Coach Dan's Blog

A Perspective on Perspective...  saw the best thing at a daily stand-up this week.  A squad member was asking about a story on the backlog that had  NOTHING  to do with their subject matter expertise or experience.  Do you want to know  WHY  that was such a great moment for me?  The person assigned to the ticket answered the question and then said the words, "now that I say that, I wonder if we could..." Our squads, teams and crews are all designed to help us focus on creating value for our users and customers. One of the many benefits of cross-functional teams is that we all have built-in, unique perspectives at our disposal.  Often, by having a person who is less familiar with the specific system or process ask their questions or make their observations, it can help a team break through a log jam, think about solutions differently, or even come up with some innovative ideas they hadn't considered before.  Our teams, squads, crews and c...

📖 “Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world would do this, it would change the earth.” -  William Faulkner It takes courage to stand up and say something that may go against the grain, or be an unpopular opinion. Faulkner challenges us to change the world by sharing our ideas - for standing up and challenging the status quo. Leaders have to strike a balance between efficient decision making, and creating a space where team members feel safe to add a differing perspective or contrary idea to the conversation. Innovation requires "outside of the box" thinking. Do you create an environment where team members can "rasie their voice?" Need some ideas to try? Maybe explore one or more of these... ✔️ Establish (and continually revisit) shared norms ✔️ Give space and effectively listening ✔️ Communicate with compassion ✔️ Reward speaking up ✔️ Frame work as experiments ...

  📖 A leader is best when people barely know he exists. When his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves."
 -Lao Tzu True leadership is about helping people to grow, and enabling them to succeed. By creating a clear understanding of the goal, equipping people with the tools they need, creating an environment where people can feel empowered and inspiring them to work together to achieve... a leader fulfills their purpose. Are you leading to equip, empower and inspire? Or are you leading to be seen?

📖 “A drop of ink may make a million think.”- George Gordon Byron Sharing your throughts and perspectives, asking your questions... these are the things that can help your team unlock an innovative solution. Why do we find it so hard sometimes, to share something that may be counter to what the group says?  

  📖 “He who establishes his argument by noise and command, shows that his reason is weak.” - Michel de Montaigne Those who belive the loudest voices have the best answer often miss out on hearing some of the most innovative ideas. Do not assign the highest value to the loudest idea. Ask the quiet people on the team what they think. It might just learn something new!

  📖 “He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.” - Friedrich Nietzsche A shared senses of purpose leads to alignment. Alignment, coupled with psychological safety leads to engagement. Engaged teams out perform when compared to disengaged teams. Are your teams aware of the purpose they serve, and how they solve problems for your customers and your company?

📖 “If I were asked for the most important advice I could give, I should simply say: stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.” - Leo Tolstoy Tolstoy understood the importance of awareness and reflection. Pausing a moment and reflecting on your day is a vital way to continuously improve the way you work with your team, your partners, your clients and your customers. Did you pause and reflect today?