to move the organizatio...
Aug 16, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 414
Finding, supporting, and retaining people with skills and talent is never easy. Over the past few years, between the pandemic and the great resignation, it has become even more challenging. What attracts the next generation of talented change agents? How can you help them grow into the skilled transformation ninjas you need them to be? If you are part of one of the older generations, how can you become more aware of your blind spots and take steps to improve the way you engage with the people wh...
Jun 30, 2022•44 min•Ep. 410
What is PSTIR? PSTIR is an acronym for a change management model we use at LeadingAgile to explain our approach to creating lasting change. It stands for Prepare, Socialize, Tailor, Implement, Reinforce and it is a series of collaboration and implementation activities that enable our clients to be part of the change while leveraging the LeadingAgile reference architecture. In this episode of SoundNotes, Dave is joined by LeadingAgile Principal Consultant, Melissa Oberg and Dennis Stevens, our Ch...
Jun 22, 2022•39 min•Ep. 409
In this episode of SoundNotes, Dave is joined by LeadingAgile Chief Marketing Officer Tim Zack. Tim offers his unique perspective on how to communicate within an organization during an Agile Transformation to influence lasting change. The biggest part of an Agile Transformation is asking people to work differently at a job they might have been doing for years. People are naturally resistant to change, especially when their livelihood is on the line. Tim discusses the strategies that organization...
Jun 16, 2022•48 min•Ep. 408
This week on SoundNotes our Founder and CEO, Mike Cottmeyer, joins Dave to discuss why simply showing up and having the answer for the customer is not enough. During this conversation, Mike explains the process he follows when engaging with clients to ensure he is truly hearing them and understanding the way they see the problem, and how that begins a series of steps that enables him to work with the client to find the best solution for them. If you are involved with introducing change in an org...
Jun 02, 2022•57 min•Ep. 407
This week LeadingAgile Senior Consultant Matthew Oatts joins Dave for a different kind of interview. This is the first of two interviews we will be posting with Matthew and they both focus on what it is like to work here at LeadingAgile and how to make the most of your early days with the company. Because LeadingAgile has a unique point of view and approach to organizational change and Agile transformation when people join the company we take extra care to make sure they are up to speed on the L...
May 12, 2022•49 min•Ep. 406
At LeadingAgile our approach to helping organizations transform the way they work is deeply rooted in First Principles. These are core beliefs we all have in common that shape the way we work. People who work here come from different backgrounds and have different experiences, but First Principles are things we all believe to be true. In our interactions with clients, these core beliefs are an essential ingredient in our ability to deliver on the promises we make and to fulfill the Trust-Influen...
Apr 07, 2022•55 min•Ep. 405
Lance Kind, Daryl Kulak, and George Walters join for this podcast episode about software. Daryl and George describe how they help companies answer the question: Is your software getting better or worse? LeadingAgile Studios team mission is to help companies going through an Agile Transformation resolve the problem of where the software is the leading impediment to a company's success. LeadingAgile Studios team starts with a software assessment that uses an in-house tool to analyze a codebase by ...
Mar 31, 2022•26 min•Ep. 404
Spike solutions are one of the ways extreme programming teams " figure out answers to tough technical or design problems ". Their use has evolved over the years and as they've been adopted by Scrum Teams. There are also many teams out there who may be using spikes in a way that creates more work without solving problems. In this episode of SoundNotes, Stephen Cavaliere joins Dave to talk all about Spikes. In order to make things as simple as possible the podcast has been broken up into three par...
Mar 17, 2022•44 min•Ep. 403
This is the fourth episode in our series of podcasts about Fixed vs. Growth Mindset. Using the book Mindset by Carol Dweck as a jumping-off point, Mary Kaufmann and Dave Prior dig into the topic of criticism. The conversation focuses on the way Fixed vs. Growth Mindset people approach giving and receiving criticism. Along the way, Mary and Dave both share examples of how they've struggled in the past with giving and receiving feedback. They also share things they've each learned while trying to ...
