Many of us are raised to recognize the value of experts. When we work in a technical arena, seeing our own value as experts is re-enforced. We often are rewarded or promoted based on our knowledge. Our tendency is to want to solve problems by giving our colleagues, teams, and mentees sound advice. Judith Mills says this approach is often counterproductive because, in doing this, we take ownership of the problem. Rather than allowing them to solve their own problems, we can thwart their growth and, in the process, become a bottleneck. Learn the benefits and techniques (and when to use them) for transferring responsibility to the person or teams with the problem. Explore how to use questions to empower others to solve their problems by helping them walk through the situation and recognize the major hurdles. Join Judith to discover when we should allow them to work it out and when we should help solve the problem directly.

1. BT11
Concurrent Session
11/12/15 3:00pm
“You Don't Have All the Answers: So Stop
Giving Advice and Start Asking Questions”
Presented by:
Judith Mills
Judith Mills LLC
Brought to you by:
340 Corporate Way, Suite 300, Orange Park, FL 32073
888-268-8770 · 904-278-0524 · info@techwell.com · www.techwell.com

2. Judith Mills
Judith Mills LLC
Judith Mills is interested in people. Rising through the ranks from software engineer to VP
Development at a global software company, Judith is equally comfortable talking with teams
about building great applications as she is working on organizational strategy in the boardroom.
Her interest in people and her desire to create great work environments where people can thrive
and do their best drive her to continually learn more and seek new opportunities to effect
change. Judith has worked with leadership teams and implemented Scrum and kanban for
hundreds of teams on three continents.

3. Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
When%NOT%to%Have%All%the%
Answers%
Stop%Giving%Advice%and%Start%Asking%Questions%
Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Introduction%
30%years%in%the%software%industry%
14%years%as%an%executive%
9+%years%as%a%coach%practicing%Agile%
Ran%many%departments%–%Development,%
Support,%Customer%Services,%IS%
Worked%with%On%Premise%software%and%
SAAS%for%many%product%lines%–%
Healthcare,%Insurance,%CRM,%ERP,%
Factory%Floor,%SCM,%HRM,%Customer%
Complaint%Management,,%Customer%
Feedback,%Call%Center%Quality%
Monitoring,%Desktop%Automation%&%
Monitoring%

4. Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Addicted%to%Advice%
When%I%
was%at...%
You%know%
the%best%
way…%
I’ve%seen%this%
before…%
There’s%really%
only%one%way%to%
successfully…%I%ran%this%
project%
at….% The%easiest%
solution...%
Been%there…
Seen%that…%
Oh%that%one’s%
easily%fixed…%I’ve%got%the%
perfect%
answer%for…%
Let%me%tell%you%
about%a%situation%
I%fixed%with…% I%had%a%friend%with%a%
problem%just%like%
that…%Well%I’ll%just%deal%with%
that...%
Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Lay%Blame%
Justify%
Shame%
Obligation%
Responsibility,
______________________,
Coping%%
methods%
NO%Learning%
occurs%
Quit%
Denial%
____________________________,

5. Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Questions%Empower%
Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting

6. Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Teams%of%THREE%
Role%1%–Mentor%
Stay%in%Power%cycle%
Role%2%–%Mentee%
Stay%in%Control%Cycle%
Role%3%–%Observer%
Stop%the%game%if%either%falls%
out%of%their%cycle%
%
%
%
%
%
a. Team%not%closing%stories%
until%last%day%of%sprint%
b. I%can’t%get%the%team%to%
even%try%pair%
programming%
c. We%have%too%many%
stories%open%at%once%
Choose%a%Scenario%
Role%Play%
Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Transferring%Ownership%
4RENT%
MY%1CAR%

7. Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Technical%Management%
Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Transferring%Ownership%

8. Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Transferring%Ownership%
Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Recognizing%Opportunities%
to%ask%Questions%
I%need%some%
help…%
I%swapped%
Scrum%
Masters%on%
that%team.%
How%do%you%
think%we%
should%deal%
with%this?%
We%had%to%stop%
the%sprints%to%
deal%with%some%
critical%bugs.%
How%would%
you…?% HR%won’t%let%
me%do%that.%
I%don’t%have%the%
authority%
It’s%hard%to%guess%
what%she%wants,%
you%just%can’t%get%
her%to%speak%up.%
Tell%me%how%
to…%
We%weren’t%getting%
anything%out%of%the%
retrospectives%so%I’ve%
cancelled%them.% I%just%can’t%get%him%to%
turn%up%for%the%
meetings%on%time.%
I%need%your%
advice%

9. Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Recognizing%Opportunities%
to%ask%Questions%
Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
When%not%to%ask%a%question%
We%
did%it!%
Can%you%fill%
your%time%
sheets%in?%

10. Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
When%not%to%ask%a%question%
So%what%would%
you%do%
differently%next%
time?%
So%do%you%
think%that%
could%have%
gone%better?%
I%am%
such%a%
loser%
Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
When%not%to%ask%a%question%

11. Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Thanks!%
Judith Mills Consulting
Transform Your Environment
www.judithmillsconsulting.com
Copyright (c) 2015 Judith Mills LLC@judithmills linkedin.com/in/judithmillsconsulting
Sprint%Board%
Ready To Do DoneIn Progress To Accept
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