Coach Dan's Blog

TLDR;   Shifting your team from "doers" to "directors" is the right move — but it comes with a hidden cost nobody is talking about: the social fabric of your team is quietly fraying. New research confirms that adding AI to a human team measurably reduces cohesion, trust, and shared identity. Your next leadership challenge isn't just   what   your team does with AI. It's making sure they still feel like a   team   while they do it. And if you're a manager already stretched thin — this post is written for you too.

Are You “Sprinting” Or Just “Running?” TLDR: A Sprint without a Goal isn’t a Sprint — it’s just a random collection of tasks. If you want a team that’s focused, empowered, and actually delivering value (instead of just “checking boxes”), it’s time to stop treating your backlog like a grocery list and start planning with purpose. I was thinking about the concept of “focus” the other day, and I realized something that made me feel a little bit uncomfortable: a lot of us aren’t actually sprinting . We’re just… running. We’ve got the ceremonies down. We have Daily Standups, Retros, and a Backlog that’s as long as a teenager’s Christmas list. But when I ask, “What are we trying to achieve this sprint?” I get a lot of blank stares, or worse, someone reads me a list of ten unrelated Jira tickets. If your Sprint is just a bucket for “stuff that needs to get done,” you aren’t building a product — you’re managing a queue. You aren’t driving toward an outcome, you are pushing for output...

  t ldr;  The  "agile mindset"  means treating suboptimal results, negative feedback, and missed goals not as failures, but as  invaluable data points and opportunities for improvement. Key takeaway:  Leaders must foster a culture o f Psychological Safety  where teams are encouraged, not punished, to be transparent about disappointing results. Actionable steps:  Use "bad news" to get curious, hypothesize, adjust strategy (pivot), and measure outcomes (results) over just outputs (activity). The goal:  Create an environment where there is "no bad news, just news that can help us get better at achieving our goals." Things to try:   Specific action steps a leader can try to improve the team’s Psychological Safety can be found at the end of the article.     I’v e said it before, and I’ll say it again - I am blessed to work with some of the best, most talented people I’ve ever met. I was participating in a Crew meeting this week wher...

  It's not complicated There is no doubt that change can be hard.  Learning new ways of working... figuring out new tools and processes... maybe even teaming up with different people... all while STILL trying to get all the work done!  It's a lot.  In fact, it can be overwhelming and exhausting.   When I look back at the times I've had to navigate big changes, personal or professional - I can say that I've been the most successful when I fall back on the values I have come to believe in.  What is it that I believe in?   Why, I'm so glad you asked that question! People solve problems - not process and tools I value individuals and interactions over process and tools. Processes and tools may be helpful to bring the right people together - but ultimately people working together make valuable things. When we go through change - our instinct may lead us to focus more on the tool than on the problem we're trying to solve. Tools and processes are in...

I hear those words a lot.  "Hi!  My name is ... I report to ..."  I may have missed the part of orientation that taught us that standard introduction.  It's what we say when we meet someone new, or start working with a new team. Sometimes to me it feels like a security blanket of sorts.  Or a justification as to why that person showed up to a certain meeting.  Regardless of why it happens, it happens.  A lot.  To me, that phrase has become a symbol of why we as a company, still have a way to go with our transformation. At the risk of repeating myself over and over... I'd like to refresh us all on the "why" of this transformation we are all working on. Our customers matter.  They count on us to help them achieve their financial goals.  Without them, and their continued use of our services, we wouldn't have a company (and consequently jobs, which means we would not be a part of so-and-so's organization!)  Our customers matter so much ...

 

  Learn more about National World Smile Day

  The  first  shared agile principle is - “Our highest priority is to  satisfy the customer  through early and  continuous delivery of value.” - The Agile Manifesto When was the last time  your  team... talked about  your  customer?  Who is your customer?  Is  everyone  on your team working for the same customer? Is the work you're doing  today  creating value for your customer?  How do you know? How will the work you do today help to  satisfy  your customer? If your customer saw the top of your team's backlog,  would they agree  it's important and valuable? Is your team regularly engaging with the customer to inform the product direction? In the hustle and bustle of our day, it can be easy to lose sight of the "why we're doing this." Take some time this week, and invest in your team.  Talk about who your customer is and what problem you're solving for  them ...