Challenges and Opportunities
John Seddon wrote Freedom from Command and Control: A Better way to make Work Work in 2003, and it would have to be one of the best books describing the Agile mindset leaders and organisations need to succeed in this rapidly changing world. It has helped countless leaders move from a more hierarchical micro-management style to…
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One of the things I love about what I do is that I get to help people and their teams plan their future. It’s exciting to me to be part of a team realising what could be possible over the next year, quarter or month. Why Plan? Dwight D. Eisenhower once said: “In preparing for…
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People often ask me how I wrote The Agile Project Manager so quickly, and when I tell them “I made sure that I regularly sat down and wrote words”, they get that weird look in their eyes. The one that questions the simplicity of my strategy. And so I say “Oh, and I also enlisted…
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One of the key factors in getting what you want is KNOWING what you want. And not just knowing what you want but WHY. This is why so many new year’s resolutions (and goals in general) fail. Because people pick something based on someone else’s goals and dreams, not their own. In order to come up…
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I have a confession to make. I am a member of two gyms. Both have comprehensive group fitness classes and great environments. One even has a 50 metre outdoor pool. On the way home from the office the other day I was trying to decide whether I should go to the 6pm spin class at…
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Often through my coaching clients, colleagues and friends, I come across people who are unhappy. Unhappy with their jobs, their partners, their environment. Their lives. It appears that at some point in their lives they have ‘settled’ for something that they weren’t actually aiming for but decided at some point: “This will do”. A colleague…
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Do you remember when you were a child, and your parents would ask you to do something and you would ask “Why?” Your parent would answer, and you would ask “Why?” again. Very patient parents would answer as many “why”s as they could before their energetic and persistent child eventually wore them down and the…
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One of the first things that springs to mind when I think of Change Management is my cat. Cats do NOT like change. At all. Move the sofa slightly and watch him sniff disapprovingly, shoot me a filthy look then take a long time to get comfortable. Don’t even think about sitting in his spot…
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I am a huge fan of Marie Forleo, a super coach and business owner in the US. She has this awesome show she does every week called Marie TV, and some time ago I saw her interview with Steve Pressfield, the author of “Turning Pro”. The interview has been on my mind for some time,…
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It’s a common misconception that coaches ‘solve problems’. It’s even more common to think that coaches focus on problems at all. In fact, the word ‘problem’ rarely comes up in a coaching session. My mentor introduced me to the world of ‘not problem’. You see, that world (the world of ‘not problem’) exists all around…
Read MoreOne of the things I love about Agile projects is that there is always (or there should always) be a clear definition of done. For everything. From the vision set from the start, through to the high level objectives, through to the stories and tasks. And everyone knows what it is. It’s even written down.…
Read MoreSince ‘announcing’ I have been writing a book, I have been approached my quite a few people who have said to me: “I’ve always wanted to write a book too! How did you do it?” Some were looking for practical advice, tips and techniques. And others approached it like it was a dark art. The…
Read MoreIt’s the new year and the year my book, The Agile Project Manager, will be published. Long time readers and team members will know I have been pretty busy with my head down writing, and the feedback I have been receiving has been wonderful, thank you. It has been a while since I sent out…
Read MoreIn the last few posts, I have spoken a lot about the challenges The Agile Project Manager will encounter on their journey to excellence. Once you have crossed the threshold into a new challenge, things like headspace and your inner critic might pop up. Notice these things are internal to you, not external. There are…
Read MoreThe book is progressing really well. After some challenges in finding headspace, I seem to be back writing regularly and consistently, and the word count is slowly increasing. And I’m getting some great feedback. As you know, I am passionate about Agile Project Management and love sharing my knowledge. I also recognise that there are…
Read MoreI never really understood the definition of ‘headspace’. Not really. I mean, I kind of got it, but to be honest, I found myself getting a bit impatient with people who claimed ‘I don’t have the headspace for this at the moment’. As a coach and a strong believer of anyone’s ability to change their…
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