LeadingAgile SoundNotes: an Agile Podcast

In this third installment of our value stream mapping series, Mary shows Lance and Dave how to apply the technique of value stream mapping to your business architecture and capabilities so that you can make more informed, intentional, data-driven decisions to improve your business.

If you?d like to contact Mary, you can reach her at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mary-lloyd/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mary-lawson-lloyd/ Email: [email protected]

If you'd like to contact Lance, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/lance-kind/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lancer-kind/ X: x.com/LancerKind Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Dave Prior is back again with Lance Kind and Mary Lloyd to talk about value stream mapping. In the last installment of this miniseries, the team gave a high-level introduction into what a value stream map is and why they?re important. On today?s episode of SoundNotes, they discuss how use value stream mapping to demonstrate the economic benefit of reducing waste in the system.

If you?d like to contact Mary, you can reach her at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mary-lloyd/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mary-lawson-lloyd/ Email: [email protected]

If you'd like to contact Lance, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/lance-kind/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lancer-kind/ X: x.com/LancerKind Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Dave Prior sits down with LeadingAgile consultants Mary Lloyd and Lance Kind to discuss value stream mapping. What is it?  Why use it at all? And when should you use this technique? Together, they answer these questions, dig into an example of value stream mapping, and explore some use cases for the technique.

If you?d like to contact Mary, you can reach her at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mary-lloyd/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mary-lawson-lloyd/ Email: [email protected]

If you'd like to contact Lance, you can reach him at: 

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/lance-kind/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lancer-kind/ X: x.com/LancerKind Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

In this episode of SoundNotes, Dave sits down with Dennis Stevens to discuss cloud transformation and why you might want to step back, take a deep breath, and come up with a more strategic and planful approach to moving to the cloud. Over the course of the conversation, they dig into some of the anti-patterns Dennis sees in the market that cause cloud transformations to fail, and they explore the benefits of having a strong cloud readiness plan and how you can begin to ensure that your plan is integrated with your business strategy.

Dennis? Blog: Navigating the Challenges of Cloud Migration

If you?d like to contact Dennis, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dennis-stevens LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisstevens/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

In the face of change, many people inside large organizations are often left with more questions than answers. Do I have the ability to lead my team through this? Do I possess the necessary skills? Will my role become obsolete? Is my job safe? A good change management strategy accounts for these questions and tries to reduce the angst surrounding the change by deploying solid stakeholder management practices.

Today, Mike and Dave sit down to discuss how we approach stakeholder management and reveal some of the tactics we deploy during a transformation to create safe, win-win situations for all those participating in the change effort.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

A couple years ago, Mike Cottmeyer did a webinar series on the fundamental building blocks of agility. These days, we?re calling these building blocks the physics of agile. Today, Mike and Dave get together to discuss the four laws that make up the physics of agile and why these laws must be taken into account to make agile work inside large organizations.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Large organizations that want to stick around and maintain their competitive edge have to stop treating everything in their business like a distinct set of processes. How your technology is architected, your organization is designed, and your teaming strategies, resource management, governance, OKRs, and KPIs are all part of the same system. And you need to start treating them that way. In this podcast, Mike Cottmeyer and Dave Prior talk about the current state of Agile, how a lack of systems thinking is tanking the market, and the role of systems thinking as the transformation industry moves forward.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Carrying work over from one sprint to the next is a thorn in the side of many scrum teams. And often, it?s due to one or two team members who aren?t quite carrying their fair share of the weight. We recently covered this topic in a previous podcast but got some other cool ideas from our listeners that we wanted to discuss. So, in this quick podcast, we explore even more possible solutions for scrum teams dealing with an underperforming team member.

What Do You Do When One Dev is Slowing You Down? 

If you?d like to contact Vic you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/victor-bonacci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbonacci/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Mike and Dave sit down to reflect on 2023 and discuss some of the biggest revelations we had as a company. Together, Mike and Dave explore how LeadingAgile is already applying our latest learnings to our client engagements and the impact of them on the future of the company.

