\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"};

\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

(These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

  1. He does not believe in agile.<\/li>
  2. He feels that he may be expected to mentor the\nteam which he does not like to do.<\/li>
  3. He feels that meetings are a waste of his\nvaluable time.<\/li>
  4. Being technically inclined, he may be focused on\nthe solution rather than the value that the solution will bring to the\ncustomers. Although he is very good, he may not realise that the whole team\nincluding product management need to work together to make the solution\nvaluable.<\/li>
  5. He is not motivated because his talents are not\nfully recognized and there is a lack of opportunity to express himself.<\/li>
  6. <anything else><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

    Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

    Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

    (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

    Reasons for Bobby\u2019s behaviour\ncould be one of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. He does not believe in agile.<\/li>
    2. He feels that he may be expected to mentor the\nteam which he does not like to do.<\/li>
    3. He feels that meetings are a waste of his\nvaluable time.<\/li>
    4. Being technically inclined, he may be focused on\nthe solution rather than the value that the solution will bring to the\ncustomers. Although he is very good, he may not realise that the whole team\nincluding product management need to work together to make the solution\nvaluable.<\/li>
    5. He is not motivated because his talents are not\nfully recognized and there is a lack of opportunity to express himself.<\/li>
    6. <anything else><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

      Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

      Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

      (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

      1. Your mind-set needs to be positive towards Bobby\n\u2013 you need to genuinely care for Bobby.<\/li>
      2. Listen to Bobby without judging him.<\/li>
      3. Seek to understand the reasons for his\nbehaviour.<\/li>
      4. Work on building rapport with Bobby and earn his\ntrust. Without that foundation, you cannot influence change in Bobby\u2019s\nbehaviour.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Reasons for Bobby\u2019s behaviour\ncould be one of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        1. He does not believe in agile.<\/li>
        2. He feels that he may be expected to mentor the\nteam which he does not like to do.<\/li>
        3. He feels that meetings are a waste of his\nvaluable time.<\/li>
        4. Being technically inclined, he may be focused on\nthe solution rather than the value that the solution will bring to the\ncustomers. Although he is very good, he may not realise that the whole team\nincluding product management need to work together to make the solution\nvaluable.<\/li>
        5. He is not motivated because his talents are not\nfully recognized and there is a lack of opportunity to express himself.<\/li>
        6. <anything else><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

          Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

          Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

          (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

          What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

          As an Agile coach, you really do not want to do what a\nmanager like Sita should handle. To start with, it is better to coach Sita in\nmanaging Bobby.  If that does not work,\nyou can pitch in for the good of the team. As a coach, certain principles are\nvital in such a situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          1. Your mind-set needs to be positive towards Bobby\n\u2013 you need to genuinely care for Bobby.<\/li>
          2. Listen to Bobby without judging him.<\/li>
          3. Seek to understand the reasons for his\nbehaviour.<\/li>
          4. Work on building rapport with Bobby and earn his\ntrust. Without that foundation, you cannot influence change in Bobby\u2019s\nbehaviour.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Reasons for Bobby\u2019s behaviour\ncould be one of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            1. He does not believe in agile.<\/li>
            2. He feels that he may be expected to mentor the\nteam which he does not like to do.<\/li>
            3. He feels that meetings are a waste of his\nvaluable time.<\/li>
            4. Being technically inclined, he may be focused on\nthe solution rather than the value that the solution will bring to the\ncustomers. Although he is very good, he may not realise that the whole team\nincluding product management need to work together to make the solution\nvaluable.<\/li>
            5. He is not motivated because his talents are not\nfully recognized and there is a lack of opportunity to express himself.<\/li>
            6. <anything else><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

              Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

              The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

              Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

              McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

              Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

              McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

              (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

              What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

              Suggested\nSolution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

              As an Agile coach, you really do not want to do what a\nmanager like Sita should handle. To start with, it is better to coach Sita in\nmanaging Bobby.  If that does not work,\nyou can pitch in for the good of the team. As a coach, certain principles are\nvital in such a situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              1. Your mind-set needs to be positive towards Bobby\n\u2013 you need to genuinely care for Bobby.<\/li>
              2. Listen to Bobby without judging him.<\/li>
              3. Seek to understand the reasons for his\nbehaviour.<\/li>
              4. Work on building rapport with Bobby and earn his\ntrust. Without that foundation, you cannot influence change in Bobby\u2019s\nbehaviour.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                Reasons for Bobby\u2019s behaviour\ncould be one of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                1. He does not believe in agile.<\/li>
                2. He feels that he may be expected to mentor the\nteam which he does not like to do.<\/li>
                3. He feels that meetings are a waste of his\nvaluable time.<\/li>
                4. Being technically inclined, he may be focused on\nthe solution rather than the value that the solution will bring to the\ncustomers. Although he is very good, he may not realise that the whole team\nincluding product management need to work together to make the solution\nvaluable.<\/li>
                5. He is not motivated because his talents are not\nfully recognized and there is a lack of opportunity to express himself.<\/li>
                6. <anything else><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

                  Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                  The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

                  Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                  McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                  Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                  McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

                  (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                  What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

                  Sita asks you as the Agile coach to help her deal with the situation. How would you go about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Suggested\nSolution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  As an Agile coach, you really do not want to do what a\nmanager like Sita should handle. To start with, it is better to coach Sita in\nmanaging Bobby.  If that does not work,\nyou can pitch in for the good of the team. As a coach, certain principles are\nvital in such a situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  1. Your mind-set needs to be positive towards Bobby\n\u2013 you need to genuinely care for Bobby.<\/li>
                  2. Listen to Bobby without judging him.<\/li>
                  3. Seek to understand the reasons for his\nbehaviour.<\/li>
                  4. Work on building rapport with Bobby and earn his\ntrust. Without that foundation, you cannot influence change in Bobby\u2019s\nbehaviour.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                    Reasons for Bobby\u2019s behaviour\ncould be one of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    1. He does not believe in agile.<\/li>
                    2. He feels that he may be expected to mentor the\nteam which he does not like to do.<\/li>
                    3. He feels that meetings are a waste of his\nvaluable time.<\/li>
                    4. Being technically inclined, he may be focused on\nthe solution rather than the value that the solution will bring to the\ncustomers. Although he is very good, he may not realise that the whole team\nincluding product management need to work together to make the solution\nvaluable.<\/li>
                    5. He is not motivated because his talents are not\nfully recognized and there is a lack of opportunity to express himself.<\/li>
                    6. <anything else><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                      While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

                      Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                      The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

                      Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                      McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                      Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                      McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

                      (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                      What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      \u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      \u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

                      Coolsoft,  a product company, was in the process of transitioning to Scrum. Bobby was a team member in the critical Work Flow feature team. He was technically brilliant \u2013 team was heavily dependent on him for many things \u2013 in a sense he was indispensable to the management as well. However, he was anything but a team player. Treated Agile\/Scrum values and principles with scant regard, missed stand-ups at times and even when he attended he would be invariably late \u2013 sometimes the team even waited for him to come to start the meeting. Bobby\u2019s immediate manager, Sita was not sure how to deal with him \u2013 his behaviour had a negative impact on the team morale and productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Sita asks you as the Agile coach to help her deal with the situation. How would you go about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Suggested\nSolution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      As an Agile coach, you really do not want to do what a\nmanager like Sita should handle. To start with, it is better to coach Sita in\nmanaging Bobby.  If that does not work,\nyou can pitch in for the good of the team. As a coach, certain principles are\nvital in such a situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      1. Your mind-set needs to be positive towards Bobby\n\u2013 you need to genuinely care for Bobby.<\/li>
                      2. Listen to Bobby without judging him.<\/li>
                      3. Seek to understand the reasons for his\nbehaviour.<\/li>
                      4. Work on building rapport with Bobby and earn his\ntrust. Without that foundation, you cannot influence change in Bobby\u2019s\nbehaviour.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                        Reasons for Bobby\u2019s behaviour\ncould be one of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        1. He does not believe in agile.<\/li>
                        2. He feels that he may be expected to mentor the\nteam which he does not like to do.<\/li>
                        3. He feels that meetings are a waste of his\nvaluable time.<\/li>
                        4. Being technically inclined, he may be focused on\nthe solution rather than the value that the solution will bring to the\ncustomers. Although he is very good, he may not realise that the whole team\nincluding product management need to work together to make the solution\nvaluable.<\/li>
                        5. He is not motivated because his talents are not\nfully recognized and there is a lack of opportunity to express himself.<\/li>
                        6. <anything else><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                          While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

