Stay ConnectedWe bring amazing agile minded individuals from product, coaching, entrepreneurship, and engineering space and bring you an immersive learning experience through stories and practices.
If you are an aspiring or new Scrum Master, Business Analyst, Product Owner, or Product Manager; you will take away a lot from these conversations!
Copyright: © Vivek Khattri
One of Agile's key principles is customer collaboration, and a great way organizations can exhibit this principle is by implementing the Scaled Agile Framework (or SAFe). In SAFe, you're not just working with one team, but many teams, which creates dependencies and a more transparent and collaborative work environment. In today's podcast, we sit down with Agile team facilitator, Hari Khanal, and dive into the world of Scaled Agile, addressing topics such as the role of a scrum master in SAFe, PI Planning in a remote world, unlocking intrinsic motivation and more.
Our Speaker: Hari Khanal
Hari has a passion for serving others and bringing people together, and it was this passion that drove him to leave his job in sales to pursue a career in Agile. He currently works as a scrum master, coach and facilitator for multiple organizations as well as runs his own companies outside of his career. We are proud to introduce Hari Khanal.
To connect with Hari, check him out on LinkedIn:
https://linkedin.com/in/hari-khanal
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Although it may at first seem counterintuitive, concepts like vulnerability and courage are more related than you might think. With every act of courage comes risk (be it risk to one's own physical safety, wealth, social standing, etc), and with every risky decision comes vulnerability. Although we are all born vulnerable, no one is born courageous. Courage is a skill that is learned through intentionality, humility and practice. As you will hear in today's podcast, "Agility is all about being willing to grow, being willing to figure it out, being willing to take challenges by the horns and to overcome them." This is important to learn not only as a member of an Agile team but as an Agile team leader as well. We all have the potential to be courageous if we're willing to work hard and put our pride aside. In today's episode, we sit down with Agile leader, Meghann Rudolph, and discuss topics such as setting the team culture, ways to show support, building relationships with your team members and more!
Our Speaker: Meghann Rudolph
Meghann Rudolph is an adventurer at heart, constantly looking for life's next opportunity as she races towards her next entrepreneurial goal. Presently working as a Scrum master and Agile facilitator at Comcast and as a LinkedIn content creator, Meghann credits much of her success to the love and support shown to her by her family and mentors. We are proud to introduce, Meghann Rudolph.
To connect with Meghann, check out her LinkedIn:
https://linkedin.com/in/meghann-rudolph
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theagilecoach/support
If you were to ask six people to describe what makes a product manager, you'd likely get seven different answers. This is because the role of a product manager is like white space; a blank canvas waiting to be filled and defined by your company, the people you work with, and most importantly, you. In today's podcast, we sit down with product manager, Rajsi Rana, and explore how to begin defining your own role as a product manager. Topics to be discussed include good PM habits, networking and building relationships, how to become a better writer, how to manage your time more efficiently, and much more.
Our Speaker:
Rajsi Rana After studying computer science and finance at the University of Cambridge, Rajsi Rana learned about the idea of becoming a product manager through a friend, and the rest is history. Having a type-A personality, Rajsi went from being a college student to a technical program manager at Amazon fairly quickly. After working in this position for a few years, in 2019, she became the senior product manager at Oracle Cloud where she works on special projects that focus on the company's top customers. We are proud to introduce Rajsi Rana.
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theagilecoach/support
As an Agile facilitator, your job isn't just to keep track of time and take meeting notes; it's to encourage conversation and collaboration and guide teams into what's best for them. Ultimately, your goal is not to change people, but rather make them awesome by enabling them to reach their full potential. In today's podcast, we sit down with Senior Agile Coach, Barbara Kryvko, and discuss topics such as sprint and iteration planning, tips for new scrum masters, the importance of a retrospective and more all through the lens of Modern Agile.
Our Speaker: Barbara Kryvko
After earning her degree from Webster University in Computer Science and Mathematics, Barbara Kryvko began her Agile journey in the software space, gaining decades of experience in Network engineering, software development, IT Consultation, and systems administration. Eventually, she would end up at Monsanto where she'd become a Scrum Master and Agile Coach for the first time, managing multiple teams as well as coaching their product managers, business partners and management. Currently, Barbara works as a Senior Agile Coach at Bayer Crop Science where she works to "foster a culture of excellence, collaboration and continuous improvement." We are proud to introduce Barbara Kryvko.