Additionally, in this sprawling conversation, the guys chat about whether personal agility plays a role inside your organization, the history of Agile, Mike?s beef with estimation, and the disconnect between Agile and ?the business.?

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Thinking about becoming a ScrumMaster? Or maybe you recently got your CSM Certification, and you?re still trying to get your footing. Check out this quick podcast to learn what ScrumMasters do all day and gain some insights into the softer skills required of a ScrumMaster.

ScrumMaster Checklist

https://scrummasterchecklist.org/

42 Tasks for a ScrumMaster?s Job

https://agiletrail.com/2011/11/14/42-tasks-for-a-scrum-masters-job/

If you?d like to contact Vic you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/victor-bonacci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbonacci/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

In this episode of SoundNotes, we?re having a little fun discussing how you can apply the roles, ceremonies, and artifacts of Scrum to get more out of this holiday season and improve your goal-setting for 2024. 

If you?d like to contact Vic you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/victor-bonacci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbonacci/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

As Agile becomes more mainstream and commoditized, breaking into the industry is harder. Companies value certifications differently, and expectations are all over the place. Even when you find a job that looks promising, finding a way to stand out and differentiate yourself is more challenging than it was 10 years ago. In this episode of SoundNotes, Dave sits down with Aimee McLean, who we recently hired, to discuss how they see the Agile job market and advise you on how to get started with a career in Agile in 2024.

If you'd like to contact Aimee, you can reach her at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/aimee-mclean/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/aimeemclean/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Business Agility is all about creating strategic alignment between different parts of your organization. One of the ways that we help our clients create strategic alignment is by implementing a four-tiered governance model that has a dedicated strategy team, or investment team on top. This team is responsible for setting the strategy, applying context for all the other teams, and making sure that they are holding the system of delivery accountable.

But this requires a shift in how you think about things like metrics, OKRs and KPIs. IT requires a shift in how you think about funding and what it means to have a system of delivery. We explore all this and more in this episode of SoundNotes.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/andrew-young/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/atyoung/ Email: [email protected]

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/andy-fine/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/andyfine/ Email: [email protected] 

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Culture eats strategy for breakfast was a quote from the legendary management consultant and author Peter Drucker. If that?s true, then what does it mean when there are competing views on culture? What type of culture gets to eat strategy for breakfast? Who gets to decide and why do we have to choose?

In this podcast, Mike and Dave sit down to discuss how your personality type influences the way you see and value culture, and the implications that can have on your business. Together they explore different types of personalities, how they manifest in the Agile community, and some ways the Agile community can find some common ground to achieve what we?re all chasing?greater Business Agility.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Most developers aren?t waking up in the morning and wondering how they?re going to mess up the sprint today. There?s usually a reason why they can?t get their work done on time. Still, if one developer isn?t meeting their commitment, then the whole team isn?t meeting their commitment. So, something?s got to give. In this episode of SoundNotes, Vic Bonacci and Dave Prior draw on their vast experience as CSTs and dish out some tips on what you can do when you have one developer slowing you down.

If you?d like to contact Vic you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/victor-bonacci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbonacci/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

During the height of the pandemic, many teams learned how to work from home. As people start heading back to the office, many teams are in this weird in-between space where things aren?t always what they need to be to get the most out of your team. In this short podcast, Dave and Vic explore how hybrid teams are impacting your ability to do Scrum successfully, and discuss some tips and tricks to get the most out of your Scrum team while ensuring you?re also getting what you need to do your best work.

If you?d like to contact Vic you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/victor-bonacci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbonacci/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Sometimes you have a product owner that?s wearing too many hats, traveling, or spread across too many teams. This can leave the rest of the people on your team feeling lost, or it can cause the ScrumMaster to take on more than maybe what should be required of them. In this podcast, Vic and Dave explore some ways to manage expectations and divide the work so that no one is overwhelmed and ensure the delivery teams are getting what they need.

