CLC or Continuous Learning Culture

Recently I updated my SAFe 5 certification to a SAFe 6.  This can easily be done at no cost by logging in to the SAFe Community Platform and navigating to the SAFe 6.0 Upgrade Learning Plan. Once you complete the Learning Plan, you can take one upgrade exam to upgrade all your active SAFe 5.

For me, working with product Teams as an Agile coach, there are two major changes. First, the core competency Continuous Learning Culture has become a fundamental competency, and second the Scrum Master is more broadly defined and referred to as Team Coach.

It's crucial to promote continuous learning culture, and this is a step in the right direction. SAFe is popular, and no one can avoid CLC anymore. It is a key factor for leaders (and all involved) who want to create resilient organizations adaptable to change.

This goes along with respect, innovation and relentless improvement.

By experiencing this everyday we can achieve great things together.

Team creation | One mistake when implementing agile principles

Let's assume you know that a product team involves a group of people who are assigned specific tasks supporting a common purpose, in this case the development of a product.

A new team will experience behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group. Meaning: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.

In order to thrive they first and foremost need to feel safe. Safe enough to discuss, solve conflicts and fail. Guess what, it takes time! Unfortunatly, most companies assume that team will be highly productive and support each other almost from the start.  

One reason for that expectation can be scientifically explained.  At the beginning, team members want to learn from each other, they are willing to learn as much as possible and tend to help each other. The mistake is to believe that it is because they cooperate well, and have psycological safety. It is not, they are just focused, willing to learn and they don't know yet how far they can go, how hard they can push.

When they do, they will start challenge each other. Speak out. You will hear things like "This is not optimal, we could do it differently, why can't we do this or that differently...." and this generates frictions, tensions.
This is a phase where the team really need support. Once they come out of this situation they will be able to become more productive.
So be patient, communicate, inform and be supportive...be there for your team!

Take advantage of your biological primetime

All of us have a unique body clock that determines when our most productive hours are.

A secret of peak performance is understanding when your energy prime is throughout the day and managing your tasks around that.

Assign the most important and urgent tasks at times when you have your peak in energy. So, go after it!

More on the topic: "The Productivity Project" by Chris Baily

"Atomic Habits" by James Clear

#agile #agilecoaching #collaboration #changemanagement #eyesontheprize

Structure... So you think Agile is one big mess?

I remember my first job interview after graduation, and I was asked how structured I was, how dedicated I was. It was then  a good thing. So why does it feel now like an impediment to Agile and growth mindset? Is structure incompatible with Agile and change mangement?

Spoiler alert, it is not. But, I might be mistaken! Anyhow, let's start with the definition av change management: It is a structured approach to shifting/transitioning individuals, teams, and organizations from a current state to a desired future state. Structure is present.

Next: What defines An agile organization?
Well, it applies to company whose structure, policies, and capabilities have been designed to enable employees to quickly respond to changing environments. Truly agile organizations are both stable and dynamic at the same time. They design stable backbone elements that evolve slowly and support dynamic capabilities that can adapt quickly to new challenges and opportunities.  Structure again to a certain extend.

Next: What about the years spent at the university? Despite the knowledge you gained, it provides you with responsability, people skills, budgeting, how to overcome obstacles, organisation and time management. Some might say, you need some structure. 

Last but not least: The Navy seals teams and their practices. They risk everything. To achieve performance, they have extensive training and a  structured approach in order to be highly adaptive. Success on any battlefield requires effective strategic planning, leadership, execution and debriefing. By doing so, they learn to tackle unpredictable events and to respond effectively to fast-changing environmental contingencies. Structure is safety, embrace uncertainty and learn. 

The basic takeaway here is: Structure does not entail that agile processes have no structure whatsoever, or that structured processes are completely inflexible. Process transforms mindset and culture toward high-performance and continual improvement. Be prepared, be smart, be adaptable, be agile...

So, go after it!

Agile, what does it means?

Agile, nobody knows what it means...but it's provocative!

Provocative, just like the beginning of this post. It is just refering to a scene, a quote from the comedy called "Blades of glory". But really, what does it mean? and what are the benefits?

While the meaning of agile isn’t always clear, there’s no denying its upsides when applied correctly. The important thing is to adapt rather than trying to predict. That is the very short summary of being Agile and focusing on continuous improvements. Another refined definition could also be: It is a garanty for growth through cooperation and continual improvement.

Basically, it empowers people, creates safer work envirornment and contribute to more meanigfull days at the office. Why? 

Because agile practices removes blames and redefines mistakes as opportunities for improvement. It boosts satisfaction.

There are other benefits, frequent feedback provides more relevant products. The maintenance or updates are faster providing happier users.
In short, it should be your next move...

Keep growing by collaborating

A growth mindset and continuous improvements are not a destination. It's not a stop, it is rather a direction, or a moving target and a recurring question is how to capitalize on it...

How do you keep growing?

All so often, companies og projects on agile journey tend to reach a plateau...and stay there rather than improving even more. Have you ever been to one of those meeting with low involment or daily standups that are an endless enumeration of done or to do tasks without real added value? 

If so, then you know. Wether you are part of a productteam, or if you are helping teams to grow or if you are responsible for changing an organisation, you have to adopt growth mindset.

This means your level of expertise is not fixed, and it can be changed, improved...it can be better.

To achieve this, one key word is collaboration.

By this I mean demonstrating altruism and solidarity with the members of one's group. 

In business, team spirit combines human and professional qualities. This is how you keep growing.

 It is therefore crucial to build and nursure a caring atmosphere so that the involved resources take advantage of their drive to achieve common goals...