                          Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                          The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

                          Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                          McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                          Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                          McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

                          (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                          What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          \u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          \u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

                          \n\nWe are not born with a fixed mindset \u2013 this is\nsomething that we as parents develop in our children by our action, our\nbehaviours, our language,  the way we\ntalk to them and the way we praise them. As an example, when my son was eight I\nasked him if he wanted to learn the rubix cube. \u201cI\u2019d love to daddy\u201d. A few\nweeks later he could do it, a few weeks after that he was faster than me. He is\nno \u201csmarter\u201d than anyone in my mentoring group, he just had a growth mindset.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Growth Mindset","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-growth-mindset","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:41:21","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:11:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12838","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12659,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 19:14:52","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:44:52","post_content":"\n

                          Coolsoft,  a product company, was in the process of transitioning to Scrum. Bobby was a team member in the critical Work Flow feature team. He was technically brilliant \u2013 team was heavily dependent on him for many things \u2013 in a sense he was indispensable to the management as well. However, he was anything but a team player. Treated Agile\/Scrum values and principles with scant regard, missed stand-ups at times and even when he attended he would be invariably late \u2013 sometimes the team even waited for him to come to start the meeting. Bobby\u2019s immediate manager, Sita was not sure how to deal with him \u2013 his behaviour had a negative impact on the team morale and productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Sita asks you as the Agile coach to help her deal with the situation. How would you go about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          Suggested\nSolution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          As an Agile coach, you really do not want to do what a\nmanager like Sita should handle. To start with, it is better to coach Sita in\nmanaging Bobby.  If that does not work,\nyou can pitch in for the good of the team. As a coach, certain principles are\nvital in such a situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                          1. Your mind-set needs to be positive towards Bobby\n\u2013 you need to genuinely care for Bobby.<\/li>
                          2. Listen to Bobby without judging him.<\/li>
                          3. Seek to understand the reasons for his\nbehaviour.<\/li>
                          4. Work on building rapport with Bobby and earn his\ntrust. Without that foundation, you cannot influence change in Bobby\u2019s\nbehaviour.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                            Reasons for Bobby\u2019s behaviour\ncould be one of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                            1. He does not believe in agile.<\/li>
                            2. He feels that he may be expected to mentor the\nteam which he does not like to do.<\/li>
                            3. He feels that meetings are a waste of his\nvaluable time.<\/li>
                            4. Being technically inclined, he may be focused on\nthe solution rather than the value that the solution will bring to the\ncustomers. Although he is very good, he may not realise that the whole team\nincluding product management need to work together to make the solution\nvaluable.<\/li>
                            5. He is not motivated because his talents are not\nfully recognized and there is a lack of opportunity to express himself.<\/li>
                            6. <anything else><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                              While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

                              Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                              The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

                              Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                              McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                              Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                              McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

                              (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                              What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              \u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              \u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n

                            7. Linda Rising has a number of\nvideos talking about the \u201cAgile\nMindset<\/a>\u201d. Linda credits Carol Dweck in all her talks. If you have time (40\nmins or so), listen to Linda speak. She is great and goes through a lot of the\npsychology and tests backing up these mindsets.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                              \n\nWe are not born with a fixed mindset \u2013 this is\nsomething that we as parents develop in our children by our action, our\nbehaviours, our language,  the way we\ntalk to them and the way we praise them. As an example, when my son was eight I\nasked him if he wanted to learn the rubix cube. \u201cI\u2019d love to daddy\u201d. A few\nweeks later he could do it, a few weeks after that he was faster than me. He is\nno \u201csmarter\u201d than anyone in my mentoring group, he just had a growth mindset.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Growth Mindset","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-growth-mindset","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:41:21","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:11:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12838","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12659,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 19:14:52","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:44:52","post_content":"\n

