The distinction between managers vs. leaders often sparks lively debates and a flood of opinions. But at its core, this comparison can be misleading. Managers and leaders are not inherently opposing forces or mutually exclusive. Both managers and leaders work within structures, have responsibilities, and are interested in accomplishing goals and meeting the needs of their jobs. In a world that often pits these two against each other, it’s essential to step back and consider the nuances: a manager can be a leader, and a leader doesn’t always need to be a manager. This article explores both, debunks common misconceptions, and explains how these skill sets complement rather than contradict each other.
Leadership, People, and Change
Self-Organizing Teams vs. Self-Managing Teams
Are self-organizing teams better or the same as self-managing teams? What about self-directing teams? Working with teams can be challenging due to change and complexity. So, the idea that we could have self-organizing teams or self-managing teams can sound valuable, scary, or both!
What do these terms mean, and where can they be confusing? Let’s dig into each one.
The Tiger Team Trap: Why Special Teams Aren’t the Answer (and What to Do Instead)
Have you ever been in a situation where your organization suddenly faces an urgent, high-priority task? If so, you’ve probably heard someone suggest forming a “Tiger Team” to tackle it. It sounds great in theory, right? “A special team of top performers laser-focused on solving the big problem.” But here’s the thing – Tiger Teams often create more problems than they solve. Let’s dive into why this approach can be problematic and explore better alternatives.
Transparent Business Decisions [Video]
So one of the challenges that we run into a lot, we’re talking about Agile, we’re talking about Scrum, Kanban, anything really within Agile, is that people talk about empiricism. Empiricism is just inspect and adapt and be transparent – inspection, adaptation, and transparency. The problem is that while these make nice posters and t-shirt … Continue Reading→
Global Listening When Remote
Many people are working from home at this point and this will obviously continue for a while. Many organizations had already been working remote. I’ve worked on a number of remote teams and with a number of remote organizations well before the current situation we are in. I’ve done remote work as a coach, trainer, product manager, and team member well before the current situation we are in. Each of those instances I found myself enjoying some aspects of the work and also wishing for aspects to be in person. One of the most challenging things to do remotely is to listen.
Agile Leadership Myth #3: Leaders & Managers will figure out what their agile role is magically
We have done a huge disservice to leaders and managers, as well as teams. There are plenty of people that will say we don’t need managers and leaders. People can lead themselves. While there is an aspect of this that may be true, there are a lot of steps to get close to that idea.
This article will explore what leaders and managers need to do to succeed as they get started with agile or to help teams move from individuals to a team or even a high-performance team. It builds on Agile Leadership Myth #2: Self-Organizing Teams Don’t Need Any Help.
Agile Leadership Myth #2: Self-Organizing Teams Don’t Need Help.
Self-organizing teams do need help. Self-organizing teams are not instant, automatic, or magically created, despite what is often implied. There is a process to become this type of team, and it is rarely, if ever, a straight line. The help they need differs from more traditional directive assignments and task management.
To unravel this myth, we must look at what self-organizing means, what teams and managers experience, and what you can do to shift your help to a more ROI-friendly approach!
Agile Leadership Myth #1: Telling people “You Are Empowered” Actually Works
A major challenge we run into when helping organizations shift or improve is leadership misconceptions. Agile leadership myths cause a lot of these misconceptions. We need to help avoid falling into the trap of these common myths because they limit our success. A root cause of many of the myths is that people simply don’t know what else to do.
For example, Myth #1: ‘telling people “you are empowered” actually works.’ Leaders often don’t know what else to do, other than tell teams they are empowered. We see this with Development Teams, Scrum Teams, Delivery Teams, AND Leadership Teams.
A bit of background — there are many agile leadership myths out there. These myths (or assumptions) limit leaders ability to improve, help others, and succeed. Many myths seem to occur at a nonconscious level, meaning they function like many biases. People are not even aware, consciously, that they are happening.
Limit Engagement, Limit Success – Scientific Management Problems
We require environments where people can provide input and ideas. If we limit engagement, we limit success. We still have organizations that either believe or act like they believe some types of workers are “stupid.” This idea dates back to the ideas surrounding Scientific Management, Fredrick Taylor, and Henry Ford. The concept of the stupid or unskilled worker that I mentioned was common in the early 20th century. In various writings about agile and agile ideas, we often refer to or see references to avoiding Scientific Management, Classic Scientific Management, or Taylorism. These management ideas limit engagement from people, which is going to limit success.
Understanding the past can be quite helpful to see where you might be able to improve today.
Proposing Open Space Technology Sessions
When I am at conferences or events being run using Open Space Technology (learn more about attendee-driven conferences), people often ask me, “Should I propose an open space session?” As we get into the discussion, I tend to ask the same core questions:
- Are you passionate about the topic?
- Are you clear enough on what the topic is?
- What would your 30-second pitch and summary of the topic be to propose at the marketplace?
- Are you comfortable hosting the session, or, if not, are there 1 or 2 more that might help you?