The role of manager in a changing world v3

Manager 2.0
The role of manager in a new world
Madhur Kathuria, CSC, CSP, CSM, CSA
Director, Agile Consulting and Transformation, Xebia India
v1.0
November 2014

[Accidental Agile Coach,
Status-quo Disruptor,
Transformation freak,
Behavioral mystic, nomad,
INDIAN]

Agile ?
Scrum ? XP??
How do I survive in
the competitive
market
Team empowerment ??
Appraisals?
My new role ?
What am I doing here…. ??????????

Let’s start with a story….

Once upon a time…
In a land of yore and happiness, there lived three project managers…
Day after day, They used to marshal their troops, delivered projects, earned
client appreciations and used to go home happily with their hard earned money
Everything was fine, happy and full of fun…
Until one day……
TRAGEDY STRUCK !!!!!!

Their world started changing….
The Projects Started failing… Customers were no longer
happy..
Their troops revolted against
their way of working….

And to make matters worse…
A new , dangerous, ugly monster was seen
in the town….

The role of manager in a changing world v3

The Project Managers had to
decide...

The first Manager…
Found that Agile monster sopped up
all the work he used to do and gave
this work to the teams do it. The PM
was barred from commanding his
men (and women) . he was told to sit
out of ceremonies and trust the team
to make all the decisions…The PM
slowly fell ill and miserable
and eventually left the once happy
land to look for greener pastures in a
far-away land

The second one…
Found that Agile monster sopped up all the work the PM used
to do and let the teams do it. The PM was barred from
commanding his men (and women) . he was told to sit out of
ceremonies and trust the team to make all the decisions.
The PM started finding ways how to kill the Agile monster. He
started diverging the team’s mind-set and views about how
the monster would kill their productivity and make them
mediocre. He did participate in the meetings and still
controlled the meetings and team outcomes. The team slowly
started moving away from being close to agility and one fine
day the Agile Monster was slow poisoned to death and the
team went back to the old ways…

And the third…
Discovered that he had actually found a very good
knowledge companion called “Agile” . He learned
the virtues of delegation and hands-off manager
from agile.
He passed on the decision making to the team
while himself taking on the role of mentor, guide
and buddy for the teams.
He started to guide them to right path and gave
them insights about what is wrong and what is
right, rather than telling and forcing them to go
down a particular path.
Eventually, the team started respected him even
more and they used his experience and wisdom to
gain productivity and benefits and all of them lived
happily ever after…

So, which one of the Project
Manager resides in you ???

OK.
I got the message.
But
What do I do , to be successful
in new world ?

First
Let’s revisit the agile philosophy

The Agile Manifesto
[ We are uncovering better ways of developing
software by doing it and helping others do it.
Through this work we have come to value]
Individuals and interactions
over
Processes and tools
Working software comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration
contract negotiation
Responding to change following a plan

The Agile Principles
Satisfy the customer
through early and
continuous delivery of
software
Business people and
developers work
together daily
throughout the project
Working software as
primary measure of
progress
Simplicity--the art of
maximizing the amount
of work not done
Welcome changing
requirements, even late
in development
Build projects around
motivated individuals
The sponsors,
developers and users
should be able to
maintain a constant pace
indefinitely
Deliver working software
frequently
Face-to-Face
conversation for
conveying information
with and within a
development team
Continuous attention to
technical excellence and
good design
The best architectures,
requirements and
designs emerge from
self-organizing teams
At regular intervals, the
team reflects on how to
become more effective
and adjusts its behavior
accordingly

Trust
Agile
Values
Collaboration
Accountability
High
Performance
High aims
Sense of
Urgency
Self
organization
Goal Driven
Approach
Sustainable
Pace
Simplicity
Self Growth
and
Excellence

High quality working software
24
…..continuously

On going
integration
during
development

The perspectives
What do we expect and
demand of ourselves?
What outcomes do we expect
from ourselves?
What do we expect to improve
in our functioning as Agile Team
Managers?
The Manager's
perspective.
What do we want to do less, or
refrain from doing as Agile
Team Managers
What do we want to preserve
(to keep doing in the same way)
as Agile Team Managers?

The self perspective
What do we expect and
demand of ourselves?
What outcomes do we expect
from ourselves?
What do we expect to improve
in our functioning as Agile Team
Managers?
The Manager's
perspective.
What do we want to do less, or
refrain from doing as Agile
Team Managers
What do we want to preserve
(to keep doing in the same way)
as Agile Team Managers?