                              Coolsoft,  a product company, was in the process of transitioning to Scrum. Bobby was a team member in the critical Work Flow feature team. He was technically brilliant \u2013 team was heavily dependent on him for many things \u2013 in a sense he was indispensable to the management as well. However, he was anything but a team player. Treated Agile\/Scrum values and principles with scant regard, missed stand-ups at times and even when he attended he would be invariably late \u2013 sometimes the team even waited for him to come to start the meeting. Bobby\u2019s immediate manager, Sita was not sure how to deal with him \u2013 his behaviour had a negative impact on the team morale and productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Sita asks you as the Agile coach to help her deal with the situation. How would you go about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              Suggested\nSolution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              As an Agile coach, you really do not want to do what a\nmanager like Sita should handle. To start with, it is better to coach Sita in\nmanaging Bobby.  If that does not work,\nyou can pitch in for the good of the team. As a coach, certain principles are\nvital in such a situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                              1. Your mind-set needs to be positive towards Bobby\n\u2013 you need to genuinely care for Bobby.<\/li>
                              2. Listen to Bobby without judging him.<\/li>
                              3. Seek to understand the reasons for his\nbehaviour.<\/li>
                              4. Work on building rapport with Bobby and earn his\ntrust. Without that foundation, you cannot influence change in Bobby\u2019s\nbehaviour.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                Reasons for Bobby\u2019s behaviour\ncould be one of the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                1. He does not believe in agile.<\/li>
                                2. He feels that he may be expected to mentor the\nteam which he does not like to do.<\/li>
                                3. He feels that meetings are a waste of his\nvaluable time.<\/li>
                                4. Being technically inclined, he may be focused on\nthe solution rather than the value that the solution will bring to the\ncustomers. Although he is very good, he may not realise that the whole team\nincluding product management need to work together to make the solution\nvaluable.<\/li>
                                5. He is not motivated because his talents are not\nfully recognized and there is a lack of opportunity to express himself.<\/li>
                                6. <anything else><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                  While we have listed a few possibilities, the coach should\nnot approach the situation with any pre-conceived notions. If the coach is able\nto help Bobby see the positive impact he could make on the team by working\ntowards common goals, then half the battle is won.\n\nFinally, it is likely that there would need be\nmultiple interactions over time. The coach needs to be patient and give time\nand space to Bobby to change his ways.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"CHOW #138 - Indispensable, but poor team player!","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"chow-138-indispensable-but-poor-team-player","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-01-25 13:01:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12659","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":12652,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-03-06 18:58:02","post_date_gmt":"2019-03-06 13:28:02","post_content":"\n