To connect with Barbara, find her at the link below:
LinkedIn: https://LinkedIn.com/in/barbarakryvko
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theagilecoach/support
We've all been there. You're invited to some sort of gathering where there are people you haven't seen in awhile. Maybe you've been busy with work or other obligations, but you know that if you go to this event, someone's going to make you feel guilty for not showing up more often. What do you do when that happens? Do you get angry, sad, or maybe defensive? This is where emotional intelligence comes into play. Emotional intelligence is exactly what it sounds like: being smart with your feelings and the feelings of others. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all feel things, and sometimes those feelings can conflict with the feelings of others. Emotional intelligence teaches concepts such as self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness and relationship management which allow conflicting parties to truly express and address their underlying needs rather than fuel a loop of anger and resentment. It's about understanding ourselves and being empathetic towards others. If something is bothering us, we tend to ask, "Why won't the other person change?", but a better question to ask is, "Why do I want the other person to change?" If the answer is just "because it would benefit me," then that's not a good enough reason. In this episode, we sit down with Sagar Satyal and discuss concepts such as empathy, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution and the awareness needed to truly live a meaningful life.
Our Speaker: Sagar Satyal
Sagar Satyal is the co-founder of My Emotions Matter, an organization based in Kathmandu Nepal whose mission is to help others live harmoniously by providing educational resources, screenings and consultation services regarding emotional management and emotional intelligence. Along with being a huge football fan and enjoying walks in the park, Sagar enjoys exploring himself and the role emotions play in our everyday lives. Taking each day as it comes, Sagar's goal is to live a meaningful life and to help create an environment for others to do the same. We’re proud to introduce Sagar Satyal.
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Although the title of "master" may evoke ideas of one who flawlessly executes their craft with independence and authority, when it comes to the art of scrum, principles such as collaboration, communication, and humility are the key to becoming a true master. A great scrum master leads by example, not only facilitating positive behavior within their team but showcasing that behavior daily in themselves and with every interaction from the first good morning to the last good night. To be Agile is to take pride in being human, and as a scrum master, empowering your agile team and giving them a chance to add value is one of the best things you can do. With empathy and openness, show your team how much you care, and once you're in a position where you feel less like authority and more like a friend, you have then become a true master. In today's podcast, we sit down once again with scrum master, Adam Miner, and discuss topics such as evolving as a scrum master, becoming a better coach and mentor, and how to empower your teams. Timestamps: xxx Our Speaker: Adam Miner Baseball has always been his passion, and when it comes to being a scrum master, Adam Miner hits a home run. With a background in athletics, majoring in biology and starting his career in finance, Adam’s route to becoming a scrum master in IT product management is less than conventional. However, Adam’s unique experiences have allowed him to draw many parallels between high-performing sports and corporate teams and has molded how he treats others as a leader today. We are proud to have Adam Miner back on the podcast.
Our Speaker:
Adam Miner Baseball has always been his passion, and when it comes to being a scrum master, Adam Miner hits a home run. With a background in athletics, majoring in biology and starting his career in finance, Adam’s route to becoming a scrum master in IT product management is less than conventional. However, Adam’s unique experiences have allowed him to draw many parallels between high-performing sports and corporate teams and has molded how he treats others as a leader today. We are proud to have Adam Miner back on the podcast.
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theagilecoach/support
When looking into the eyes of a newborn baby, it's almost impossible to not think about the potential contained within this new life. A baby can become anything, do anything and achieve anything that he/she puts their mind to, right? Why then do we tend to lose this mentality when it comes to examining our own lives? When we start out as children, the world is too big for our minds to process, so as we get older, we start forming patterns to predict how we think the world will be. These predictions can sometimes come in the form of limiting beliefs: views that restrict what you think you're capable of. Limiting beliefs can come in the form of social pressures, emotional protections, and a lack of self-love, but all of them stem from the fact that we don't see the world as it is, but rather as we are. Emotional Agility is the practice of shutting down limiting beliefs through feeling your feelings, showing up authentically, embracing sadness, and navigating fear so that you can become the master of your emotions and fall madly in love with your life. In today's podcast, we sit down with psychotherapist, Josh Magro, and discuss topics such as overcoming limiting beliefs, the philosophy of seeking approval, embracing sadness, loving yourself, and much more!