If you?d like to contact Vic you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/victor-bonacci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbonacci/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

In this short podcast, two CST's, Dave Prior and Vic Bonacci, sit down to discuss specialized roles in Scrum. They dig into why that's a problem, how it impedes Agile, and explore some ways to get your team more cross-functional. Additionally, as a bonus, they discuss what to do when there's a lack of QA on the team.

If you?d like to contact Vic you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/victor-bonacci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbonacci/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: twitter.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

Interested in CSM or CSPO Training? You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

In 2020, the Scrum Guide introduced the idea of the Product Goal, but left out anything about Vision. Was this move better or worse for Scrum teams?In this short podcast, Vic Bonacci and Dave Prior, our two resident CSTs, sit down to discuss the difference between product goals and vision and the impact this change is making on Scrum Teams.

If you?d like to contact Vic you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/victor-bonacci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbonacci/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

In this episode of SoundNotes, our two in-house CSTs get together to talk about the importance of sprint goals. They dive into everything from what they are, why they?re important, and how to go about creating them?even in the absence of an explicit business goal.

If you?d like to contact Vic you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/victor-bonacci LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vbonacci/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Why are so many Agile coaches and ScrumMasters getting laid off? Is it because Agile is disappearing? Or is it because they?ve gotten so dogmatic about the rules and ceremonies surrounding Agile that they?re more of a burden then they are valuable? In our latest episode of SoundNotes, Mike Cottmeyer and Dave Prior explore the how to balance the competing priorities of the Agilists and the leaders they?re trying to help so that everyone can get back succeeding with Agile.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Join us for today?s podcast where we dive into the world of Kanban and Agile methodologies to unravel the thought process behind large organizations who want embrace Kanban. If you?re considering Kanban, or you?re currently grappling with workflow challenges, this video will equip you with some Kanban strategies to help you seamlessly implement and optimize Kanban in a dynamic enterprise environment.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/tom-furland/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tfurland/ Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Mike and Dave sit down to have another debate with ChatGPT about dealing with dependencies in Agile. Mike asserts that dependencies kill Agility and that they?re meant to be broken. ChatGPT says that it?s all about managing dependencies and that while dependencies may limit Agility, they can also foster collaboration and synergy.

The debate quickly rolls into a conversation about dealing with legacy technical debt and business capability modeling and how we need to focus on minimizing dependencies in all aspects of the business, not just at the team level. Dave even gets Mike to start talking about his latest thinking on composable enterprises and what executives need to know about software architecture.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Mike Cottmeyer debates ChatGPT and sits down with Dave to discuss what it really means to scale Agile. Over the course of the podcast, Mike and Dave explore the difference between Agile principles and practices, cloud migration, and what the Agile industry can learn from the US Air Force?s concept of Agile, Open, and Digital.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Our guest, Troy Magennis, has been described as a national resource in the Agile community. He?s a published author and frequent speaker on forecasting and modeling Agile projects.

Today, Troy joins us to discuss how many of the metrics the Agile industry uses actually prevent companies from achieving the change they so desperately desire. Together, we?ll explore some ways the industry gets metrics and forecasting right and where it tends to go wrong. And Troy offers a ton of insight on how you can begin thinking about the work differently to release more value more rapidly more often.

If you'd like to contact Troy, you can reach him at:

Focused Objective: https://www.focusedobjective.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/troymagennis/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/t_magennis

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

When organizations set out to adopt Agile, they always have a business reason. It?s never just because they really love Scrum, or SAFe, or LeSS. But when the teams start doing all the Agile things, and they?re met with resistance from the organization around them, it?s hard to point to success because not much changed. So, we start defining success as ?do the roles and ceremonies exist and are we following all the Agile dogma.? That?s a poor definition of success, and we have to get better at changing the organization around the teams. But that?s a different problem altogether. To do that, we?ll have to deconstruct what people, especially leaders inside organizations, believe about Agile and get them to see it through an all-new lens.