                                  Author: McGee \u2013 Agile Coach <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  I remember a number of years ago I was at\nhome and my family were all laughing and joking about one of my brothers about\nhis night out on the town. It was great fun and of course I was probably going\na little over the top and enjoying the event a little too much. My dad, who was\nalways a very silent man, disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a\nmirror. He handed it to me and said that I should have a good long look at\nmyself and think of my own past performances before laughing at my brother! I\noften think of that moment, maybe that was the start of my self-awareness\njourney!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Any of you who have been patient enough to\nread my recent blogs will have noticed a familiar theme \u2013 I mainly talk about\nself-awareness. Every blog is meant to stimulate something inside us to reflect\nand think about ourselves. For me, self-awareness is critical to working in the\ndigital age. More and more we are working together as teams, we are striving\nfor collaboration and breaking out of our silos. Being aware of the impact our\nbehaviour, attitude and actions have on those around us is critical to success.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  A very useful tool to keep track of how\nself-aware we are is the Johari window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                                  The \u201cOpen\u201d quadrant is what you openly\nshare with everyone else. It represents things about yourself that you and\nothers know about you. For example, those working with me know I am a product\nmanager, am passionate about flow metrics (they had to be mentioned sooner or\nlater), and my wife picks my clothes! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  The \u201cHidden\u201d quadrant is more personal.\nThese are things you choose not to share and are known only to you. The size of\nthese two quadrants varies depending on your relationship with a person. The\ncloser you are to a person, the more you tend to share so your open quadrant\nbecomes bigger and the hidden quadrant becomes smaller. This takes time and for\nsome people it requires high levels of trust. In a team setting we can increase\nthe size of our open quadrant by sharing more about our lives with each other\nin team building activities.@ Caroline Smith, has recently joined our team and\nhas arranged these sessions every Friday when the team is having tea! Caroline\ncan share some of the activities that we have run. One of our team members use\nto be a plumber, another spent time working on a tug boat, another use to sing\nsongs on the street for money and one person jumped from a moving taxi whilst\nbeing threatened with a knife! This kind of sharing deepens our understanding\nand brings us closer as a team. Some people find this very difficult and chose\nnot to participate \u2013 and that is fine. My wife is a very guarded person and\nwould find this very difficult. A word of warning, try not to over share \u2013 not\neveryone is interested in your before and after pictures from the gym \u2013 trust\nme!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  The \u201cBlind\u201d quadrant is perhaps the most interesting one. This represents things about ourselves that others know but we are totally unaware of. I talked about these blind spots in the feedback blog. I am sure I have annoying habits, or sayings that I would like to know about so I could fix them. Our goal should be to become more self-aware and find these blind spots. We want to make this quadrant as small as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Close friends and family will tell you very\nquickly about your blind spots. My wife would tell me if I had a piece of\nbroccoli stuck in my teeth! My brother, the guy we were joking about at the\nstart of this blog, has a different story. Years ago he spent a whole night\n\u201cdancing at the disco\u201d and ended up coming home alone only to find that\ninfamous piece of broccoli stuck between his teeth. It would have been nice if\none of the first girls he was dancing with would have told him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  It is mainly by sharing and disclosing more\nabout ourselves that we become more approachable and create the environment\nwhere people can provide us with feedback and help us discover our blind spots.\nSharing your stories and becoming more than just your \u201ca-number\u201d is a step in\nthe right direction. Even a small amount of sharing will encourage people to\ntell you if you are having a broccoli moment, you need to share a little more\nif you want deeper, more meaningful feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Finally, let\u2019s look at the \u201cunknown\u201d\nquadrant. These are things that we don\u2019t know about ourselves, and others don\u2019t\nknow about us. I could be a grand master at chess, a fantastic scrum master, a\nbrilliant artist or whatever \u2013 but I never tried!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  This quadrant can be minimized by adopting a growth mindset. Having belief in ourselves, being brave to try new things and pushing ourselves outside our comfort zones. This is where the magic could happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  As an exercise, create your own Johari\nwindow. How big are your quadrants? How much do you choose to share, how much\nfeedback do you regularly receive, when was the last time you tried something\nnew?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Now that you are more self-aware you can\nchoose how big you would like to make these quadrants. You have the tools and\nthe awareness to change! \n\nGood Luck!\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","post_title":"Tying it all together \u2013 The Johari Window","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"tying-it-all-together-the-johari-window","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:40:04","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:10:04","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=12652","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11670,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-02-19 09:46:10","post_date_gmt":"2019-02-19 04:16:10","post_content":"\n

