Headphones. I hate them. If I wore headphones at work I would be cut off from a lot of vital information about what is really going. It would hamper Management on the Ground. So I never wear them.
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Tag Archives: leadership
Four Reasons to Book Regular One-to-One Meetings
Rich and Rachel were a bit surprised when they noticed I had a regular weekly one-to-one meeting booked with Michael. I had worked with them closely for over a year, relied on them heavily, but a relative new comer with less responsibility got a dedicated slot from me. How come?
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Two Heads are Better Than One
My problem was how to transport my hot black Americano to work in a bumpy taxi without the coffee slopping out of the cup, making a mess in the taxi and burning me. Generally I believe in sharing. When I’ve got an insoluble problem I’ve found it even more important to share. Somebody (else) has the answer. And in this case a quick brainstorm with a colleague gave me a simple solution.
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What to do when a developer produces too many bugs
Brian and Simon were both young and relatively inexperienced developers. One was fast, the other slow, both had quality issues. Too many bugs. What to do?
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Lean-Agile is micromanagement but not in an excessive way
Is Lean-Agile micromanagement? Mike Cohn says “yes” but Mike’s use of the term excludes the “excessive” aspect of the conventional definition. An attention to detail is a good thing, making for better management, and Lean-Agile has the tools to make the detail transparent. Excessive attention to detail leads to the Fallacy of Control and horror – I don’t see this in Lean-Agile teams.
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Observing, eavesdropping and overhearing – essential tools for a software development leader
I believe in Management on the Ground and what better way to be on the ground than to be sitting with the team in an open plan office. By simply observing, eavesdropping and overhearing I know what is going on and I also get early warning when I have to intervene.
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I’m Impatient with the Pseudo-action Deceptions
I like to finish things. Get “Done”. Some might say I’m impatient to finish things. But not everybody is like that. Many people suffer from the various Pseudo-action Deceptions, i.e. thinking rather than doing.
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No space to co-locate team – think again
I knew I had a big problem when I walked into the new programme space and found 18 desks. 18 wasn’t enough. I predicted I would have about 35 people on the team and I wanted them together. Co-location is so important to me that I will always challenge the assumption of “there is no space”. And I have found there are lots of things I can do to get my team together.
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When Meeting Madness Strikes
Some people and some organisations like meetings. If you drop Agile with its Agile Heartbeat into the mix then you might find that meeting madness strikes.
I’m a Kiwi living in the UK and I’ve noticed the British will form a queue if given the barest of excuses. Similarly, in some organisations, the people will call a meeting at the drop of a hat. People in coordination roles (e.g. project manager, discipline lead) seem particularly prone to this.
Don’t.
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The Fallacy of Control within Project and Programme Management
The most liberating day of my career was when I realised that, despite being responsible for the project I was running at the time, I actually controlled very little of what happened. That was the day I freed myself from the “fallacy of control”.
I can’t really control who does what. I can’t really control whether an individual does the work to an acceptable quality. I can’t control whether or not the product owner is going to change their mind about priorities. I can’t control whether the proposed technical solution turns out to be much harder than anticipated or just a dead end.
All I can really do is influence what happens in my programme/project. Spot issues quickly and react appropriately. Lean-Agile gives me the tools to do that.
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