Mike and Dave sit down to begin deconstructing some of the current beliefs about Agile, and talk about what success actually looks like in this week?s episode of SoundNotes.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Today, the market for Transformation is a transition period. We see some companies looking for the next big thing, and others going back to what they know. Is this a sign that Agile is waning? Is it evolving? Or is Agile so deeply engrained in the way business gets done, people have just started calling it something else to deny the fact they just aren?t very good at it? Mike Cottmeyer and Dave Prior sit down to discuss this interesting moment in time for our industry and more in this episode of SoundNotes.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Agile practices don?t automatically lead to Business Agility. In the presence of dependencies and organizational impediments that the teams have no ability to change, going through the motions of Scrum or SAFe isn?t going to lead to greater Business Agility either. So, you can train the teams all you want, but if it doesn?t lead to greater Agility, who cares?

Listen as Mike Cottmeyer and Dave Prior discuss some common misconceptions about Agile Transformation, how training often leaves businesses wanting more, and some things to consider if you?re thinking about starting an Agile Journey of your own. Also, stick around for the end, where Mike reveals who his favorite fictional Project Manager is.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

People have debated whether or not SAFe is Agile for as long as it?s been around. LeadingAgile CEO, Mike Cottmeyer, joins Dave on this episode of SoundNotes to explore the roots of small team Agile and to discuss how SAFe stacks up against the ideals of the Agile Manifesto.

Contacting Mike Cottmeyer

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

Contacting Dave Prior

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

There?s a layer to communication that is most important for understanding: intention. It?s the most often overlooked aspect because it?s hard to decipher if people are saying what they mean or if you actually understand what they?re saying.

By hunting for a shared understanding of intention, you can more deeply understand what people are saying and why. If you aren?t aligning on intent, you could be missing the mark, which can be detrimental, especially in a business environment.

In this episode of SoundNotes, Dave and Mike explore how improving communication can translate into an Agile work environment, personal relationships, and the benefits that better communication provides to individuals and groups of people.

If you?d like to contact Mike you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at https://www.leadingagile.com/our-gear/training/

During Transformation, we need a way to measure its performance and improvements to the organization so that leaders continue to support the initiative. Metrics need to be used to help teams get better over time and drive the right kinds of outcomes that leadership is looking for.

In this episode, Mike Cottmeyer shares his insights into different Agile metrics and what are the right ones that give leaders what they need to make the necessary changes to the system and improve overall performance.

If you?d like to contact Mike you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at https://www.leadingagile.com/our-gear/training/

In this episode of SoundNotes, Len Greski joins Dave to discuss leadership and emotional systems. Len is a Principal Consultant at LeadingAgile and he has a background in sociology. As Len explains, ?The most difficult challenge in delivering great products is getting people to work together." During the interview, we explore emotional systems theory and how that can be applied within our organizations and teams to create sustainable change and deliver great products.

The Bowen Family Systems Theory was developed by Dr. Murray Bowen. It is rooted in taking a systems view in studying families and the relationship patterns that develop between family members. Bowen?s theory and the eight concepts that came out of it can also be applied to the workplace and the emotional systems we create and participate in day to day. The better you are able to understand these systems, the more able you will be to foster systems that lead to a positive outcome for your team, your organization, and your customer.

Links from the Podcast

Contacting Len Greski

If you?d like to contact Len, you can reach him at:

Contacting Dave Prior

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to Dave.

This week?s podcast was created as a response to a question we were recently asked by some of our CSM/CSPO course students. This one is for all the team members and Scrum Masters, the people on the ground who see why Agile could make a huge difference in their entire organization but just don?t have the title or agency to sign the contracts to make it happen.

What they wanted to know is: How does someone who isn?t at contract-signing level create a conversation where they can get the leaders above them to be open to Agile Transformation? 

Dave and Mike will unpack the answer, including discussion on how to hone in on what executives care about and value, and some important questions to ask yourself about the organization and its goals before you start the conversation. They?ll share tips on how to craft the right kind of conversation to get leaders to understand why Agile Transformation is worth doing.

