agile team leadership the art of letting go
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• 20+ years in business and software development management, • Software Process Mentor for CollabNet, Inc. • Certified ScrumMaster Trainer (CST) • Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) • Presenter for Agile ’06, ’07, ’08 & ‘09, other industry conferences. • Published author in AgileJournal.com, MethodsandTools.com,
Projects@work and others. • ‘08 & ‘09 Contributing author for Gantthead.com/ eXtreme Project
Management. • Currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Agile Alliance
trunyon@collab .net
Tamara Sulaiman Runyon
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Agile Team Behavior
Leadership and Management
Agile Team Leadership
Balancing Leadership Styles
The Art of Letting Go
“A group of employees who have day-to-day responsibility for managing themselves and the work they do with a minimum of direct supervision. Team members handle work assignments, plan and schedule work, make decisions and take action on problems.”
Adapted from “Leading Self-Directed Work Teams”, Kimball Fisher, McGraw-Hill, 2000
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Self Managing Teams Traditional Teams Business value driven Management driven Cross functional team members Workforce of isolated specialists Limited role descriptions Many job descriptions Open sharing of information Limited information sharing Relatively flat hierarchy Many levels of management Focused on delivering valuable software
Function/Department focus
Shared goals Segregated goals High team member commitment High management commitment Continuous Improvement Incidental improvement Self-controlled Management-controlled Values/Principles based Policy/procedure based
Adapted from “Leading Self-Directed Work Teams”, Kimball Fisher, pg 18
Adapted from “Leading Self-Directed Work Teams”, Kimball Fisher, McGraw-Hill, 2000
Empowerment is a function of: f (Authority, Information,
Resources, and Accountability)
IF Authority or Resources or
Information or Accountability = 0 THEN
Team empowerment = 0
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Have a solid sense of shared purpose,
Enjoy unified commitment
Display creative and spontaneous
behaviors
Have high levels of energy and enthusiasm
Enjoy a high level of trust – internal
and external Create
transparency
Manage conflict well
Create standards of excellence through group
norms Deliver results
Get better
Adapted from McMillan-Parsons, 1999, p.106
Jim Highsmith, Agile Project Managment
Agile Team Behavior
Leadership and Management
Agile Team Leadership
Balancing Leadership Styles
The Art of Letting Go
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If you fail to honor your people, They will fail to honor you;
It is said of a good leader that When the work is done, the aim fulfilled,
The people will say, "We did this ourselves."
Lao Tzu, , 604-531 B. C., Founder of Taoism, Tao Te Ching
We will talk about these ideas in new ways
Peter Drucker
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Traditional Management Agile Team Leaders
Focus on clear goals, manages environment, provides support for team
Maintains control over decisions Decisions are controlled by the team
Hierarchical positions – leader is “above” the team
Works in a flat hierarchy – team leader is a member of the team
Leader perceives the group as a collection of individuals
Team relationships are valued
Relies on organizational authority Relies on interpersonal skills and influence
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Sheepherders drive teams
• Carefully monitors performance, takes corrective action
• Often concerned with ‘lagging’ indicators, i.e. status reports, milestone measurements, etc.
• Comfortable with low-risk, low-initiative cultures
Shepherds lead teams
• Stands out in front of the team, analyzing the environment for dangers i.e. “working the system” for the benefit of the team
• Spends time developing team members so that they are capable of leading others
• Uses facilitation and self regulating techniques with team members
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Agile Team Behavior
Leadership and Management
Agile Team Leadership
Balancing Leadership Styles
The Art of Letting Go
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Everything we do as Agile leaders is within the context of servant leadership.
We change our behaviors to meet our team’s needs, while modeling collaboration, trust,
empathy and ethical use of power. We practice deep listening, self-awareness,
commitment to others. As servant leaders, we are ever-evolving in our
process. Servant leaders, like agile, is not something we do; it is something we are.
My underlying belief:
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Centralized Leadership
Shared Leadership
Internal Focus
External Focus
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Creates context within which a self organizing team can work
Facilitate a decentralized, empowered, collaborative
workplace
Encourage trust and respect between
team members
Ensure that the team is provided
with a clear vision of what
they are to accomplish
Provide clear vision Generate Trust Build Respect
Provides external support and access to
resources
Creates a collaborative environment or context
in which the team grows
Protects team from external interruptions
Listens effectively Emerge as servant-leaders
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Agile Team Behavior
Leadership and Management
Agile Team Leadership
Balancing Leadership Styles
The Art of Letting Go
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“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority” Ken Blanchard
Leadership Styles
Team Behavior
Agile Practice Maturity
Stages of Team Development
Team Performance and
Commitment Transformational
Leadership
Situational leadership
Servant Leadership
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Forming Storming
Norming Performing
Tuckman, 1965, “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups
• Team Norms have evolved
• Core processes operate smoothly – most of the time
• Team is focused on work – most of the time
• Leadership is shared • Team self-organizes • Process is adjusted
when necessary
• Interpersonal conflict arises
• Process is likely to break down until conflict is resolved
• Leader driven • Some team
members may be reluctant to contribute openly
Forming Storming
Norming Performing
www.teal.org.uk
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Forming
• “Getting to know” you stage
• Trust may start to be built
Storming
• Trust is focused into smaller groups or subunits
• Alliances are formed
• Trust is unstable
Norming
• Trust and Relationships start to develop to a greater degree
• Cooperation and collaboration replace conflict and mistrust
Performing
• Higher levels of trust as loyalty and relationships develop
www.teal.org.uk
Forming
• Team leader makes decisions. • Some team members may participate
Storming
• Consensus is difficult. • Compromise is a frequent outcome
Norming
• Team is able to come to consensus more often • Win-win is more likely than compromise
Performing
• Decision making is easier • Some decisions are delegated to sub-groups or individuals
www.teal.org.uk
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Forming
More directive leadership, • lays down
clear structure’ • Outlines clear
goals
Storming
Supportive,
Actively listens
Manages conflict
Generates ideas
Explains Decisions
Norming
Team leader acts as team member
Leadership starts to be shared
Leader helps develop
consensus
Performing
Team shares leadership between members
Team leader takes overview –
big picture
www.teal.org.uk
Team “Readiness” level
Situational Leadership* Behaviors
Agile Team Leadership Behaviors
R1 – Lack specific skills; unable or unwilling to take responsibility
S1 – Telling One way communication
Training and coaching in Agile practices.
