Awesome People Management with Agile

1. AWESOME PEOPLE MANAGEMENT WITH AGILE Agile on the Beach Falmouth, Sept 2014 Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

2. http://www.flickr.com/photos/kodomut/3667608102/ Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

3. I SPENT MY FIRST 10 YEARS OF MY CAREER IN A BIG CORP… … FAMOUS FOR INVESTING HEAVILY IN ITS PEOPLE AND FOR DEVELOPING LEADERS Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

4. MATURE PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT Everyone had: – A workplan – A personal development plan – A career plan, complete with skills matrices – A manager (most of whom did give a crap) – A coach and often a mentor too – Monthly 1:1s, quarterly reviews, annual reviews – 10 days a year to spend on training, etc etc Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

5. THE GOOD Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

6. THE BAD Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

7. THE UGLY Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

8. YOU CAN ADJUST THIS KIND OF APPROACH WHEN YOU WORK IN AN AGILE WAY … BUT IT STILL DOESN’T FEEL QUITE RIGHT Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

9. SOME WOULD ARGUE THAT WE DON’T NEED MANAGERS AT ALL IN AGILE. I ARGUE WE NEED GOOD MANAGERS, AND TO BANISH BAD BOSSES Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

10. WE ALL HATE BAD BOSSES WE DESCRIBE THEM AS • Clueless • Empty suits • Pointless • Seagulls Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

11. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

12. https://twitter.com/Caterina/status/6715084157 Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

13. GOOD MANAGERS ARE BULLSHIT UMBRELLAS. BUT THEY ARE ALSO A LOT MORE THAN THAT. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

14. Traditional management beliefs are a pile of crap http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elephant_Dung.JPG Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

15. Sooo…. WHAT DOES WORK? Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

16. Across industries, across countries, the best performing teams answer certain questions positively Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

17. Predictors of High Performance 1. Do I know what is expected of me at work? 2. Do I have the materials & equipment I need to do my work right? 3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? 4. In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? 5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? 6. Is there someone at work who cares about my development? 7. At work, do my opinions seem to count? 8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? 9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? 10. Do I have a best friend at work? 11. In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my development? 12. At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow? Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

19. UNDERSTAND MOTIVATION • Purpose • Autonomy • Mastery Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

20. MOTIVATION = + PURPOSE (Do I believe in WHY?) + AUTONOMY (Do I get a say in WHAT?) + MASTERY (Am I proud of HOW?) - ANY NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT DETRACT Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

21. Predictors of High Performance (remix) PURPOSE • Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? AUTONOMY • Do I know what is expected of me at work? • At work, do my opinions seem to count? MASTERY • Do I have the materials & equipment I need to do my work right? • At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? • Is there someone at work who cares about my development? • Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work? • In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my development? • At work, have I had opportunities to learn and grow? Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

22. And What Else? OTHER FACTORS: • In the last 7 days, have I received recognition or praise for good work? • Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? • Do I have a best friend at work? ESSENTIALLY, AM I RESPECTED & REWARDED HERE? CAN I BE MYSELF AND SUCCEED HERE? I CALL THIS INCLUSION. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

23. Your job as a manager… CREATE SPACE FOR YOUR PEOPLE TO BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

24. Maybe you’re not a manager. As an individual, you need to… FIND & SHAPE SPACE WHERE YOU CAN BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

25. https://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/8451589322/in/set-72157633230231221 Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

26. SPACE TO BE AWESOME = + PURPOSE (Do I believe in WHY?) + AUTONOMY (Do I get a say in WHAT?) + MASTERY (Am I proud of HOW?) + INCLUSION (Do I BELONG HERE?) - ANY NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT DETRACT Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

27. REMINISCENT OF AGILE MANIFESTO? Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan http://agilemanifesto.org/ Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

28. VALUE INDIVIDUALS & INTERACTIONS Do great 1:1s Make them more like personal retrospectives They are about the individual & their skills, growth & development. Not a status update. Care about the whole person. Everyone needs to be themselves at work. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

29. CULTIVATE INCLUSION Help people to succeed as themselves. Best predictor of recruitment AND retention? Someone’s ability to agree with: “Someone like me can be successful here” Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

30. “OK, BUT HOW ARE YOU GOING TO BEND ‘WORKING SOFTWARE’ TO BE ABOUT PEOPLE, MERI?” Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

32. WHY DO WE VALUE WORKING SOFTWARE OVER COMPREHENSIVE DOCUMENTATION? Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

33. To horribly misquote Joni Mitchell… WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE WANT ‘TIL IT’S DONE. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

34. WE NEED THE FEEDBACK LOOP. WE HAVE TO ITERATE AND LEARN. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

36. DELIBERATE PRACTICE • You must be motivated to attend to the task and exert effort to improve your performance. • The design of the task should take into account your pre-existing knowledge so that the task can be correctly understood after a brief period of instruction. • You should receive immediate informative feedback and knowledge of results of your performance. • You should repeatedly perform the same or similar tasks. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

37. Ask yourself… IS YOUR WORK DESIGNED IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE DELIBERATE PRACTICE? CHALLENGING? FEEDBACK? LEARNING? Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

38. AGILE MANIFESTO Individuals and interactions over processes and tools Working software over comprehensive documentation Customer collaboration over contract negotiation Responding to change over following a plan http://agilemanifesto.org/ Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

39. PUT DOWN YOUR SWORD. YOU ARE NOT A ROMAN GENERAL. Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

40. VALUE THE WHAT OVER THE HOW Know when people need telling what to do (Hint: it’s not often) Help them get what they need the rest of the time (Hint: not just someone else telling them what to do) Learn coaching skills (Hint: start with GROW: http://blog.geekmanager.co.uk/2014/01/20/stealing-from-sports-really-useful- coaching-dareconf-mini/) Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

41. CLUE / SKILLS MATRIX Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

43. http://www.flickr.com/photos/8250578@N06/8625641442/ Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

45. http://www.flickr.com/photos/provoost/2246718091/ Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

46. SKILL DEVELOPMENT Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

47. https://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/9613972159/ Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

49. https://www.flickr.com/photos/psd/8642795506/ Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

51. SPACE TO BE AWESOME = + PURPOSE (Do I believe in WHY?) + AUTONOMY (Do I get a say in WHAT?) + MASTERY (Am I proud of HOW?) + INCLUSION (Do I BELONG HERE?) - ANY NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT DETRACT Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

52. AGILE PEOPLE MANAGEMENT • Do awesome 1:1s = personal retrospectives • Cultivate inclusion • Help make work  deliberate practice • Figure out where people are on the clue/skills matrix, and help accordingly • Learn to coach • Remember the bigger picture, help people have a fulfilling career Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

53. GO! FIND/SHAPE/MAKE SPACE BE AWESOME BE INCLUSIVE And thank you for listening  Any questions? Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager