One of the traps people fall into on teams is withholding information –feedback– that’s critical for the team to function. Sometimes the information is about friction between team members. When team members don’t have a way to talk about small...
It’s easy to be critical of middle managers. Some people view middle management as little more than a way station between “real” work and the executive suite. However, I believe middle managers have an essential role in enabling people and enhancing...
Agile coaches are expected to help teams learn agile methods, engineering techniques, and improve the productivity of the teams they work with. But before they can do they need to be ready to coach. Being ready to coach means that you have coaching skills, relevant...
From time to time, I hear from people who aren’t realizing value from their retrospectives. When I probe to understand the situation, I understand why they aren’t getting results–the process they are using isn’t designed to actually help the...
….. It’s Time for the Annual Performance Review Vague statements and labels, one-sided evaluations, surprises, and secondhand complaints are just the sorts of things that can make a person want to run away screaming from an annual performance...
One of the biggest mistakes people make is attributing system problems to individuals (and individual problems to the system). If you try to solve the problem on the wrong level, you are doomed to fail. Here’s a simple yet classic example of trying to solve a...
Trust is a foundation for effective team work (and effective organizations). Some managers attempt building trust with ropes courses, sailing, or cooking events. Such activities like these may fun (for some). Indeed, people may develop a level of camaraderie through...
I’m not talking about withholding information related to the task and context. Without doubt, that will damage a team. I’m talking about information regarding your internal state . A Story Let me tell you a story about a team I coached. They’d asked me to observe them...
I’ve seen a renewed cry for leaders in organizations lately. Too often in these discussions, the attempt to define the characteristics of a leader boils down to a role in which one individual creates a vision for others to follow. That’s not enough. We need more...
Many managers ask me, “How can I motivate my team?” I’ve certainly seen many efforts to motivate teams. Contests, prizes, pep talks, badges, points, canned thank you notes, and recognition events. Most of this comes down to using rewards to motivate people to...
A while back I was talking to a manager who complained that “no one” in his organization was “accountable.” Of course, he exempted himself form that category. This manager, (I’ll call him Tom) feels like he’s accountable— he knows that if they people creating...
When I talk to people about making the transition from technical work into a management role, one of the recurring questions is whether managers need to know a language. There are strong opinions on both side of the argument: On one side, people say: “You must...
Sometimes, when I hear people talking about “resources,” I ask if the speaker means people. When I do, the responses fall into three groups. Some people look a bit blank for a moment, as if coming out of a trance. They realize resources isn’t the...
“These part-time people just aren’t accountable,” a manager complained. “I need people who will be accountable.” “Part-timers just don’t seem to fit in with the team,” another manager declared. “I do everything I...
We all have coworkers who rub us the wrong way, get on our nerves, and generally drive us crazy. Let’s consider these examples of three people who have difficult coworkers: 1. Ted finished working on a difficult bit of code and headed for the team meeting. When...
A good idea is a valuable asset, and a lot of good ideas are a treasure trove. But what do you do with those ideas? Here’s a little story about an idea maker who isn’t very good at getting his ideas accepted…and 4 influencing skills to hone so your...
@mick_maguire asked me about “Differentiation” and how it could possibly fit with an Agile team. It can’t. Not with any team. Mick also pointed me to a blog post where the writer, a fan of Differentiation, described how he implemented the process on...
When a boss is a bully, interesting work, perks and competitive salary may not be enough to retain good employees. Abusive treatment from the boss can drive people out the door and damage a companies reputation. Bosses Who Bully Not too long ago, I had lunch with my...
The answer is (of course): “It depends.” Self-management is a spectrum, not a point. How much self-management is right for a team depends on that team. I see many teams in small companies and start-ups who self-manage. They set product goals, make...
When companies decide they want the benefit of the team effect, or adopt agile methods, they (sometimes) realize that they need to update their management style as well. And too often, they enter an 4-step dance of oscillation. Managers feel overburdened and...
