Coach Dan's Blog

📖 “A drop of ink may make a million think.”- George Gordon Byron Sharing your throughts and perspectives, asking your questions... these are the things that can help your team unlock an innovative solution. Why do we find it so hard sometimes, to share something that may be counter to what the group says?  

  📖 “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” - Friedrich Nietzsche A shared senses of purpose leads to alignment. Alignment, coupled with psychological safety leads to engagement. Engaged teams out perform when compared to disengaged teams. Are your teams aware of the purpose they serve, and how they solve problems for your customers and your company?

📖 “If I were asked for the most important advice I could give, I should simply say: stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” - Leo Tolstoy Tolstoy understood the importance of awareness and reflection. Pausing a moment and reflecting on your day is a vital way to continuously improve the way you work with your team, your partners, your clients and your customers. Did you pause and reflect today?  

  "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones" - Confucius Even Confucius was a fan of iteration!  

📖 “In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule.” -Friedrich Nietzsche Nietzsche's thinking about how individuals interact when in a group closely aligns with the concept defined by Irving Janis in 1972 called "groupthink." ✏️ Groupthink is a psychological phenomenon in which people strive for consensus within a group. In many cases, people will set aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinions of the rest of the group. Individuals with differing opinions, or even opposed to the group's decisions frequently remain quiet in order to keep the peace rather than disrupt the crowd's uniformity. This phenomenon is common in the workplace, as the decision-making cycle continues to compress, and the pressure to deliver increases. It's a danger to leaders and managers because it reduces the likelihood of teams identifying and mitigating risk. Creativity and innovation is pushed to the side in favor of "goin...

I was having a random conversation with another coach last week, and we had a bit of a shared 'ah ha' moment. We, as champions of agility, say the word "agile" (as though it were a destination, or a goal,) way more than we should. Perhaps WE, as coaches, scrum masters, and champions, need to challenge our own use of the language a bit. Instead of saying... 🚫 We're changing to be (or heaven forbid, do) agile. maybe we should be saying... ✅ We want to respond to change WITH agility. ✅ We want to solve problems WITH agility. ✅ We want to achieve outcomes WITH agility. ✅ We aim to work WITH agility. Isn't our goal really to respond to change, solve problems and achieve outcomes? And isn't it all the better to do those things with agility? When we challenge ourselves to use our words differently, we can shift the focus away from frameworks and mindsets... and toward APPLYING those frameworks and mindsets toward ACHIEVING something. What words do you use ...

  📖 "You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." – Jane Goodall   The daily leadership calendar hits just right again!   Every single day we make an impact on those around us. Everything from the questions we ask, to the tone of our voice makes an impact on another person's day. What we believe in... what we value - comes shining through in the way that we show up to our colleagues, teams, partners, friends and families.   What kind of impact are you having today?   ❔ Are you leading with curiosity? Asking questions to grow and challenge, and then empowering to follow through can help a team member learn a new skill, or gain confidence in skills that are developing.   ❔ Are you balancing results with growth? Getting the job done is important, and when you balance getting results with learning new skills, ...

  Teams follow the cues of their leader. They will often mirror the leaders mindset, values and behaviors. Observing your teams in action followed by some reflection is a great way to learn about yourself. Ask yourself: ❔ What did you see in your teams that you were proud of? ❔ What did you see in your teams behavors that surprised you? ❔ What are you doing to reinforce the behaviors you observed? ❔ What would you like to see your teams do differently? What are you doing to reinforce (or model) that behavior? Much can be learned by observing your team - it's a bit like looking at your leadership in a mirror. Why not look into your mirror today? We all win together!

  I received a "leadership quote of the day" calendar over the holidays - today's quote from the late Jimmy Carter seems to hit just right. In an ever-evolving work landscape, what matters are the values and principles that drive the way we work together to create valuable things for customers and stakeholders. The Agile Manifesto (circa 2001) still resonates with me today... (to the purists - please forgive my creative license - I believe the values apply to so much more than the creation of software!) ✔️ Individuals and interactions OVER process and tools ✔️ Working solutions OVER comprehensive documentation ✔️ Customer-focused collaboration OVER silos and hierarchy ✔️ Responding to change OVER following the plan ✔️ Relentless improvement OVER settling for status quo If you (and your) teams can find ways to live these values with every decision made - regardless of the framework applied, your customers, partners, users and stakeholders will all benefit in the long ru...

The way an organization operates is a reflection on the beliefs and values of the leader. If you want to improve the way your organization creates value, start with taking a hard look at yourself. The best-laid change management plan will help you move boxes around your org chart, but making meaningful improvements within an organization first requires intentional mindset and behavior shifts across the leadership team. Where have you seen leaders change their mindset before an org change? What were the results?

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou What ONE THING will you do to make someone feel seen / heard / listened to / understood / valued / good today?