The Team’s perspective
What do we expect and demand
of the Agile Manager's?
What outcomes do we expect of
them?
What do we expect them to
improve in their functioning?
What do we want them to do
less, or refrain from doing?
What do we want them to
preserve (to keep doing in the
same way)?
The Team's
perspective

The ScrumMasters’ perspective
them?
same way)?
The ScrumMasters’
perspective

The Management’s perspective
them?
same way)?
The Management’s
perspective

What Happens to the “Manager”?
Manager
The Team

Now, Let’s create the new version of the
Manager….
“Manager 2.0”

Manager 2.0
 Step 1 – Create list of everything the Manager used to
be responsible for (come up with as many items as
possible, at least 10 items)
 Step 2 – Cross off this list everything that:
Conflicts with Agile Principles
Is unnecessary in Agile Principles
Would undermine the team's self-organization and self-management

Decide task assignments among the team
members and assign them
Provide coaching and mentorship to team-members
Keep track of whether team-members have
done the tasks I’ve assigned to them
Surface issues to the team that they might
overlook – scaling, performance, security, etc.
Make commitments on behalf of the team
about how much they can get done by X date
Provide input on features, functionality, and
other aspects of what’s being produced
Give direction to the team on how to do the
work, so they can meet the commitment I
made
Do performance evaluations and provide
feedback to team-members
Convince team that the commitments made
on their behalf are attainable
Provide advice and input to the team on
difficult technical issues that come up
Monitor the team's progress, to make sure
they stay on schedule, and aren't having
problems
Plan training for team, and do career-development
and planning with team-members
Conduct weekly update and 1:1 meetings with
team, to surface issues, and provide direction
Stay abreast of latest developments in the
technology their team uses, industry news,
etc.
Recruit, interview and hire new members of
the team
Plan and oversee budgets and financials, and
think about tools, skills and other future needs
Fire team-members who are consistently not
able to perform
Help remove impediments that the team is not
able or well-placed to resolve themselves

Enforces and Protects team
Boundaries

…provides Continuous Feedback

Thinks like a co-star not the “director”

The Manager……….. A RZeinng M Maasstteerr

What “Hat” Am I Wearing?
Facilitator
“I will help you make a
decision without taking
Partner
“We will do it
together and learn
from each other”
Technical Advisor
“I will assist with technical
questions during the
project”
Mentor
“I will support you in acquiring
knowledge and new skills”
Hands-On Expert
“I will perform
complicated tasks”
Role Model
”Watch me and adopt my attitude”
sides”
Coach
“I will assist you in performing the
best you can and extracting your
maximum potential”
Reflective Observer
“You will manage and I will
mirror (light up) issues for
your functioning”
Process Aspects
Project Deliveries

If We can be of any help
• Twitter: madhurkathuria
• Skype: madhur.kathuria
• Madhur@indiascrumcommunity.org
Our
Spaces
We are available
on
 http://www.madhurkathuria.info
 www.agiledevilsworkshop.com

Game 1 – Strategic Planning
 Objective: Conduct Strategic Planning to make Agile
Transformation further successful in 2015.
 Identify the drivers that would help the team grow.
 Identify the potential issues that would prevent the
growth.
 Brainstorm on the strategy for growth of the team.
 Manage the potential risks and identify mitigation plans.
Agile Innovation Games for Chapter Strategies

Strategic Planning
 Preparations:
A whiteboard or large sheet of paper
A picture of a balloon & ropes
Index card or sticky notes for the participants

Strategic Planning
 How it works:
 The balloon wants to fly high up in the sky (denotes
successful Agile environment).
 The air pushes the balloon upwards (positive push).
The ropes tied up with the balloon prevents it from
flying (negative push) .
Participants write their inputs on sticky notes.
Participants brainstorms to define the strategy.

Strategic Planning

Guidelines
 Refrain from giving judgment or trying to fix the
problem during the game.
 Focus on understanding the feedback shared by
the participants.
 Same issues identified by multiple members
indicate gravity of the situation.
 Review the final results, organized by priority.

Lets Play!
 Strategic Planning for building a successful Agile team.
 Identify what would make the team successful.
 Identify any potential risks that would impact the team.
 Place the positive and negative push on the board.
 Brainstorm on the strategies to make the team
successful.

Where to use?
 To identify strategic objectives of the organization /
team.
 To define the operational plan / new initiatives.
 To create a risk management plan.
 Establish the team common goals / guidelines.
 Establish areas to focus on (Marketing, HR etc.)

Game – Give me water and sun!

Game – Don’t miss the bus!

Contact us @
Xebia Agile Consulting and Transformation
ConsultingIndia@xebia.com
Or
Madhur Kathuria (Director - Agile Consulting and Transformation)
Mobile: +91 965-040-8822, Email: mkathuria@xebia.com
Website
www.xebia.com
www.xebia.in
www.xebia.fr
Thought Leadership
http://blog.xebia.com
http://podcast.xebia.com

The role of manager in a changing world v3

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