Random Agile Thought – The Ideal Team Player

This was shared by my boss, Daniel: according to Patrick Lencioni, the ideal team player has three characteristics:

• Humble (does not think less of self; think of self less)
• Hungry (aggressively pursues goals)
• Smart (emotionally smart, in interactions with others)

I like it! 😁 I have always looked up to people who has these three traits. I have always enjoyed working with them.

A growth mindset requires a humble attitude. You must be open to learning. You acknowledge that you do not know everything and you accept help from others. This does not mean you are not confident with your skills or knowledge; rather, you accept that in a team, you can do more by working with others.

Passion and drive are important motivators for successful individuals. They also bring this with them when they join teams and so this directly influences the success of teams.

It is important to be intelligent and skilled. It is equally important not to be a jerk if you are in a team. Respect, trust, openness, empathy, and kindness all propel a team forward to success. So yes, being emotionally smart is an important characteristic.

I hope this random agile thought helps you and your team be more Agile. 😊

Random Agile Thoughts – Targeting a Goal

I am starting this new series in my blog: Random Agile Thoughts. They will be short posts sharing my insights on something I was thinking about as I reflect on my experience and situations I encounter at work. In sharing this I hope to help people who might be looking for insights about certain topics or practical examples and applications of being Agile.

Recently I have been thinking about setting of goals. For Agile Teams I imagine it to be similar to planning for a road trip.

• You set a target destination
• You don’t have all the information when you start
  • there might be rerouting
  • there might be road blocks not announced
  • accidents
• You plan based on past experiences of going to the target destination
• Many factors come into play: weather, road conditions, traffic conditions, random circumstances. There are many variables.
• Given all this, you still set a target destination – without this you are just wandering around
• You still make an estimate of how long you think the travel time will be
• You adjust based on new information you are getting along the way
• And of course, there is always the possibility that you have to change your destination

Going on road trips feels like you are being Agile while working on a project. I hope this random musing helps you to be more Agile.