#94: Connecting Teams and Leadership with Anthony Coppedge

Join Brian and Anthony Coppedge as they unlock the secrets to bridging the team-leadership divide. Learn how to navigate through fear, short-term thinking, and the transformative power of Agile within top-tier organizations like IBM.

Overview

In this episode of the Agile Mentors Podcast, Brian sits down for a groundbreaking conversation with Anthony Coppedge, of IBM and creator of the Retrospective Radar.

They delve deep into the disconnects plaguing organizations between their teams and leadership. From overcoming fear and fostering long-term value to harnessing the strength of middle management and the critical role of data-driven decision-making, this episode offers a treasure trove of insights for those looking to drive agility and foster a culture of transparency and success in their organizations.

Join us to explore how translating team realities into leadership vision can catalyze meaningful change and position companies for enduring success.

Listen Now to Discover:

[1:18] - Brian welcomes Anthony Coppedge, IBM's business agility expert.
[2:40] - Unveiling the core issue, Anthony explores how fear fuels the disconnect between teams and their leaders, offering insights into bridging this crucial gap.
[4:04] - Anthony highlights the power for the team in delivering real value for the benefit of others.
[5:14] - Hear Anthony unpack the significance of scalability in systems and processes, highlighting its role in enabling organizations to adapt and thrive, and what the conversations with the teams can look like to achieve scalability.
[6:00] - Anthony lays out vivid examples of the existing gap between teams and leadership, offering insightful strategies needed to effectively bridge this divide.
[7:50] - Highlighting the pivotal role of middle management, Anthony suggests leveraging these key players as connectors between teams and top leadership.
[8:50] - Anthony shows how to effectively convey the ground-level realities of teams to leadership, ensuring their efforts are directly linked to the organization's overarching direction.
[10:30] - Brian emphasizes the critical need to grasp what drives leaders, advocating for the translation of team insights into a language that resonates with leadership priorities.
[13:59] - Anthony explores how adopting a client-centric approach fosters transparency in communication, ensuring clarity and alignment across all levels.
[16:31] - Bridge the gap between your leadership and teams by helping the leaders to expand their Agile language and experience with Mountain Goat Software’s Agile For Leaders Course.
[18:34] - Anthony proposes actionable strategies and the importance of teams spearheading cultural shifts within their organizations, steering them towards embracing Agile principles.
[21:43] - Highlighting the strategic use of data, Anthony discusses how it can illuminate results and motivate shifts towards better practices.
[29:14] - Brian unveils Anthony's innovative approach to reflection and growth with 'The Retrospective Radar.'
[36:11] - Brian shares a big thank you to Anthony for joining him on the show and invites listeners to connect with him on LinkedIn.
[37:27] - We invite you to share the podcast with friends and subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast. Do you have feedback or a great idea for an episode of the show? Great! Just send us an email.
[38:06] - If you’d like to continue this discussion on the episode specific discussion forums on the Agile Mentors Community. You get a year of free membership into that site by taking any class with Mountain Goat Software.
[38:48] - Brian invites listeners to join him live and in person at the 2024 Global Scrum Gathering in New Orleans and the Agile2024 conference in Dallas.

References and resources mentioned in the show:

Anthony Coppedge
Retrospective Radar
Retrospective Radar Template
Creative Commons usage rights for the Retrospective Radar
Agile For Leaders
Join the Agile Mentors Community
Subscribe to the Agile Mentors Podcast
2024 Global Scrum Gathering
Agile2024

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This episode’s presenters are:

Brian Milner is SVP of coaching and training at Mountain Goat Software. He's passionate about making a difference in people's day-to-day work, influenced by his own experience of transitioning to Scrum and seeing improvements in work/life balance, honesty, respect, and the quality of work.

Anthony Coppedge is the Principal Agile Digital Sales Global Transformation Lead at IBM and creator of the Retrospective Radar. Anthony has reshaped enterprises from startups to Fortune 500 giants like IBM, pioneering enterprise Agile Sales and driving customer-centric outcomes worldwide.