Our Speaker: In a chaotic world where acting impulsively seems to be the norm, Josh Magro encourages us to master the art of emotional agility. Josh is a licensed psychotherapist, motivational speaker, self-mastery coach and co-founder of Personal Power and Prosperity, Inc; an organization that helps others navigate their emotions, heal from their past, and fall madly in love with their life. In the short term, Josh does live workshops as well as one-on-one therapy sessions where members learn to challenge their own limiting beliefs and express their vulnerability. However, in the long term, his goal is to make concepts such as “feeling your feelings” and “showing up authentically” so common that the work he currently does is no longer needed. We’re proud to introduce Josh Magro.
To connect with Josh, check him out at the links below:
Josh on LinkedIn: https://LinkedIn.com/JoshMagro
P3 Workshops: https://P3Workshops.com
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theagilecoach/support
We've all heard of "the corporate ladder"; a term used to describe the positional hierarchy that exists within a company. You're either at the top, the bottom or somewhere in between, but wherever you are, you still hold a place on the ladder. Although a ladder is a handy tool for getting from one place to another, there are certain situations where using a ladder as a metaphor to describe the way a company functions aren't quite as appealing. When a company's positional hierarchy starts to heavily impact the social atmosphere of the workplace, issues may arise. People at the bottom might feel unheard or disrespected and people at the top might feel stressed and uninformed. One of the core values of the Agile mindset is "individuals and interactions over processes and tools". In other words, success should not be at the expense of people. The SAFe framework is a widely-adopted, freely-available knowledge base that allows teams to apply Agile practices and scale up to enterprise-level. With values such as transparency and alignment, the SAFe framework places a functional hierarchy over the positional hierarchy so that the company is thought of more so as a team and less so as a ladder. In today's podcast, we sit down with Agilist, Venkat Bagayat, and deep-dive into the SAFe framework, its values, and how they work with PI Planning to bring about an efficient, prosperous and happy workplace.
After graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering, Venkat Bagayat began work on the floor in a production manufacturing industry. However, it wasn't long until he realized that this was not the career he was meant for. On the floor, people were seen as resources rather than people, and Venkat wanted to work in a position where he'd be respected. He switched over to IT in search of that respect, but unfortunately, he did not find it there either. It seemed as if the only people being respected were the ones who held higher positions of authority, so Venkat decided to become the change he wanted to see by leading as a product manager. This way, he could share his ideas, shift the culture of command and control and give a voice to the unheard. This desire to bring respect and a voice to all the members of a team is what fueled Venkat's 22-year experience in software and technology; 12-year experience in Agile mentoring, consulting and training; and his John Maxwell coach verification. He's worked with a spread of clients ranging from start-ups to larger financial companies like JP Morgan, Chase, American Express, Discover and BNY Mellon. We are proud to introduce Venkat Bagayat.
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/theagilecoach/support
When it comes to working on a team of any size, the concept of being a leader is important to understand. In Agile, whether you’re a scrum master, facilitator, teacher or coach, being a leader means more than just managing a team and “doing the work”. Agile leadership is about growth and efficient productivity through personal channels such as self-awareness, humility, active listening, self-organization, flexibility and trust. A leader’s job is to not just solve the problem but to create a fun and open team of confident individuals who are happy to solve those problems alongside you. In today’s podcast, we’re meeting with Agile leader, Joe Ziadeh, and hearing his thoughts on Agile facilitation and true Agile leadership.
With over 25 years of successful Agile experience, Joe Ziadeh definitely lives up to his last name, which roughly translates to "awesome" from its Arabic roots. Starting as a software developer who happened to stumble into Agile during his college years, Joe would go on to work as a coach, teacher and consultant, helping transition startups, healthcare companies and banking companies into the Agile mindset. We're proud to introduce Joe Ziadeh.
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The world we live in is face-paced. When we want something, we tend to want it as soon as possible, with as few delays as possible and with as little resistance as possible. However, when it comes to software development, when more focus is placed on how quickly a process is completed rather than on the people completing those processes, things will inevitably get worse. In a fast-paced world, you have to be willing to invest. When you invest your time and resources into the people you work with and their understanding of the processes that they're being asked to complete, not only will there be an increase in production efficiency, but also in the satisfaction of those who are on your team. In today's podcast, we sit down with Agilist, Mark Shead and explore things such as behavior-driven development, dev-ops, quality assurance testing and how each of these practices can help bring you a great return if you are willing to invest in them.
Mark Shead is the acting president of Xeric Corporation, an operation that "helps organizations increase their return on investment in software development." With over 20 years of software development experience and 10 years working as an Agile coach, Mark has helped a wide gamut of businesses (from start-ups to highly regulated spaces) achieve their shared goal of successfully going Agile. We are proud to introduce Mark Shead.
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