Contacting Mike Cottmeyer

If you?d like to contact Mike you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

Contacting Dave Prior

If you?d like to contact Dave you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: https://www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

And if you?re interested in taking one of our upcoming Certified ScrumMaster or Certified Scrum Product Owner classes, you can find all the details at https://www.leadingagile.com/our-gear/training/

So an Executive walks into a Daily Scrum and demands Team Member X who must immediately begin work on something that is not part of the Scrum Team?s commitment for the Sprint.

If you are a Scrum Master, this has either happened to you, or it is going to? soon.

What do you do? 

You know this is not ok. The Executive, who may have the power to fired you on the spot. should know better too, but apparently, they are ?extra-agile?.

Your job is to protect the team from interruptions just like this. But your job is also not to get fired. In the heat of this moment, you may not have time to work on developing and evaluating different theories.

What do you do?

In this episode of SoundNotes, Vic Bonacci joins me to talk through some of the options a Scrum Master has in this situation. We explore different choices available to the SM and the potential impact of each option. And, Vic and I both came at this challenge from different angles, so it gave us an excellent opportunity to talk through how we see it through different lenses.

This week in SoundNotes, Chris Barton joins me to talk through a problem that shows up one way or another in every single CSM class I teach?

How do I get my team to want to do Agile when they don?t want to do Agile?

During the interview, Chris and I talk through different lenses you can employ to get a better understanding of what is driving the resistance and strategies for overcoming it.

We also spend some time near the end of the conversation on how to influence when you have no sway. This one came from someone on a team who is earlier in their career and is paired with an older Tech Lead that seems to view her primary role as Team Meeting Scheduler.

Whether you are the one trying to influence, or you are the recipient of someone?s efforts to influence, there is a lot here that you?ll find valuable.

In this week?s episode of SoundNotes, LeadingAgile Senior Consultant, Matthew Oatts joins me to talk about what to do when you are placed in a leadership role, but not given a lot of clarity on what you are specifically supposed to do or how you are supposed to do it. How do you lead people when you don?t have clear boundaries or you don?t have clarity on what your leadership is looking for.

Oftentimes, this guidance is lacking because the people you report to don?t actually know and are just waiting for you to figure it out. How can you be successful in your role when success is not clearly defined for you?

If you?ve ever found yourself in that situation, Matthew Oatts and I talk through different ways to respond when you find yourself in this situation.

If you?d like to contact Matthew you can reach him at:

If you?d like to contact Dave you can reach him at:

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

Agile Transformation is more than just installing Agile processes or Agile principles. It?s more than simply training your team on Agile methodology. But if that?s the case, then what is the actual path to becoming an Agile organization? 

You must create the conditions where Agile processes can be deployed and exploited for better outcomes than you had before?so you can get more value, better ROI, more predictability, and more. But to create this foundation, you need a way to move the organization incrementally and iteratively through Transformation that operates with certain characteristics. LeadingAgile has found a way to do this with what we call a Systems-first approach to Agile Transformation. 

In this podcast, LeadingAgile CEO Mike Cottmeyer and host Dave Prior candidly explore and discuss the details of the LeadingAgile Systems-first approach, including how it started, why it has become a proven and tested way to successfully enable any organization to Transform, and how each part of the system works.

If you?d like to contact Mike, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/mike-cottmeyer LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/cottmeyer/ X: x.com/mcottmeyer Email: [email protected]

If you?d like to contact Dave, you can reach him at:

LeadingAgile: www.leadingagile.com/guides/dave-prior/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mrsungo X: x.com/mrsungo Email: [email protected]

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

You can find all the details at www.leadingagile.com/scrum-training/

Finding, supporting, and retaining people with skills and talent is never easy. Over the past few years, between the pandemic and the great resignation, it has become even more challenging. What attracts the next generation of talented change agents? How can you help them grow into the skilled transformation ninjas you need them to be? If you are part of one of the older generations, how can you become more aware of your blind spots and take steps to improve the way you engage with the people who will lead us into the future?