                                  Author: McGee - Agile Coach<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  My wife, Helen, is very pretty. When people meet her they are often surprised and have no problem letting me know that I am \u201cpunching above my weight\u201d and have done well for myself! Sometimes you might see me shaking my own hand, or patting myself on my own back or even doing the floss \u2013 now you know why! Anyway, what amazes me most about my good looking wife is how mentally different we are \u2013 I guess opposite\u2019s do attract!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  There is no better example of our differences than how we look at Trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                                  McGee : Doing the Floss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Helen is quite a guarded person, she doesn\u2019t tend to share much about herself with lots of people. For her, like many people, trust is something that needs to be earned. It is a gradual time consuming process. It is build up over months and years. It might explain why we were engaged for 10 years before getting married! However, once you have her trust, there is no nicer place to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  For me, I start from a position of trust. I tend to see the good in people and trust that they will always do their best and won\u2019t let me down. In my personal life, this doesn\u2019t always work out, and my wife often thinks I am foolish and people will take advantage of me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  In a work context we need to be careful with what we mean when it comes to trust. As a leader, I trust our process and work according to the rules we have, I trust the decisions made by my leaders and execute accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  When I am talking about trust it is more in the context of the people you work with and new people you collaborate with to get a job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  If a person comes in on a Monday and says \u201ctrust me, it\u2019s Tuesday\u201d then you have bigger problems! Assuming we have the right people on our teams doing the work, we trust them to do a good job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  I mentioned before that I was mathematically minded. A few years ago I found the trust equation. This really interested me, how could you describe something so emotional using an equation? The equation is as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                                  Let\u2019s look at the components. The things that add to trust are on the numerator, the thing that takes away from trust is on the denominator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Few of us think about trust in all these dimensions, we tend to focus on credibility and reliability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Credibility<\/em><\/strong> is about the person\u2019s title, their position, the college they went to, the certifications they have and their reputations. How many of us over rely on this dimension of trust when determining if a person is trustworthy or not? How many of us over rely on a person\u2019s title?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Reliability<\/em><\/strong> has got to do with how often a person has successfully done what they said they would do. This is a large part of how Helen would view trust. This is the part of trust that needs to be earned, and can be time consuming. It takes time to build a reputation as someone who can deliver. In the digital age, we do not always have a lot of time to spend building this trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Intimacy<\/em><\/strong> is interesting; this has got to do with your emotional connection with the person, how safe you feel sharing with the other person. Another good reason to increase the size of your open area in the \u201cJohari Window\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  My favourite part of the equation is the denominator \u2013 self orientation<\/em><\/strong>. This is about how much a person is doing an activity for themselves, to make them look good, versus doing it for you! Nothing takes away from trust like self-orientation. Think about the last time someone else took credit for work you or your team had done \u2013 how did that make you feel and what is your relationship with that person like now? Use more of \u201cwe\u201d not \u201cme\u201d when talking about the work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  How can we freely share our ideas, thoughts and insights with other groups across the firm if we do not trust them? How many of us hold back in case the other person steals our idea and presents it as their own? Is this because of our own unconscious trust bias or did that person break your trust in the past. Most of the time, the problem is with us. I have a friend who is a brilliant engineer. He left one job and was months looking for another job. He asked me if he could practice some interview questions with me. I asked him a few questions and very quickly we found his problem. He refused to share too much of his knowledge with the people interviewing him as he thought they would take his ideas and implement them with our hiring him! He didn\u2019t trust them enough to share so he undersold himself. He got a job very quickly soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  How can we really do what is right for our organisation, how can we think across the firm without starting from a position of trust?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  So, my homework for this week is to take out that mirror that my dad gave me, and I will have a good long look in it. I\u2019m going to evaluate how trustworthy I am as a person, and how I view others from a trust point of view. I\u2019m going to use the trust equation. I wonder how long to I tend to hold grudges? I\u2019m going to revisit my growth mindset and start to trust again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                                  McGee: Self reflection<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  The mirror will be on my desk \u2013 along with the rubix cubes if people want to use it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Finally, we all know that trust can take a long time to develop but can be broken in seconds. Once trust is broken it is difficult to build it up again, so please, appreciate it, treat it with care and be mindful! <\/p>\n","post_title":"Trust me I\u2019m Irish","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"trust-im-irish","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 10:18:30","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 04:48:30","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11670","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":11401,"post_author":"44","post_date":"2019-01-13 22:22:31","post_date_gmt":"2019-01-13 16:52:31","post_content":"\n

