people management

Articles

Dependable vs. Irreplaceable

We all like being in demand, feeling wanted, and being dependable. But, we forget that there is a thin line between being dependable and irreplaceable. The result is not only a loss of credibility but also a loss of opportunities

Rinku Sahay's picture Rinku Sahay
Product complexity and opportunity to rearchitect and refactor Do You Need Titled Architects for Your Agile Programs?

Johanna Rothman received a variety of responses to her recent writing on agile architecture. In this article, she attempts to clarify her case for having an architect on some—but not all—agile programs, depending on a number of factors.

Johanna Rothman's picture Johanna Rothman
Are the Five CEO Temptations Limiting Your Leadership Potential?

Becoming a CEO isn’t the ultimate goal for the most successful CEOs. It is a status that they use to achieve great things, and they face ongoing temptations that threaten their potential. Here, Laura Brandenburg takes a look at the temptations in Patrick Lencioni’s Five Temptations of a CEO that can limit the potential of not only CEOs, but also anyone in a leadership position.

Laura Brandenburg's picture Laura Brandenburg
Burning With Excuses

We all know what it’s like to be frustrated with someone else when that person isn’t being as responsive as we would like. It’s especially easy to do when our own work or responsibilities are on the line. In this tale from Naomi Karten, she shows that a lack of response doesn’t necessarily mean a lack of care and explains how very important it is to have the full story before you get too worked up.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten
From One Expert to Another: Simon Baker From One Expert to Another: Simon Baker

In this interview, author, speaker, and agile tester Lisa Crispin speaks with Simon Baker, cofounder of Energized Work and recipient of the Gordon Pask award, about the approaches and tools his lab uses.

Lisa Crispin's picture Lisa Crispin
Mission Possible: ScrumMaster and Technical Contributor

Teams trying out Scrum might not be able to justify a full-time ScrumMaster to the organization, so the role is filled by a contributor on the team. This can be a challenge and, if done incorrectly, a problem. Learn some potential issues to be aware of and how to make the hybrid role work.

Steve Berczuk's picture Steve Berczuk
Are You Leading a Tribe?

In today's organizations, everyone is expected to lead. If you've been waiting for a leadership role to come to you, it might be time to step up and seek out your opportunity to be a leader. Look around you: Self-proclaimed leaders are receiving interesting projects, building enviable careers, and being promoted. In this article, we'll take a look at how Seth Godin's book Tribes can provide a useful framework for leading from the ground up.

Laura Brandenburg's picture Laura Brandenburg
How to Make People Feel (Un)Welcome

The age-old expression "you never get a second chance to make a first impression" is still true to this day. So often the way we greet people, or fail to greet them, sets an irreversible path of leaving others feel completely unwelcome, even if that wasn't the intention.

Naomi Karten's picture Naomi Karten
Mixing Roles in Scrum

We put a lot of emphasis on being Renaissance workers, able to step comfortably from one job role to the next. But, as Mitch Lacey describes here, not all roles play nicely with each other, and trying to combine them may lead to disaster.

Mitch Lacey's picture Mitch Lacey
Building a Competitive Software Capability: Creative Destruction

In this excerpt from Leadership, Teamwork, and Trust: Building a Competitive Software Capability, Watts Humphrey and James Over explain why these changes must be a high priority for software companies and other organizations for whom knowledge is a valuable asset.

Watts S. Humphrey James W. Over

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