A Certified Agile Oxygen Mask for Managers
To be completely transparent up-front, which is something I always recommend agile leaders to be, this post contains shameless self-promotion of my agile leadership offerings. One of the questions I…
A Culture of Collaboration is Born at the Top
A lot of the organizations I’m helping adopt Agile are looking to increase collaboration across the organization. Business and IT people need to work closely together to shorten feedback loops…
My 2018 Retrospective: A Year Starting on a Low and Finishing on a High
2018 was just ten days old when my mother-in-law lost her fight with cancer at only 70 years old. Her passing was deeply mourned as she had played a significant…
Fatal Management
I must admit, I sometimes deliberately, and probably more often unknowingly, provoke my clients to help them think differently about leadership and how they can help their organizations adapt to…
Five Circumstances That Will Act Like Rocket Fuel to Your Agile Transformation
After coaching several clients on their Agile journey, I have found that establishing certain circumstances significantly improves chances of success. The following five have an especially massive impact on the…
From Staffing by Role to Staffing by Skills
Organizations often start their Agile journeys by forming one or more teams. One of the “rules” of Agile is that a team needs to be cross-functional (able to perform all…
Summer Greetings and Questions Every Manager Should Ask
First of all, I hope you have had an awesome summer doing the things you really care about. My summer was nothing short of amazing. Four weeks prior to our…
Move the Coffee Machine to Increase Innovation
Almost 20 years ago, I applied for a developer position at a very large Danish-based company. I completed multiple tests and interviews but was rejected in the end by the…
WorldBlu The Power Question Summit Reflections
Back in Denmark, after attending the WorldBlu The Power Question Summit in Miami and extending my stay with a short family vacation, it’s time to reflect on the summit. The…
Leaders Need to Create Fearless Environments
It seems fitting that I’m writing this post on board a Dreamliner. I’m heading to Miami to participate in the Freedom at Work Summit. For three days, we will be…
8 Leadership Lessons Coaching 8-Year-Old Soccer Girls
Last year, I had the privilege of co-coaching my youngest daughter’s soccer team. I joined two young coaches and a team manager; together, we were responsible for coaching about 20…
You Need People, Not “Resources”, to Build a High-Performing Agile Team
When building a high-performing Agile team, or any team for that matter, you need to look at people as more than “resources”. If they were just “resources”, their contribution would be…