I explained about objectives and the differences between MBOs and OKRs in Part 1. I’m tackling the issues of “accountability” in this part. Examine Accountability What does accountability mean to you? I’m serious about that question. For many people—managers included—people are accountable when we can blame them for not doing something. If you don’t achieve […]
I have personal and professional goals. Sometimes, I state them as objectives: complete this book, learn that thing. Those are personal objectives. My personal objectives look like MBOs, Management By Objectives. These personal objectives contribute to my company, but they are not a corporate objective. Some of my goals are corporate objectives: release that book, build
As I work with people to use agile approaches, I see many organizational constraints. I’ve been trying to find a visualization for what I see. I don’t know if I’ve got it yet, but here is my sum-of-the-parts image. The organization’s culture drives decisions (or not!) about the strategy. Strategy, with any luck, creates clarity
I spoke with an aspiring coach earlier this week. He asked me if people I ever coached were “resistant.” I don’t label people as “resistant.” If I need to label them, I think about this term, “People with data I should hear.” I like to think about what people resist, especially people in technical organizations.
Most managers I meet want to do a good job. They want to provide the vision for the people doing the work. They want to provide coaching if people need it. They want to know that people can deliver the outcomes the organization needs and the managers want. As their organizations move to agile approaches,
One of the problems I see in projects and organizations is when people wish for certainty. Too many agile project managers and Scrum Masters want a known velocity. They don’t realize that velocity is a relative capacity measurement, not a guarantee. Product managers, the people who manage the project portfolio, all seem to want certainty
I have a new column up on projectmanagement.com, 3 Questions to Ask Before Estimating an Agile Program. Often, management wants an estimate for the program. I suggest that before a program manager ask the teams to estimate, she learn the answers to these questions from management: How much would you like to invest in time,
It took me a couple of days reviewing these posts to realize I’d missed one of the biggest problems in organizations especially when it comes to human interactions: romance. When I was single, I did date people who were my peers in my organizations. I still see office-romance occur with a fair amount of frequency.
I’m (finally!) circling back around to Joe Berkowitz’s statement: There is no template for how to be a good man in the #MeToo era. I said that respect provided that template. (And, we can say “good people” instead of only men because abuse of power is not limited to men. See Power, Management, and Harassment: It’s
I started this series positing that respect is the cornerstone for how we might treat each other, to manage our interactions with success, especially in light of the #MeToo conversation. The series so far is: Organizations Are Not Families, Part 1. Why the metaphor of family-as-org demeans the people working there. Build Respect in Organizations,