Modern Management: Adapt How You Lead for Agile Success (Revised)

Agile approaches have downplayed the role of management. Too many people say, “We don’t need no stinkin’ managers.” On the contrary. We need modern managers to create and refine the agile culture and to enable leaders at all levels. Let’s invite—and make it possible for managers to become modern managers. When they change, we can create an agile culture.

Without modern management, any agile transformation dies a quick and ugly death. Instead, it’s time to invite managers to change their behaviors to create an agile culture and achieve business success.

Transcript

1. Johanna Rothma n @johannarothma n www.jrothman.com Modern Management: Adapt How You Lead for Agile Success
2. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Many people think we don’t need managers in agile approaches… 2
3. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Too much of what passes for “management” has little to do with leadership and everything to do with control. 3
4. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Management Exists to Organize for Purpose • Manage themselves before they manage anyone els e • Create a harmonic whole by leading and serving other s • Every organization exists for one reason: Innovation 4
5. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Principles for All Managers 1. Clarify purpose, for you, your team, your organization. 2. Build empathy with the people who do the work . 3. Build a safe environment . 4. Seek outcomes by optimizing for an overarching goal . 5. Encourage experiments and learning . 6. Catch people succeeding . 7. Exercise your value-based integrity . Note: I did not add transparency or communication. If you manage with these principles, you will be as transparent as is possible and you will communicate effectively. 5
6. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Our Agenda • Great managers manage themselves fi rst (Think ) • Great managers serve and lead others (Feel ) • Great managers create an environment of innovation (Act) 6
7. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 1. Great Managers Manage Themselves 7 Satir Congruence Model
8. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Brief Explanation of Congruence • Blaming: Disregard Othe r • Placating: Disregard Sel f • Super-Reasonable: Consider Only Contex t • Irrelevant: Consider Neither Self, Other, or Contex t • Congruent: Balance Self, Other and Context 8 Satir Congruence Model
9. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Manage Yourself Myths • Managers are more valuable than other people. • Managers must solve the team’s problem for them. • Managers are too valuable to take a vacation. • Managers can still do signi fi cant technical work. (Or, player-coach works. ) • Managers can estimate for the team. • Managers micromanage to see state . • Managers think the team needs a cheerleader. • Managers don’t admit mistakes. • Managers can concentrate on the run. • Managers expect people to bring solutions to problems. • Managers believe in indispensable employees. (Or “10X”) 9
10. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Principles for Managing Yourself • Clarify your purpose. Where do you add value ? • Build empathy with the people who do the work. Assume they know what they’re doing . • Build a safe environment. Admit when you don’t know . • Seek outcomes by optimizing for an overarching goal. Delegate problems and outcomes, not tasks . • Encourage experiments and learning. Offer coaching, not solutions . • Catch people succeeding . • Exercise your value-based integrity. Do the right thing, even when it hurts. 10
11. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 2. Great Managers Lead and Serve Others • “Managing” others is about leading and serving. • Leading and serving != directing and controlling 11
12. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman People Remember How They Felt • Think back to the best manager you had. • How did you feel when you worked there ? • What do you remember? (Work/product, teams, something else? ) • Think back to just one of your terrible managers. • How did you feel when you worked there ? • Do you remember any of the work, except to remember how you felt about it? 12
13. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Outdated Management Assumptions Color Management Actions • People can do the jo b • Because people master challenges all the tim e • Because people take responsibility all the tim e • People might need support or training, but they can . • People live up or down to your expectations of them 13
14. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Lead & Serve Others Myths • No limit to the number of people you can manage . • People don’t need feedback . • Measure busy-ness, not outcomes . • Managers want to know the people are engaged . • Thinking isn't work . • Performance reviews or other evaluations are useful. (They are not. They damage relationships and performance. ) • People don’t need credit for their work . • Hiring shortcuts are fi ne . • People are resources. (No, they are not. ) • We need experts for this work . • Promote the best technical person to be a manager . • You can keep even marginally-useful people on a team. 14
15. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman When Managers Don’t Lead & Serve… • Feel as if you’re sloggin g • People need : • Autonomy, mastery, and purpos e • Team for collaboration & feedback 15
16. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Principles for Leading and Serving Others • Clarify the team’s purpose.What value does your team offer ? • Build empathy with the people who do the work. Offer autonomy, mastery, purpose . • Build a safe environment. Teach feedback and coaching . • Seek outcomes by optimizing for an overarching goal. Use fl ow ef fi ciency . • Encourage experiments and learning . • Catch people succeeding . • Exercise your value-based integrity. Make those dif fi cult decisions. 16
17. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 3. Great Managers Lead for Innovation 17 “...every organization…needs one core competence: innovation.” — Peter Drucke r (Especially management innovation — Rothman)
18. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Where Do Managers Spend Their Time? 18
19. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Organizational Leadership Myths • Great management looks easy so it is easy . • Treat everyone the same way . • Performance management creates employee engagement. (It does not! ) • Comparing teams is useful . • “Friendly” competition is constructive . • 100% utilization works . • No time for training . • It’s okay to move people wherever they need to go, whenever the manager wants . • Lower salaries means lower project cos t • Manage by spreadsheet . • It’s a great idea to standardize on how people work (especially their agile approach.) 19
20. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Embrace the Organization’s “Messiness” • De fi ne the organization’s “Why ” • Iterate on the strateg y • Plan for change 20
21. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Innovation Principles • Clarify purpose (why) for your organization. • Build empathy with the people who do the work. Reduce bureaucracy. • Build a safe environment. Decriminalize mistakes . • Seek outcomes by optimizing for an overarching goal. • Encourage experiments and learning . • Catch people succeeding . • Exercise your value-based integrity. (Say No to too much work.) 21
22. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman What Does Your Organization Reward? 22
23. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman A Focus on Resource Ef fi ciency • Manage via cost accounting • Divide-and-conquer work s • Inventory is goo d • Cost accounting works for softwar e • Knowledge work != factory work != slaver y • All of these are antithetical to agile approaches 23
24. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Managers Create & Re fi ne the Culture • For everyone as individuals, in teams, and in group s • (Schein discusses artifacts, values, and assumptions ) • How people treat each othe r • What people can discus s • How the manager and organization rewards people 24
25. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Lewin’s Equation • B = f (P, E ) • Behavior is a function of the Person in the Environment 25
26. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman “The Culture of any organization is shaped by the wors t behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.” — Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker, School Culture Rewired, ch. 3 (2015) 26
27. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Build Your Agile Management Habits • Progress, not perfection! ! • Behaviors before belief s • Start with yoursel f • Remember that people remember how you make them fee l • If you don’t know the “why” nothing else matters. 27
28. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman The Seven Principles 1. Clarify purpose, for you, your team, your organization. 2. Build empathy with the people who do the work . 3. Build a safe environment . 4. Seek outcomes by optimizing for an overarching goal . 5. Encourage experiments and learning . 6. Catch people succeeding . 7. Exercise your value-based integrity. 28
29. © 2021 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Let’s Stay in Touch • Pragmatic Manager: • www.jrothman.com/ pragmaticmanage r • Please link with me on LinkedI n • Modern Management Made Easy books: • https://www.jrothman.com/mmme 29