When I was first learning Agile techniques 20 years ago, one of the fundamentals of building a diverse team was a mixture of I-shaped and T-shaped people
When I was first learning Agile techniques 20 years ago, one of the fundamentals of building a diverse team was a mixture of I-shaped and T-shaped people.
As agility has become mainstream, and there is much more cross functional collaboration, we have moved past the point of one or the other.
To be your most effective self you have to be able to switch between depth of knowledge and breadth of perspective.
Your specialist knowledge is important to help others develop their understanding of the situation and for you to identify whether ideas will work based on your detailed appreciation of processes, systems, customer needs etc
The key is understanding when you need to use your specialist knowledge, and when you need to be curious about things you don’t know much about. This curiosity means asking lots of questions, which trigger thoughts and ideas in the experts.
Ask open questions to generate information sharing from the experts and debate amongst everyone involved. Techniques like the “5 whys” add more detail with every question you ask.
One of the reasons the Agile Change Coach course is so popular is because it gives you practical techniques that cover depth and breadth, so you have a ready-made toolkit of actions you can take depending on the situation you face.
For example, if you are facing a group who do not want to change their ways of working, you might want to demonstrate your depth of expertise and experience in leading change, to reassure them they are being led by an expert. Using parts of the course that help you explain what is needed for effective change, what activities they will be involved in and how your plan for organising what needs to be done and when will meet your needs.
If instead you want to dive deeply into the most effective way to communicate the change, you can use techniques for outlining the scope of the change whilst reassuring everyone what will not change, and techniques for reframing potential problems and issues into more positive opportunities, which using techniques to help everyone identify benefits motivate them.
There are 41 techniques in the Agile Change Coach course, practically applying neuroscience, behavioural science and positive psychology (if you want the depth) and these techniques are mapped to a lifecycle model, leading everyone through their emotions and reactions from initial awareness that they need to change to celebration of their progress, using an iterative, incremental plan (if you want the broad summary!)
If you don’t know much about Agile Change but it is on your list of things to do, put it to the top of the list. You are too busy not to be your smartest, most effective self at work, and I guarantee you the practical approach on these courses means you leave the course able to do things you could not do before.
Have a look at these benefits and decide if you can live without them! Make things easier at work by learning the techniques that save you time and have more impact on my next course and gain the same benefits all these past attendees are enjoying.