R2 – Unable to take responsibility yet willing to try
S2 – Selling leader provides direction, uses two way communication and provides socio-emotional support
Facilitative Leadership Coaching and Mentoring, leader as “expert”; leading through influence and persuasion. Concern for relationships Semi-directive style.
R3 – Experienced and able but lack confidence to take on responsibility
S3 – Participating –Shared decision making, maintains high relationship behavior
Collaborative leadership Style Inspire commitment and action, lead as a peer problem solver, build broad-based involvement, sustain home and participation.
R4 – Experienced, able and willing to take on responsibility
S4 – Delegating Responsibility has passed to the group, Leader is involved and monitors progress
Servant Leadership Style Leader influences and impacts team through manipulating the system, not the people.
*Hersey & Blanchard
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Attribute Autocratic Style Facilitative Style Verbal Pattern More Statements More Questions Power Orientation Selfish. It’s mostly
“about me” Social. It’s more about the group
Influence Orientation Directive Consensus Dominance Level More dominant, more
assertive Appears less dominant; style is more subtle
Advocacy Rarely Neutral Perceived as Neutral
Make connections and help others make meaning
Provide direction through subtle control
Invite disclosure and feedback to help surface unacknowledged beliefs,
thoughts and patterns
Build the capacity of individuals and teams to accomplish more on their
own
Operate from a position of restraint
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Team “Readiness” level
Situational Leadership* Behaviors
Agile Team Leadership Behaviors
R1 – Lack specific skills; unable or unwilling to take responsibility
S1 – Telling One way communication
Training and Coaching in Agile practices
R2 – Unable to take responsibility yet willing to try
S2 – Selling leader provides direction, uses two way communication and provides socio-emotional support
Facilitative Leadership Coaching and Mentoring, leader as “expert”; leading through influence and persuasion. Concern for relationships Semi-directive style.
R3 – Experienced and able but lack confidence to take on responsibility
S3 – Participating –Shared decision making, maintains high relationship behavior
Collaborative leadership Style Inspire commitment and action, lead as a peer problem solver, build broad-based involvement, sustain home and participation
R4 – Experienced, able and willing to take on responsibility
S4 – Delegating Responsibility has passed to the group, Leader is involved and monitors progress
Servant Leadership Style Leader influences and impacts team through manipulating the system, not the people.
*Hersey & Blanchard
• “You are a collaborative leader once you have accepted responsibility for building - or helping to ensure the success of – heterogeneous team to accomplish a shared purpose .”
• “Getting value from difference is at the heart of the collaborative leader’s task… they have to learn to share control, and to trust a partner to deliver, even though that partner may operate very differently from themselves.”
Rubin, Hank,( 2009) “Collaborative Leadership: Developing Effective Partnerships for Communities and Schools
Archer, David; Cameron, Alex (2008). Collaborative leadership – how to succeed in and interconnected world
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Willing to take risks
Eager listeners
Passionate for the cause
Optimistic about the future
Able to share knowledge, power and credit
Team “Readiness” level
Situational Leadership* Behaviors
Agile Team Leadership Behaviors
R1 – Lack specific skills; unable or unwilling to take responsibility
S1 – Telling One way communication
Training and coaching in Agile practices.
R2 – Unable to take responsibility yet willing to try
S2 – Selling leader provides direction, uses two way communication and provides socio-emotional support
Facilitative Leadership Coaching and Mentoring, leader as “expert”; leading to consensus through influence and persuasion. Concern for relationships.
R3 – Experienced and able but lack confidence to take on responsibility
S3 – Participating –Shared decision making, maintains high relationship behavior
Collaborative leadership Inspire commitment and action, lead as a peer problem solver, build broad-based involvement, sustain home and participation
R4 – Experienced, able and willing to take on responsibility
S4 – Delegating Responsibility has passed to the group, Leader is involved and monitors progress
Transformational Leadership Though primary focus is external, team leader influences and impacts team through the system, not the people.
*Hersey & Blanchard
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Enc
oura
ge C
reat
ivity
Intellectual Stimulation
Men
tor a
nd C
oach
Individualized Consideration
Sen
se o
f pur
pose
Inspirational Motivation
Rol
e M
odel
Idealized Influence
Agile Team Behavior
Leadership and Management
Agile Team Leadership
Balancing Leadership Styles
The Art of Letting Go
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As we mature as Agile team leaders - we let go of our need for control; for having it our way.
As we mature as Agile team leaders, we let go of our old patterns of thinking and embrace new belief patterns that are based on mutual trust, respect, commitment and collaboration.
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As we mature as Agile team leaders, we let go of our former ways of being and fully embrace servant leadership
As we mature as Agile team leaders, We let go of our bias for status quo - knowing that this too will change.
