The Lesser Known Breakfast of Champions

a.k.a.

The Role of the Manager in an Agile, or Wannabe Agile, Org

Steven  Koes  President  

Who Are You? •  First:  props  for  being  here,  you’ve  already  demonstrated  more  mo<va<on  than  80%  of  par<cipants  in  soAware  development.  Need  a  job?  J  

•  Developers,  star<ng  a  company  or  want  to  start  a  company?  

•  What  would  you  like  to  get  out  of  today’s  session?  

Who is This Guy? •  15+  Years  in  SoAware  Development:  IBM,  2  Startups,  Consul<ng,  

Travel,  Educa<on  •  Believes  Agile  can  create  more  of  the  right  products  and  do  so  at  

a  higher  quality  in  less  <me,  regardless  of  the  industry;  has  worked  in  orgs  in  which  Agile  did  so  and  orgs  in  which  it  failed  miserably  

•  Computer  Science  BA  &  Masters  in  Business  &  Management  from  Wharton/Upenn  

•  Recently  started  An<phon,  Inc.,  to  offer  business  real-­‐<me  insight  into  the  rela<onships  between  their  online  &  mobile  marke<ng  (yes,  SEO,  too),  web  site  sta<cs,  customer  interac<ons  and,  of  course,  revenue  and  profit  

Your Mental Model of Management

Which  picture  most  closely  resembles  your  mental  picture  when  you  think  of  a  manager?  

Your Mental Model Over  the  course  of  your  career...  

Your Mental Model At  your  current  organiza<on…  

Your Mental Model In  an  Agile  Org…  

Your Mental Model In  an  Ideal  World?  

Closer Look: What Our Mental Models of Management May Mean

•  Are  managers  primarily  disciplinarians  and/or  task  masters?  

•  Should  they  know  more  and  be  more  capable  than  you  are?  

•  Are  they  administrators,  <me-­‐sheet  collectors,  bean  counters,  irritants?  

•  Do  they,  or  should  they,  empower  and  support  you?  

•  Do  they  help  you  navigate  your  company’s  hierarchy  and/or  help  you  understand  your  group’s  vision  and  the  market  for  your  services  and/or  products?  

From Control to Commitment

•  Models  of  management  are  changing  in  many  industries,  in  most  cases  from  control/admin/supervisor  to  glue/facilitator/enabler/nurturer/mentor  

•  Why?    –  Crea<ve  labor  cannot  be  “herded”  –  Compe<<ve  advantage  oAen  comes  from  extrac<ng  discre<onary  value  from  employees  

–  Technology,  of  course  –  Company<-­‐>employee  loyalty  is  all  but  dead,  both  par<es  must  constantly  “brand”  themselves  and  develop  and  maintain  a  reputa<on  

Aunt Jemima: Take a Closer Look

•  Nurturing    •  Confident  but  approachable  •  Updates  her  image  and  her  recipes  as  needed  •  Authen<c:  sure,  she’s  fic<onal,  but  if  she  weren’t,  the  image  makes  it  clear  she  makes  and  eats  plenty  of  pancakes  herself!  

Aunt Jemima’s School of Management

•  Walk  the  talk:  know  your  industry,  company  and  product  and  help  your  team  navigate  them  all  

•  Pancakes/Feed  your  teams:  share  industry  and  company  knowledge  

•  Roll  up  your  sleeves:  get  grunt  work  out  of  your  teams’  way  and  help  individuals  find  and  focus  on  what  they  are  good,  like  and  that  adds  value  

Aunt Jemima’s School of Management

•  Smile  and  look  straight  ahead:  make  decisions  collabora<vely  and  transparently  and  invite  others  to  ques<on  them  and  make  sugges<ons  

•  Change  your  recipe  when  it’s  not  working:  nothing  s<fles  construc<ve  cri<cism  like  having  no  response  and/or  nothing  changing  

Nurturing Agile at Your Org How  do  your  managers  see  themselves?  

Nurturing Agile at Your Org

•  Assess  your  org’s  culture:  could  the  Marines  use  the  Agile  process?  Should  they?  

•  Know  thyself:  know  why  you  are  doing  it  and  how  it  benefits  both  you  and  the  org  

•  As  unappealing  as  it  may  be,  you  will  have  to  make  appeals  to  emo<on  and  personal  needs    as  well  as  logical  arguments  

Basic Steps •  Create  a  sense  of  urgency  •  Build  a  coali<on  that  spans  all  stakeholders  and  their  bosses  

•  Set  “value  added”  goals,  e.g.  greater  customer  sa<sfac<on,  more  downloads,  fewer  defects  

•  Define  clear,  simple  ways  to  measure  progress  toward  your  goals  

Basic Steps •  Some  of  these  should  benefit  decision-­‐makers,  likely  your  boss,  directly,  for  maximum  impact  

•  Demonstrate  how  Agile  helped  if  and  when  the  group  makes  progress    

•  Accept  it  will  likely  not  be  as  well  or  completely  Agile  as  you  would  like  and  celebrate  baby  steps  

Some Things That Are Likely to Deter Your Progress

•  Going  Agile  in  an  organiza<on  that  is  too  culturally  different  from  what  Agile  requires  

•  Saying  “you  don’t  get  it”  to  almost  anyone;  if  you  want  to  change  things,  it  is  incumbent  upon  you  to  “get”  them  and  their  business  first  

•  Losing  sight  of  what  Agile  is  supposed  to  do  for  the  company,  a.k.a.  making  Agile  the  goal  rather  than  a  means  

In Closing •  Agile,  and  transi<oning  to  Agile,  is  challenging,  rewarding  and  fun  •  If  it  is  consistently  none  of  the  above  for  more  than  a  couple  weeks,  pause,  reflect  (retrospec<ve  J)  and  re-­‐assess  your  process  and/or  transi<on  •  Your  manager  should  be  able  to  help!    

Additional Materials “How  to  Change  a  Culture,”  MIT  Sloan  Management  Review,  John  Shook  12/2010    “Corporate  Transforma<on  Without  a  Crisis,”  The  McKinsey  Quarterly,  Jonathan  Day  &  Michael  Jung  4/2004    “Why  Should  Anyone  be  Led  by  You?”  HBR,  Robert  Goffee  &  Gareth  Jones  6/2004    “David  Neeleman:  Flight  Path  of  a  Servant  Leader,”  HBR,  Bill  George  &  Marhew  Breiselder  9/2009    Organiza<on  Change,  Theory  &  Prac<ce,  W.  Warner  Burke  6/2002    Communica<ng  Change:  How  to  Win  Support  for  New  Business  Direc<ons,  TJ  and  Sandar  Larkin  1994    hrp://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wired-­‐success/201107/is-­‐loyalty-­‐dead