This week in SoundNotes, Dave is joined by Lien Nguyen and Regan Jenkins who both work as staff consultants at LeadingAgile. During the interview, they discuss what LeadingAgile was able to offer that they could not find elsewhere, the different ways they are supported by the folks they work with, and they also offer Dave some tips on how he can show up for in a helpful and supportive way for those who are in the earlier stages of their careers.

What is PSTIR? PSTIR is an acronym for a change management model we use at LeadingAgile to explain our approach to creating lasting change. It stands for Prepare, Socialize, Tailor, Implement, Reinforce and it is a series of collaboration and implementation activities that enable our clients to be part of the change while leveraging the LeadingAgile reference architecture.

In this episode of SoundNotes, Dave is joined by LeadingAgile Principal Consultant, Melissa Oberg and Dennis Stevens, our Chief Methodologist to discuss what PSTIR is, why it exists and why it is such a crucial part of how we introduce and manage change in an organization.

In this episode of SoundNotes, Dave is joined by LeadingAgile Chief Marketing Officer Tim Zack. Tim offers his unique perspective on how to communicate within an organization during an Agile Transformation to influence lasting change. The biggest part of an Agile Transformation is asking people to work differently at a job they might have been doing for years. People are naturally resistant to change, especially when their livelihood is on the line.

Tim discusses the strategies that organizations can use to communicate where they want to go. It's about influencing people over a period of time, not going in and trying to change the culture first. This is why we lead with a systems first approach because they adapt to change faster than people. Making lasting change in an organization is a slow, repetitive process as people become ready to hear it, understand it and apply it.

This week on SoundNotes our Founder and CEO, Mike Cottmeyer, joins Dave to discuss why simply showing up and having the answer for the customer is not enough. During this conversation, Mike explains the process he follows when engaging with clients to ensure he is truly hearing them and understanding the way they see the problem, and how that begins a series of steps that enables him to work with the client to find the best solution for them.

If you are involved with introducing change in an organization, especially from a consulting standpoint, this interview is a must.

This week LeadingAgile Senior Consultant Matthew Oatts joins Dave for a different kind of interview. This is the first of two interviews we will be posting with Matthew and they both focus on what it is like to work here at LeadingAgile and how to make the most of your early days with the company. Because LeadingAgile has a unique point of view and approach to organizational change and Agile transformation when people join the company we take extra care to make sure they are up to speed on the LeadingAgile Why and How. As the company has matured over the years our on-boarding process has gone through a number of iterations and has evolved into a very comprehensive robust program.

But, Matt joined LeadingAgile during the 2nd half of December of 2021. In consulting, the last few weeks of December are pretty slow and this meant Matt was going to need to wait for an on-boarding class to start. This gave Matt some time to dig around on his own and discover his own path while he waited for his official introduction to the way of LeadingAgile. During this interview, we discuss some of the most valuable things Matt picked up on during his first few weeks and his take on what it is like getting started at LeadingAgile. In a few weeks, once he has officially completed his onboarding, were going to do a follow-up to see how he felt about his official introduction to LeadingAgile.

For anyone considering working here, or getting started working here, this interview should offer valuable tips on what makes LeadingAgile a unique place to work and how to make the most of your initial days with the company.

At LeadingAgile our approach to helping organizations transform the way they work is deeply rooted in First Principles. These are core beliefs we all have in common that shape the way we work. People who work here come from different backgrounds and have different experiences, but First Principles are things we all believe to be true.

In our interactions with clients, these core beliefs are an essential ingredient in our ability to deliver on the promises we make and to fulfill the Trust-Influence loop.

In this episode of SoundNotes, Mike Cottmeyer joins Dave to discuss First Principles, what they are, why they are so important, how they work, and how they become more important as we grow.