Mar 03, 2022•45 min•Ep. 402
This podcast is our third in a series of conversations focused on Fixed vs. Growth Mindset. Leveraging the work in Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset, Mary Kaufman and Dave Prior explore the differences between having a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Each episode of this series focuses on how our mindset impacts the way we perceive and respond to different types of stimulus/events. This episode is focused on effort and the differences between how a fixed mindset and a growth mindset perceive the v...
Jan 20, 2022•40 min•Ep. 401
Working with the Product folks at LeadingAgile is different than a lot of other Product Management gigs. In this interview, LeadingAgile’s Andrew Young joins Dave to talk about what it’s like working with the product group at LeadingAgile, why we focus so heavily on the product side of things, the difference between working “in” product and working “on” product, and why he’s made the choice to work at LeadingAgile. Contacting Andrew Young LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/andrew-...
Jan 06, 2022•44 min•Ep. 400
In this week’s SoundNotes podcast, Dave is joined by Vic Bonacci, CST who recently joined the LeadingAgile team. As Certified Scrum Trainers, both Dave and Vic bring their numerous years of experience and unique perspectives to the table to chat candidly about the issues and challenges surrounding being a more advanced Scrum Master, and how to continue learning and growing in the role.
Dec 16, 2021•33 min•Ep. 398
Being strategic is about planning to reach our goals and deciding what to do with our limited capacity to achieve those aspirations and vision. But to do this, we have to first identify what’s valuable to the organization and prioritize the things that will release the most value into it. LeadingAgile Chief Methodologist, Dennis Stevens joins Dave prior this week to discuss why we should be prioritizing value and the importance of value density. Contacting Dennis Stevens Web: https://www.leading...
Dec 10, 2021•37 min•Ep. 399
LeadingAgile Senior Consultant Derek Stanley joins Dave Prior to discuss GQM (Goal Question Metrics). During the interview Derek and Dave explore what GQM is by talking through real-world examples that showcase why people use them, and how they can provide clarity on performance towards desired business outcomes. Whether you are focused on the team level, the program level, or the organization as a whole; GQM can help you clarify what you are trying to achieve, the questions that need to be answ...
Dec 02, 2021•46 min•Ep. 397
In this episode of SoundNotes Yusuf Hakim joins Dave to field questions submitted by an attendee of one of LeadingAgile’s Monthly CSM/CSPO Student Lean Coffee meetings, The questions center around issues that cropped up from a non-standard SAFe implementation, the issues that came about as a result fo that implementation, and the steps being taken to it address those issues and move towards an approach that is more focused on “just in time”.
Nov 18, 2021•29 min•Ep. 395
In this episode of SoundNotes, LeadingAgile CTO, Matt Van Vleet and Principal Engineer, Daryl Kulak join Dave to talk about how LeadingAgile’s Studios takes on the technical work of Agile Transformation. One of the challenges many organizations face when trying to adopt Agile is how to address technical debt they must overcome in order to be able to create an environment that can support an Agile way of working.
Nov 11, 2021•33 min•Ep. 396
A Scrum Master wears many hats. They act as a servant leader to the team and the organization. They are also expected to develop a level of skill with having the ability to take on different coaching stances when they are working with individuals, teams, and organizations. In LeadingAgile’s Certified Scrum Master classes we devote time to exploring servant leadership and four of the coaching stances a Scrum Master needs to be able to take: Teaching, Facilitating, Coaching, and Mentoring. In this...
Oct 21, 2021•40 min•Ep. 394
Dave Prior and Lance Kind discuss a new item from the Scrum Guide: Product Goal. Listen in while Dave teaches Lance what the product goal is, ideates on how to implement, and debates as to the value product goal provides. As a bonus, Dave and Lance: discuss how “real options” relate to product backlogs, that there will be a struggle about where to put backlog items that don’t fit the product goal, and how computers have become like the Tardis.
Sep 27, 2021•35 min•Ep. 393
