I’ve been in this profession for almost a decade now, and back when I first started, I thought that it is all about post-it notes, loads of meetings and that it only applies to IT! Oh, how far from reality I was! Now that I’m a bit more seasoned in this industry, I know that’s not the case.
If I could go back and give my past-self three pieces of advice that my current-self has learned, they would be:
Develop a coaching strategy
Sticky-notes are just one of the tools, not one that you use all the time. In fact, you spend more time mapping systems, directly coaching leaders and individuals followed by planning your coaching strategy. One may say, workshop it’s where you either gather data or its an icing on a cake where you can enjoy the power of a collaborative spirit.
Agile is a mindset
Agile is a mindset not a set of meetings you have to attend or organize. With that mindset, you get a chance to deliver value continuously to users who will give you valuable feedback. Go the extra mile and prepare for the meetings both as an attendee and a host.
Look beyond the IT
Without support on all levels of the organization, you create an agile silo in IT, yes a little island where development teams are working in an agile manner and the business is well…. minding their own business… They end up facing obstacles from the outside world and believe that working iteratively is only for the folks from technology.
It’s not about agile, it’s about YOU, about how you want to work where you want to take your team and organization. It is all about your environment, in order to be productive in what you do, you need to create the right environment for it, both physical and mental.
Since I can’t travel through time, I’m focusing on being grateful for the lessons I’ve learned, even if I had to learn them the hard way! They’ve boosted my resilience and taught me a lot about myself.