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Tag Archives: empowerment

A newbie in the land of confusion

April 6, 2021
Advice, Business, Development, Support
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I am not a rocket scientist, I really am not. This I know very well by now. I am very unlikely to ever be a rocket scientist, just to be clear here, but I am also not that stupid…

Visibility is never 100%, our own limitations are one thing but then there is the shadows caused by moving clouds that mean the sun does not shine everywhere.

As I embark on a new career in the wonderful world of Agile, I have a few hurdles that probably look like hurdles in a great many places of work. Being a newbie is always a challenge, always. It’s kind of like jumping into an epic book but starting half way through.

It really is like this and it doesn’t help that the organisation just doesn’t seem to care all that much. Is it too much to ask to be able to access the information I need to help me gain the required understanding? Probably as these days of employee empowerment, and digital channels being a free for all (it seems). Governance or rules have gone the way of the Dodo, it seems. Everyone is busy busy busy creating content that often it feels like it has no connection to the quagmire elsewhere in the organisation. What is wrong with having some simple rules to follow so that everyone’s content remains relevant, contextual and meaningful? Or maybe the rules do exist but are just too hard to find in a swamp full of opinion and perspectives.

I like empowerment, I love it in fact, it is a really huge and beneficial step forward although I think many organisations are confused by the concept. Empowerment is not about a lack of accountability or responsibility. it’s about allowing and authorising people to make decisions in your organisations where their expertise allows. After all you wouldn’t expect the receptionist to decide to spend a billion of the organisations funds to implement a new process of recruitment. Of course not, I’m clearly being daft. It is just an exaggeration to make a point although it seems that with communication means, this is exactly the kind of error being made.

Confluence pages are made with ease, they feel disposable and irrelevant, but they are visible, accessible and may be believed as representative the organisations values, but do they? Finding accurate and comprehensive information is becoming increasingly difficult when organisations seem reluctant or unwilling to control and maintain any more.

Shifts have been quick, digital content is powerful and really useful, but only when it all connects. Are we in a vacuum of uncertainty, where organisations don’t feel confident to pull back the reigns of empowerment in order to get it working right? Just setting the approved layout of information with a universal understanding of what is required with a process of either peer review or line manager checks might help but it does feel like this goes against the empowerment movement, but checks are not a negative thing, they are a learning and confidence aid. What is wrong with a more experienced member of staff, sharing their knowledge?

So I will continue to wade through the fragmented information to try to gain the insights needed to add value.

Agile can be great if it’s treated with respect

March 29, 2021
Advice, Development, Landscapes, Opinion
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As a practitioner in AgilePM, a professional Scrum Master and working in the role of an Agile delivery manager, I don’t consider myself an expert. If I did I would probably remain lost in the sea of Agile experts. There are a lot. Although I’m unsure exactly what an expert is. Feel free to let me know if you have any insight.

The idea that ‘Agile’ is order is not respecting the environment where it operates.

I have mentioned before the belief that many people who consider themselves ‘Agilists’ do so to fit into the crowd without really getting the point. Another misconception about ‘Agile’, is its simplicity! It’s a piece of cake… Go away for a couple of days or a week on a course and the little bit of knowledge starts to open up the possibility of what it can produce. It it’s no secret that it can be an incredibly valuable method / mentality / idea / thing / whatever… It certainly seems to work well in a development / software environment, but it is far from simple when it comes to implementing it.

When you look at it as a Scrum team or other small team working towards a valuable product, it looks pretty simple, and those diagrams do a good job of making it appear simple, but that is their job.

The problem is though, ‘Agile’ does not operate in a sterile bubble, where communications are controlled on rails and everyone knows exactly what they and their whole team are doing down to the minuscule detail and management sit in their offices comfortable that the scrum team is producing immense value every iteration.

If only it was that simple…

Now, I don’t have the solutions for you, I told you I’m not an expert, all I do know is that I have looked at an organisation in. the past and said to myself, “Agile would really work well there!”, and then the real work begins. You don’t have to have a vision as to how it will ultimately look, because, the point is that true ‘Agile’ adapts to and around the team, as long as it’s understood and respected enough. I mean, have you ever truly thought about exactly what an empowered team looks like? It’s about the loss of control and ultimate trust, mountains of trust and that subject is a blog post in itself.

How many times have you managed a team that was a carbon copy of the team before?

Thats right and the primary reason a lazy, formulaic approach to ‘Agile’ will be doomed to fail, it will never get to perfection for more than a moment and some dynamic or other messes with it.

It will always and constantly need attention and love to succeed. It’s just not simple to organise a group of human beings into a performing team by just reading a few pages in a text book. It’s a challenge, a rewarding challenge at times, but a challenge all the same..

But, you know what? It might just be worth that effort…

The power of ‘No’ and the authority to use it.

March 15, 2021
Advice, Opinion
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‘No’ is one of the first words we learn, certainly it’s one of the first words we hear. Could this be the reason we don’t like to use it very often?

It can feel intimidating when being given more work but you can say ‘no’.

When it comes to our own productivity, it’s a word that we must get used to in order to reach anywhere near our own potential. When you don’t use ‘no’, you are actually giving up your own control of your time. Not using ‘no’, means ‘yes’. Well thats what people hear when they don’t hear ‘no’.

It’s actually a really hard word to use, it feels negative in an age where positivity and a ‘can do’ attitude is what we are constantly told is the only way to be. If you don’t say ‘no’, but a silent ‘yes’, you will never control your own time, and if you don’t control your own time, you can never be the best you can be.

The only person who can give you the authority to use the damn word is you.

Take a brief moment to think about it. You have been given another load of work by your boss, the fact it’s your boss makes it hard, right? Your boss is the reason you have a job in the first place, so it will feel hard. It’s a comfort zone and the only way to beat a comfort zone is to push through it. The more you say ‘no’, the easier it will become.

Of course, saying ‘no’, is usually a little more subtle than that, it’s probably not wise to just say it for the sake of it, that’s a path to unemployment… By controlling your own time, and making sure you are able to prioritise your work, you will be better prepared to say ‘no’ by telling your boss (or whoever is requesting your efforts), the reasons why you cannot. After all, by correctly managing your time, you will have prioritised your effort to the benefit of the business. What boss would not appreciate that?

So, saying ‘no’ on its own is clearly enough. It’s a piece of the larger puzzle, but the truth remains, you have to consider how you can say ‘no’, maintain your own credibility and be the leader of your own destiny.

Take your time, take a deep breath, consider your situation and be honest and bold.