The third and final day of the Online Scrum Master Summit 2024 built on the momentum of the preceding (day one, day two) days, presenting thought-provoking sessions and insightful discussions. Each workshop provided a deep exploration into the evolving Agile landscape. By attending Thursday’s eight (!) sessions, I gained novel insights on Agile autonomy challenges, innovative coaching techniques, and value measurement strategies.
Join me again as I delve into the highlights and key lessons from yet another day dedicated to fostering Agile inspiration!
Sandy Mamoli – Are you Drowning your Autonomy in Good Intentions? (09:00)
Sandy Mamoli’s keynote, “Are You Drowning Your Autonomy in Good Intentions,” discussed the significant loss of autonomy and agency in workplaces post-2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other global changes. She emphasized the rise in mental health issues and learned helplessness, which has resulted in a decline in innovation and collaboration while pushing leaders toward command and control styles.
Mamoli recommended developing resilience by accepting, embracing, and confronting reality, recalibrating relationships for balance and equality, and encouraging independent, critical thinking. She encouraged leaders to ask questions and listen rather than offering immediate solutions in order to restore autonomy and foster a thriving, agile workplace environment.
Charlotte Rawlinson – Watch your tone! Understanding one’s baseline (10:30)
During her session, “Watch your tone! Understanding one’s baseline,” Charlotte Rawlinson emphasized the significance of nonverbal communication and tonal awareness in effective coaching. She defined a baseline as an individual’s normal state of posture, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and vocal tone. Coaches can improve their effectiveness by recognizing and analyzing deviations from this baseline, which may indicate underlying issues.
Charlotte talked about three levels of listening, with an emphasis on achieving deep, empathetic understanding. She emphasized practical techniques like keeping a consistent tone, observing body language, and employing interrogation-inspired rapport-building strategies. Charlotte also discussed the challenges of virtual coaching, including how to detect cues remotely. She concluded by encouraging coaches to practice and refine these skills in order to increase their coaching impact.
Stefan Wolpers – My Top Twelve Worst Agile Anti-Patterns (12:00)
Stefan Wolpers’ talk, “My Top Twelve Worst Agile Anti-Patterns,” discussed the common pitfalls that impede effective agile adoption. He emphasized that agile practices cannot be forced, but must be willingly adopted, necessitating shifts in mindset, culture, and organizational structure.
Key issues included treating estimates as precise, strictly adhering to frameworks, maintaining oversized backlogs, confining developers to coding, assuming management knows best, abandoning agile in crises, superficially rebranding roles, isolating teams from stakeholders, excessive managerial control, ignoring quality, superficial autonomy, and fake self-management. Addressing these anti-patterns requires cultivating flexibility, trust, and genuine transformation in order to reap the full benefits of agile.
Alba Charles – Start your Scrum Master journal for reflection and career development (13:30)
In the session “Start your scrum master journal for reflection and career development,” Alba Charles, an experienced Scrum Master with a journalism background, discussed the benefits of journaling for Scrum Masters, emphasizing focus, reflection, and progress tracking. The session encouraged Scrum Masters to use journaling for continuous improvement and personal growth.
She offered practical advice for starting a journal, including keeping it simple, being consistent, defining your purpose, and experimenting with different prompts. Alba introduced daily prompts such as task listing, daily reflections, and day ratings, as well as specific prompts for in-depth reflection on topics such as event facilitation and group dynamics. She recommended organizing the journal by numbering pages and using markers.
The session included a hands-on journaling exercise for participants, followed by a Q&A session in which Alba addresses common challenges and career development insights.
Ali Naderivarandi – Scrum Master as an organisation anthropologist (15:00)
He discussed Charles H. Green’s trust equation and outlines steps for developing trust, including credibility, dependability, intimacy, and low self-orientation. Ali also discussed various types of decision-making, emphasizing the value of effective communication, active listening, empathy, and cultural awareness. He concluded by encouraging Scrum Masters to be change agents through kindness and lifelong learning.
Erik de Bos – How to measure business Value – a pragmatic approach for metrics in a complex environment (16:30)
Erik de Bos’ presentation focused on the challenge of measuring business value in complex Agile environments. He emphasized that value is multifaceted rather than just financial, and that existing frameworks such as evidence-based management and Lean Canvas, while useful, do not provide precise measurement methods.
Instead, de Bos advocated a pragmatic approach that incorporates critical thinking, continuous learning, and creativity when designing experiments to test value hypotheses. He emphasized the importance of psychological safety and cautions against the pitfalls of metrics like Goodhart’s Law. Finally, de Bos suggested focusing on raising awareness about business value within teams rather than striving for precise measurements, and he encouraged the use of the concept of “flow” to assess team performance.
Allen Jellas – Exploring feedback through Catalyst conversation (18:00)
Allen Jellas’ presentation “Exploring Feedback through Catalyst Conversation” emphasized the use of the SCARF model (Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, Fairness) to enhance feedback interactions and reduce threats while increasing rewards.
He introduced the Catalyst Conversation approach, which entails aligning objectives, exploring perspectives, clarifying understanding, sharing insights, and enabling action. Participants used this method in breakout sessions, focusing on active listening, empathy, and collaboration. Jellas shared personal experiences, emphasizing the importance of remaining open, curious, and committed to growth.
Bob Galen – An Agile Coaches Guide to Showing Your Value (19:30)
In “An Agile Coaches Guide to Showing Your Value,” Bob Galen emphasized the importance of agile coaches actively confirming their value through clear communication, continuous improvement, and active engagement. He emphasized the importance of early alignment on goals and expectations with stakeholders, addressing common negative perceptions of coaches.
Galen provided insights from various thought leaders on measuring coaching impact, emphasizing the value of personal advocacy and developing a strong personal brand. Coaches should set a good example, engage in cross-functional activities, and seek genuine feedback to help them understand and improve their contributions. Finally, Galen encouraged coaches to strike a balance between humility and assertiveness in order to effectively demonstrate their value in today’s agile environment.
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The final day of the Online Scrum Master Summit was yet again filled with educational and inspiring workshops, offering practical insights and innovative approaches to Agile. Throughout the past three days, every session provided invaluable insights, deepening my understanding of Agile practices and strategies. I am already eagerly anticipating next year’s edition!
This experience has made me wonder: could I contribute to an event like this? Sharing my knowledge and experiences would be an exciting opportunity…