I went to my first Agile Conference! I guess I’m always a bit uneasy when I’m surrounded by people who more or less think the same way I do. On the other hand, it feels great! It’s a stark contrast from what I’m used to – you know, being surrounded by Architects, DBAs, PMOs and project managers who a waiting in the wings to save the day when this “Scrum thing” fails.
So for five days, I dove in the pleasant warmth of my fellow agilists and shared ideas, laughs and a few drinks. Attending the wide variety of sessions was my preferred activity and a great opportunity to listen, participate and learn.
Enough chit chat, let’s get right into it…
My first session was “Leader’s Workshop: Making Change Happen and Making it Stick” with Mary Poppendieck. I won’t go into details so here are a few points…
Mary states that to encourage change, one needs to provide:
1- The proper kind of motivation
2- A clear direction
3- A supportive environment
So what motivates people?
Mary references books such as Switch, Drive and that great video by RSAnimate
A very interesting point is to manage employees as if they were volunteers. With money being out of the equation, what needs to put in place and maintained to keep motivation at a high level? What keeps a volunteer motivated?
- A clear purpose
- Structure and guidance
- Successful project
- Ownership
- Autonomy
- Bragging rights
- Mastery
- Constructive dissonance
What I take back from this session
You can throw all the cash you want at your problems and they still won’t go away. If you want successful projects, hire smart people, offer them a clear direction, a few rules, and get out of their way. Smart people will find a way to make it work.
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