Illustrated Agile
A quick tip for Scrum Masters as we head into the summer months. You may have recognized this in the past but the allure of sunshine and warm weather can impact the productivity of your team. A study by Captivate Network of 600 workers reveal a 20% decrease in productivity during the summer. There are […]
As medium-to-large companies begin to implement Agile, more and more Project Managers are transitioning to become Scrum Masters. Eventually, this question will come up…who should the Scrum Masters report to in an organizational hierarchy? Or, who should be the leader responsible for goal-setting, feedback, and salary administration for the Scrum Master? This dilemma was recently […]
In my soon to be released book, “Becoming a Catalyst, Scrum Master Edition,” I tell the story of a newly formed team working with Agile for the first time. This team had just experienced their first sprint together and, to put it gently, it didn’t go well. When the time came for the team to […]
At the beginning of the past two years I have written posts with a few suggestions for Scrum Masters to target for their own development resolutions. You can take a look at them here: 2012 2013 For 2014, here are a few more resolutions to consider as you continue your personal mastery of the role. Relinquish […]
As more and more organizations begin to shift to Agile practices many existing Project Managers are making the transition to become a Scrum Master or Agile Project Manager. I have seen many people make this move seamlessly and are doing quite well while there are some who find the new role a little more challenging. […]
The Center for Nonverbal Studies has a fascinating webpage called The Nonverbal Dictionary of Gestures, Signs, and Body Language Cues. While coaching teams, I recently began to intentionally look for many of these gestures and it is interesting to see how often these gestures and cues reveal what people would really want to say or […]
Perhaps you are thinking of becoming a Scrum Master or Agile Project Manager and wondering where to start. Maybe you are currently working as a Project Manager and your organization is moving to Agile. Would you like to develop the additional skills and competencies to become an awesome Scrum Master in your new role? And […]
Over the past couple of years, I have been able to facilitate or observe many, many sprint review sessions. As you can imagine, many would be considered a success while others did not go so well. Just about everything you need to know about how an Agile team is doing can be discovered by observing […]
At the beginning of last year, I posted Three Resolutions for Scrum Masters to bring in 2012. For 2013, let’s go beyond resolutions and emphasize how you can leverage your Scrum Master role to become an indispensable person on your team throughout the year. Focus on Building Community. I recently wrote about how we should […]
I have written in the past how leaders will need to change how they lead and how organizations will need to be structured differently to stay competitive in the future. The demand for talent will continue to grow and only those who can adapt to these changes will thrive. This may not happen for years […]
Those who have never been a Product Owner may not understand just how challenging a position it really is. While I thought I understood this, for the past year I have worked closely with many Product Owners and I am beginning to sense all that is required and asked of them. It can be an […]
If you are a Scrum Master on a team, my belief is you are called to serve your team. And by using the word serve, I mean you are doing things for the benefit of others. Not an easy calling but one that can bring transformational results to your team and organizational culture. Using the […]