Back in Part 1 of this series, I explained all the problems I saw with this interview question: “The product owner and dev team cannot decide on a sprint goal, even after hours of discussion. They (the team) feel that the tasks for the sprint are too varied to manage to a single sprint goal. […]
How Scrum Masters Use Facilitative Leadership Especially When Planning, Part 4 Read More »
Tim, a C-Level leader, loves his skip-level meetings. He feels the meetings offer him a chance to connect with people he doesn’t normally see. They get to talk about whatever the other person wants. Sharon, a different C-Level leader, never conducts skip-level meetings. She feels that those meetings might cause her managers to feel unsafe,
One Pragmatic Thought: How to Assess the Value of Skip-Level Meetings Read More »
Meetings. We all have them. Most of us hate them. When I ask why, here are some of the responses I hear: They take too much time away from our “real work.” It’s too hard to find time to meet. Our calendars are too full. We can’t find a place to meet. If we’re back
Recognize the Problems That Prevent Effective Meetings (Collocated, Remote, Hybrid) Read More »
You need a senior person at a meeting. The meeting is supposed to start at 2 pm. The leader strolls in at 2:15. When leaders act this way, they show their power. When I’ve asked why the person is late, they often say, “I had another meeting that ran long.” While that’s what occurred, people
Leadership Tip 15: Reward Meeting Behavior You Want to See Read More »
You’re a leader in the organization. And you’re supposed to be at another meeting, that started 15 minutes ago. Your previous meeting ran long, so now you’re late. But the conversation you just had? That conversation prevented a bad product decision. (Or, it prevented a customer meltdown. Or something equally important.) At least, the decisions
Leadership Tip 14: Reduce Other People’s Dependence on Your Decisions Read More »
You’re a busy product person, a Product Owner. You have information the team needs, and you want to meet. A lot. You see the need for these meetings: Standups Backlog refinement Iteration planning Strategic updates, so the team knows what’s going on. Sounds reasonable. Except, the team thinks you want to meet too often. What
Decide When You Need to Meet, Workshop, or Write to Save Energy and Time Read More »
Sometimes, you just need to get on with the work. You need to give yourself some breathing room so you can think for a while. Here are some tips that will help you tackle the day-to-day management work: Schedule and conduct your one-on-ones. Being a manager means you make room for the people stuff: the
Five Tips for Tactical Management Read More »
by Johanna Rothman. This article was originally publised in Software DevelopmentMagazine, March 2002. Jim, a development manager, met up with some of his staff in the cafeteria. “Hey, you’ll be late for our weekly status meeting,” he said. “Hurry up!” Don, a senior developer, stopped, turned and stared at him. “No way. I’m not spending another
No More Meeting Mutinies Read More »