I’m at AgileIndyConf today and tomorrow. Today, I’m leading a tutorial about Agile Project Management. Tomorrow is my keynote about Agile Management. And, that got me thinking about agile management, again. To be a great agile manager, you need to be a servant leader. Okay, you understand that part. To be a great servant leader,
You might have met a manager on a bad manager day. Equally as frustrating is when you work for a manager who has rules about problem solving. I once worked for a manager who proudly said to me, “Don’t bring me a problem without bringing me a solution.” I blinked once and said, “Why would
I wish I could tell you I never had a bad manager day. I wish I could tell you I never screwed up. Nope, that would be a very tall tale. Here’s a doozy. I once told one of my employees to leave his emotions at the door. Yes, I really said that. Luckily, he
I vividly remember my first promotion into management. I was looking for a promotion to be a senior engineer. I asked for a promotion. I got a promotion into management. Was I ready? Oh no! I remember asking for another promotion. I was told, “You’re too valuable where you are.” I decided to make my
I have another management myth up over at Stickyminds. This one is Management Myth #11: The Team Needs a Cheerleader! I once worked for a manager who ignored all the problems we had, who said, “Let’s go, gang, we can do it!” I thought I would die. I’m an optimistic person. But I don’t believe
I had an email conversation with a colleague about when you let people fail versus when you rescue them—how you nurture leadership. The context is with people who are new to management, or new to a particular piece of work in a project. If you’re agile, I say you pair these people and be done
Anton Bangratz made my day today with his post, Management Myths Debunked by Johanna Rothman. He really liked Working Long? Rethink Why. I liked his reaction. Actually, I loved his reaction. Happy dance. The myths to date are here: The Myth of 100% Utilization Only the ‘Expert’ Can Perform This Work We Must Treat Everyone
I’ve been having some strange email conversations with two testers, one business analyst, and a project manager. Yes, a total of four new people. They have each found jobs on projects. And, they are in over their heads. Each of them wrote to me, hoping I would help. The testers wanted to know how to
I delivered a keynote last week at StarWest, Becoming a Kick-A** Test Manager.” If you want to watch me in action, you can register for the virtual conference, and see a number of the keynotes and talks. I had an interview, too. I try to build interaction into all my talks, including my keynotes. I
I have another management myth posted on Stickyminds. This one is about training. “Management Myth #9: We Have No Time for Training” is up on the site. Now, I have to admit, that when I was a new manager, I fell for this myth. Oh, I knew enough to make sure that we had lunch-and-learns.