In this episode, Richard and Peter discuss how to work with stakeholders who always bring solution requests, like detailed requirements or technical specifications. How can you have an effective conversation to identify the underlying problem so you can collaborate with your team to solve the problem well? Read More
In this episode, Richard and Peter answer the question: “What are your thoughts on all these ScrumMaster and Agile Coach layoffs? Many companies seem to be eliminating these roles altogether. What do you make of it?” Read More
Surveys show people say less than a quarter of the meetings they attend are a valuable use of their time. In this recording of the August Humanizing Work Meetup, Peter introduces the 6 goals an effective facilitator achieves in every meeting and how to use those to ensure your meetings are reliably worth the participants’ time. Read More
In this episode, Richard and Peter answer the question: “I just got promoted from developer to development manager, and I want to do my new role well. What should I be thinking about? What should I avoid?” Tune in to learn 3 ways new managers often mess things up and 3 things to do instead. Read More
Another “Scrum is terrible and here’s why” post went viral on social media recently. In this episode, Richard and Peter reflect on the post, the responses to it, and what we can learn from the whole thing. Read More
You've seen them on LinkedIn: the “manager bad, leader good” infographics and listicles. But there are over a million people in the US with "manager" in their job title—surely there are lots of good ones. In this episode, Peter and Richard explore the origin of the manager vs leader meme and reflect on whether it's actually useful for improving leadership. Read More
In this episode, Peter delves into a pivotal moment for Adobe execs, one that showcases the art of communicating big shifts with clarity and integrity. From that example and dozens more, we’ll then distill the six critical tools top leaders use to paint a vivid vision while embracing the uncertain roadmap to reach it. From owning the potential downsides of a choice to communicating how and when we’ll pivot, this episode sheds light on how inspiring leaders balance ambition with grounded realism. Whether you're spearheading a corporate transformation or setting team OKRs, these insights will empower you to lead with conviction and honesty. Read More
Backlog refinement is critical for any agile team—if your backlog isn’t in good shape, everything downstream falls apart. But there’s a common set of mistakes almost everyone makes when it comes to backlog refinement, mistakes that make it overwhelming for Product Owners, frustrating for teams, and ultimately ineffective for everyone involved. In this rebroadcast of the July 2023 Humanizing Work Community Meetup session, Richard looks at those top 5 backlog refinement mistakes and how to fix each one. Read More
Scrum’s rarely used “Abnormal Sprint Termination” rule can help a team strike a nice balance between the need to focus, the need to be responsive, and the desire to make and keep commitments. In this episode, we give a few examples of using this rule to get good results, and what to do if your team is struggling to make and keep commitments. Read More
In this episode, Richard and Peter talk about quick wins, how they often emphasize the quick part but miss the win, and what to do instead at the start of a big initiative. Read More
