Enough Already
I know that social media brings out the worst in us. The anonymity, the distance, the ease of weighing in, etc., all combine to make it easy for most posts to sound like complaints (I know … like this one. Please indulge me.) and for most comments to sound like pedantic and/or semantic arguments at best.
LinkedIn, while slightly better than FB and Twitter, is no exception, but without the funny TikToks and animal videos of Instagram.
Before your eyes glaze over with boredom, this is not yet another call for social media civility. I mean, we need it, but that’s not what this is about. It’s more like part complaint, part call to action, part get over yourself, part “C’mon, man!”, and part “We can do better!”
Like many of my LinkedIn connections, I’m an agile coach. Also, like many of my connections, I’m a professional coach. I make the following statements from those professional viewpoints.
What I Don’t Care About …
I don’t care if:
2-day certifications aren’t enough. They’re a start
Scrum Master is a less than perfect title. Successfully fulfilling the role, whatever it’s called, is a start
SAFe isn’t agile. No, it’s not ideal, but it could be a start
You disagree with what I or someone else posts. If you want to talk, ok. But argue? Nope. Don’t care. Conversation: That’s a start
Agile and Professional (pejoratively referred to by some agilists as “life coaching”) coaching aren’t the same thing. Both are a start for the type of coaching organizations need
At least 96,000 people on LinkedIn call themselves agile coaches. We need more (good ones anyway), so that’s a start
There is an Agile Industrial Complex (such a silly name). Its existence proves demand. That demand is a start
You use or don’t use a framework. Agility doesn’t require a framework, but they’re a start
Incessantly complaining about any of these things will not educate agilists or enable them to help their companies be more agile. We might get a few more likes and reads, but if it’s not educating or enabling, then it’s just noise.
Noise that clogs the system. Noise that distracts. Noise that does little to help us all uncover better ways of working and help others do it.
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.”
~ Winston Churchill
Challenge #1: How can you, I, and all of us with something to say do it in a way that enlists compassion, empathy, and courage to bolster our thoughts and thereby make them easier to hear?
What I Care About …
I do care if:
People want to learn, especially if it’s about agile ways of working and organizational culture
Organizations understand that yesterday’s ways of working will not bring success tomorrow
Collaboration is valued more than coercion
Product owners or their equivalent are empowered and are given authority to be more than just Jira Jockeys
Scrum Masters or their equivalent and their companies know that Scrum Master responsibilities go beyond the team
Companies treat their employees like humans and not resources
Employees are given the ability to show up at their jobs as whole, creative, and intelligent humans
I have a personal mission of helping people to not hate going to work. I attempt to fulfill that mission by helping organizations become more agile and helping teams and individuals become more resilient and deliver awesome products. These last seven bullets are just the tip of the iceberg of things I care about in trying to do this work. What are the things you care about?
“From caring comes courage.”
~ Lao Tzu
Challenge #2: What can you do in your work and life that shows more of what you are for instead of what you're against?
How did you answer those challenges? How powerful would it be to live into those answers? How much more powerful would it be to live into those answers together?
