Coach's Challenge - What did you do differently this week?
It's easy to get in a rut. We're busy people, for sure. Lots of people counting on us both at work, and outside of work. "We all win together" means we give our teams our all so we can bring value to our customer. I get it.
So my challenge to you is to pause. Shut off your IM and your email for 5 minutes. Get a cup of coffee or tea (or kombucha or whatever floats your boat) and reflect. What did you do differently this week? Did you think outside of the box and offer a unique suggestion? Did you challenge your team to do better? Did you ask a question that gave your team pause, or turned the discussion toward more valuable topics? Did you step outside of your comfort zone and try something new? Did you raise your hand and volunteer? These are the moments that really make a difference to our teams and our customers. These are also the moments that we build upon as agile practitioners, to not only help our team, but ourselves become more Effective, Efficient and Engaged.
Too many to count?
Then pick one and think about how that moment helped your teammates, and ultimately our customer. How did that work out? Did it add value, or blow up in your face? No matter what, there's value in learning from that moment! Imagine what would have happened if you hadn't done that. Would the team have missed an opportunity to learn? Would the team have wasted time and effort? Would they have delayed getting value to the customer? Would they still be stuck on something? Would our teammates have had to work on something less valuable? Did they (or you) learn something valuable? My point is this- each time you try something different - even if it doesn't exactly work out how you had hoped- we generate value in the form of a new idea, new action or lesson learned. Each time you experiment, take a risk, raise your hand, raise your voice - you are contributing to your (and your team's) learnings and future success. So what did you learn from that moment, and what can you carry forward with you?
Couldn't think of any?
Well - try harder! Still couldn't? That's ok - but maybe ask yourself why? What stopped you? What got in your way of volunteering to help out a teammate, or to partner with someone to solve a problem, or to raise a question or an observation? What's getting between you and taking that risk? To try something different? Was there a moment this week where you missed an opportunity to ask a question, or do something different? Can you set a goal for yourself for the next week, to try something that makes you feel a little uncomfortable? To take a risk with your teammates? I can tell you this, there is no safer place to experiment and take risks, than with your group of like-minded (agile minded) teammates. Believe me - we have your back!
All I'm asking for is 5 minutes!
So seriously, give me 5 minutes this week and think about what you did (or didn't do) differently. What did that moment mean to you and your team. Actually - give yourself 5 minutes. I bet you'll be happy you did.
We all win together.
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