                                  (These statements are strictly personal and are not those of any Company or Organization)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  By my nature I am a very competitive person. I love to win. At school I would compete for grades, in sport I had to win - second was the fastest loser, on my way home on my bike I would race the bus. Everything was a competition. This mentality served me well- up to a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  I couldn\u2019t help but to carry this mentality into my approach to work. When I started my career I moved up the technical ranks and as a reward I was made a manager. It made sense \u2013 anyone good with technology must be equally good with people! I became the \u201cAccidental Manager\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  I performed my manager role with the same rigour and, after a series of challenging projects, I developed a reputation for delivery. I had many people reporting to me, I led the way and told them what to do. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Then Mom died.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Grief does funny things to a person. To distract myself, I started a competition with my brother (who was nearly as competitive as me) about the number of people who would come to mom\u2019s funeral for me versus him. He won. I didn\u2019t need my whole hand to count the number of people who came from work. I realized I was not very well liked, I was a (insert your favourite swear word here!)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                                  What you call me?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Hopefully, it doesn\u2019t take a death in the family for most of us to realise that we have a problem with the way we behave and interact with our people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  You usually don\u2019t rise up the leadership ladder in an organisation without doing the leadership training. I did all the training. I did DISC profiling and found myself to be very directing and controlling, my preferred conflict handling style was competing and I had 360 feedback telling me about my controlling and directing tendency. I was arrogant enough to still believe that my way was the best way so I choose not to change and to carry on regardless. In my opinion, this is the worst kind of accidental manager and I was a prime example.  I was aware but didn\u2019t care.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  I nearly wore out that mirror of mine after mom\u2019s funeral. I had a lot of thinking and self-reflection to do. Shortly after I swallowed the \u201cRed Pill\u201d and my transformation began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Did you ever hear the phrase that there is a difference between \u201cDoing Agile and Being Agile<\/em>\u201d? In agile coaching it is as common a phrase as \u201cthink out of the box\u201d or \u201cmove the needle\u201d or my favourite \u201cI have a fantastic opportunity for you\u201d. I heard the phrase many times but never really paid attention to it. Doing agile is comparatively easy. Being agile can involve you fundamentally changing as a person \u2013 both inside and outside of work. People will notice the difference!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  We can all eat carrots but that\u2019s not the same as being a vegetarian! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Being agile is a mindset change. Many people new to agility will study the agile manifesto and look at the agile principles. Some people will have to change their mindset to accept some of these. The concept of delivering working software frequently instead of at the end does require a mindset change for many. A lot of these people believe that once they have changed their mindsets to get their heads around these principles then they are \u201cbeing\u201d agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  However, being agile is about a much deeper mindset change. I have talked about many of these in previous blogs, and will talk about a few more in upcoming blogs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \u201cBeing agile (or vegetarian!)<\/em>\u201d starts with you. You need to decide that you are going to swallow that red pill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  If you are taking part in an agile transformation then you need to accept that this is NOT something that you can delegate, it starts with you. Both you and the organisation will transform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  After swallowing the pill you will go on your journey of self-awareness and realise the impact you, your appearance, your attitude and your behaviours have on those around you. Part of this journey involves opening your mind to find your unconscious biases and accepting if you have a fixed or growth mindset and a passion for continuous learning and improvement. Another part involves admitting how you view trust and how trustworthy a person you are perceived to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  This journey of self-awareness is emotional; accepting how you are perceived is not for the faint hearted. I\u2019m not an emotional person, I don\u2019t do hugs! It took me nearly 5 years going out with my wife before I would hold her hand in public and I am reminded every day about \u201copportunities for self-improvement\u201d (thanks @cunningham, clodagh, @lohan, tom). You can imagine how difficult this exercise could be. I believe most people would find this tough but for an accidental manger set in his ways this is daunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Once you are aware, the next step is to take action. At this point many of us give up. We don\u2019t like what we see, we don\u2019t accept what we hear, we revert to our comfort zone and our fixed mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \u201cBeing agile<\/em>\u201d accepts these personal truths for what they are and puts a plan in place to change as a person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  The good news is that not all managers are accidental managers. Now, more than ever, people are working on their development plans and deciding that management \/ leadership is a path they want to take. We have great programs in place to help this journey. Also, not all accidental managers are as emotional challenged as I was so everyone\u2019s starting point is different but most leaders have steps to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Let\u2019s think about this. Most leaders have attended training and get regular feedback. We are more aware than ever of our leadership styles and the impact we have on those around us. But how many of us have made a conscious decision to change? How many refuse to accept the messaging and continue to lead in the same way, how many of us are aware but do not care<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  It might seem a bit harsh, but taking that first step and deciding to change is the most important step. Think of the last time you had a conversation with a passionate vegetarian about why they are a vegetarian \u2013 every time I have this conversation I walk away amazed at their passion and drive. I understand, I am aware of why they are doing it but I don\u2019t care enough for me to be a vegetarian! I make excuses about needing protein and justify my way to myself and continue to enjoy my burger. No one can make me a vegetarian unless I decide this is something I want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  If you think about an organisation as a complex system of people, and each one needing to go through a level of self-reflection and change to be<\/em> agile then it is easy to understand why many agile transformations take so long, don\u2019t reach their full potential or even fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  In my experience, the key to a successful transformation is \u201cbeing agile\u201d at every level in the organisation, starting at the top. It might sound corny, but as leaders we need to \u201cbe the change we want to see\u201d, we need to be agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Be the change, Be agile! <\/em><\/strong>Nice slogan for an agile transformation \u2013 or a T-shirt!<\/p>\n","post_title":"The Accidental Manager","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"the-accidental-manager","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2024-09-17 19:36:49","post_modified_gmt":"2024-09-17 14:06:49","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/pm-powerconsulting.com\/?p=11401","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":false,"total_page":1},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_3o3","class":"epic_block_11"}; \n