Johanna Rothman @johannarothman www.jrothman.com Modern Management: Agile Leadership for Leading and Serving Others & Innovation

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Too much of what passes for “agile management” has little to do with leadership and everything to do with control. 2

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman How can we enable a culture of business agility? 3

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Business Agility Depends on Managers • Because they create and refine the culture • Manage themselves before they manage anyone else (not in this presentation) • Create a harmonic whole by leading and serving others • Every organization exists for one reason: Innovation 4

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Principles for Business Agility 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

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Culture Drives Behaviors • Kurt Lewin said: B = f(P, E) • People (P) perceive the environment (E) • We choose to Behave (B) in ways that fit the environment • What does your organization reward? • Individual work (resource efficiency) • Team-based work (flow efficiency) 6

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Change words: From “Management” to “Leading and Serving” 7

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman What do People Remember About Their Managers? • Think back to the best manager you had. How did you feel when you worked there? • Do you remember the work or the teams? • Take 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? 8

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Outdated Management Assumptions Color Management Actions • People can do the job • People can master the challenges • People can take responsibility for the work and the relationships • … and more • People might need support or training, but they can. • People live up or down to your expectations of them 9

© 2020 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 fine. • 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. 10

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Common Root Cause • Current management practices focus on the individual (resource efficiency) • Business agility requires a focus on the team (or workgroup) • How do you change the focus? 11

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Two Myths That Prevent Serving and Leading Well • Performance reviews/evaluations are useful • We can’t fire anyone (Warm bodies are better than no bodies. Even when they actively harm the teamwork.) 12 It was good enough for me…

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Performance Evaluations “Considered Harmful” • Feedback is useful • People require feedback from their peers • People might need feedback from manager • People might want coaching from peers/manager regularly • Reinforcing feedback and appreciations more useful than change-focused feedback 13

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Options Instead of Performance Evaluations • Performance reviews don’t work because of Lewin’s Equation: B = f(P, E) • Environment shapes everyone’s behavior • Create and run feedback labs and coaching labs • Build relationships (thru one-on-ones) with each person • Create a career ladder that works for everyone, including managers 14

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Should You Keep Warm Bodies Around? • Un-jellers • Personality prevents success • People who can’t do the job • Insufficient technical expertise and can’t learn 15

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Options to Serve People to Leave • Make sure you’ve offered specific feedback • Does the person need coaching or training? Make that happen • Ask if the person wants to work here? • If not, ask, “How can I support you to find a job elsewhere?” • If so, start a PIP and make sure it’s a one-and- out • If you can’t help a person leave, separate them from the team. Explain they will no longer get any raise at all and might see a salary decrease. 16

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman When Managers Don’t Lead & Serve… • Insufficient respect and empathy for the people doing the work • Work feels like drudgery 17

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Lead and Serve Others: From Individual Focus to Team Focus 18

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Great Managers Lead for Innovation 19 “...every organization---not just businesses--- needs one core competence: innovation.” — Peter Drucker

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Where Do Managers Spend Time? 20

© 2020 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 cost • Manage by spreadsheet • It’s a great idea to standardize on how people work (especially their agile approach.) 21

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Two Myths That Prevent Innovation • 100% Utilization of people • Standardizing how anyone works 22 It was good enough for me…

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Options to Prevent 100% Utilization • Manage the project portfolio • Make sure every project has a team and that team only works on one project • Flow work through teams • Encourage management teams so everyone has a common overarching goal 23

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman 24

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Options to Prevent Managers from Deciding for Others • Often about power in the organization • What problems do they want to avoid? • What outcomes do they want to see? • Remember the Rule of Three 25

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Lead an Innovative Organization: From Change Management to Managing for Change 26

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Managers Create & Refine the Culture • For everyone as individuals, in teams, and in groups • (Schein discusses artifacts, values, and assumptions) • How people treat each other • What people can discuss • How the manager and organization rewards people 27

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman “The Culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.” — Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker, School Culture Rewired, ch.3 (2015) 28

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Huge Personal and Managerial Cultural Shift • From resource efficiency to flow efficiency 29

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Build Your Agile Management Habits • Progress, not perfection!! • Behaviors before beliefs • Start with yourself • Remember that people remember how you make them feel • If you don’t know the “why” nothing else matters. 30

© 2020 Johanna Rothman @johannarothman Let’s Stay in Touch • Pragmatic Manager: • www.jrothman.com/ pragmaticmanager • Please link with me on LinkedIn • Modern Management Made Easy (in- progress): • https://leanpub.com/b/ modernmanagementmadeeasy 31