Lance Kind, Daryl Kulak, and George Walters join for this podcast episode about software. Daryl and George describe how they help companies answer the question: Is your software getting better or worse? LeadingAgile Studios team mission is to help companies going through an Agile Transformation resolve the problem of where the software is the leading impediment to a company's success.

LeadingAgile Studios team starts with a software assessment that uses an in-house tool to analyze a codebase by collecting data on how it changes over time. With this information, LeadingAgile Studios helps clients make a plan to remediate the discovered problems. With this plan, the client will have the option to fix the problem independently, do it with assistance from the Studios team, or have the Studios team take complete control.

Listen to this episode to learn more about how the LeadingAgile Studios team can answer the question: Is your software getting better or worse?

Contact Daryl for more information or check out the LeadingAgile contact page https://www.leadingagile.com/contact-us/ and tell them "a podcast on software assessment" sent you.

Spike solutions are one of the ways extreme programming teams "figure out answers to tough technical or design problems". Their use has evolved over the years and as they've been adopted by Scrum Teams. There are also many teams out there who may be using spikes in a way that creates more work without solving problems.

In this episode of SoundNotes, Stephen Cavaliere joins Dave to talk all about Spikes. In order to make things as simple as possible the podcast has been broken up into three parts:

This is the fourth episode in our series of podcasts about Fixed vs. Growth Mindset. Using the book Mindset by Carol Dweck as a jumping-off point, Mary Kaufmann and Dave Prior dig into the topic of criticism.

The conversation focuses on the way Fixed vs. Growth Mindset people approach giving and receiving criticism. Along the way, Mary and Dave both share examples of how they've struggled in the past with giving and receiving feedback. They also share things they've each learned while trying to take a more growth-minded approach to criticism.

This podcast is our third in a series of conversations focused on Fixed vs. Growth Mindset. Leveraging the work in Carol Dweck?s book, Mindset, Mary Kaufman and Dave Prior explore the differences between having a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Each episode of this series focuses on how our mindset impacts the way we perceive and respond to different types of stimulus/events.

This episode is focused on effort and the differences between how a fixed mindset and a growth mindset perceive the value we receive from applying ourselves at work. Do we see the effort spent as a waste of time, or a step towards achieving some level of mastery that can be a reward all by itself?

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

And if you're interested in taking one of our upcoming Certified ScrumMaster or Certified Scrum Product Owner classes, you can find all the details at https://www.leadingagile.com/our-gear/training/

Working with the Product folks at LeadingAgile is different than a lot of other Product Management gigs. In this interview, LeadingAgile?s Andrew Young joins Dave to talk about what it?s like working with the product group at LeadingAgile, why we focus so heavily on the product side of things, the difference between working ?in? product and working ?on? product, and why he?s made the choice to work at LeadingAgile.

If you?d like to contact Dave you can reach him at:

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

And if you're interested in taking one of our upcoming Certified ScrumMaster or Certified Scrum Product Owner classes, you can find all the details at https://www.leadingagile.com/our-gear/training/

In this week?s SoundNotes podcast, Dave is joined by Vic Bonacci, CST who recently joined the LeadingAgile team. As Certified Scrum Trainers, both Dave and Vic bring their numerous years of experience and unique perspectives to the table to chat candidly about the issues and challenges surrounding being a more advanced Scrum Master, and how to continue learning and growing in the role.

Being strategic is about planning to reach our goals and deciding what to do with our limited capacity to achieve those aspirations and vision. But to do this, we have to first identify what?s valuable to the organization and prioritize the things that will release the most value into it. 

LeadingAgile Chief Methodologist, Dennis Stevens joins Dave prior this week to discuss why we should be prioritizing value and the importance of value density.

If you?d like to contact Dave you can reach him at:

If you have a question you?d like to submit for an upcoming podcast, please send them to [email protected]

And if you're interested in taking one of our upcoming Certified ScrumMaster or Certified Scrum Product Owner classes, you can find all the details at https://www.leadingagile.com/our-gear/training/