Today, we feature the most impactful, thought-provoking, and actionable tips from our conversation with Joe Ziadeh, the Chief Story Teller and Innovation Artist at Balanced Agility. He shares how to facilitate team retrospectives by creating trust within the team first and using games and improv to actually brainstorm. These games can be used to overcome power plays in a team and create a space where it is safe to address problems and find solutions for them. Get to know Joe and what he’s up...

What roles does the product manager actually take in the company? Neha believes that, more than the job description, product managers play a huge role in enabling teams in overall processes even if we don't see it directly. In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek and Neha dive deep into the skills that are unnecessary and those that are important in order to become an effective product manager. AGILE HIGHLIGHTS Neha's transition from medical school to product manager Core skillsets...

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach! We have a special episode for you today as we bring back some of the best moments of our amazing guest, Parth Detroja, Product Manager at Facebook and author of Swipe to Unlock. Tune in for some of the best insights and highlights in our previous interview with Parth! HIGHLIGHTS Can people become product managers without going to college? Being a product manager and the tradeoffs you should make Why Facebook bought a VR company “Showing...

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Pabitra talks about assessing Agile teams in the sense of a Japanese martial arts concept which is the Su Ha Ri. She dives deep into each of the three stages, how scrum masters can work most effectively in each stage, and how you can also assess yourself and identify which stage you're in. AGILE HIGHLIGHTS Exploring the stages of Su Ha Ri Su is the beginning stage where the student follows one master Ha is where the student begins to branch out Ri is...

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach! We have a special episode for you today as we bring some of the best moments of our amazing guest, Diana Larsen, President and Leadership Agility Advisor at Eos House Consulting and author of Agile Retrospectives. Tune in for some of the most notable highlights and learning points in our previous interview with Diana! HIGHLIGHTS The creation of the book Agile Retrospectives and its core points How you should use gathered data for learning...

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Pabitra continues the talk about identifying the anti-patterns for the different roles in a scrum team. This time, she discusses specifically about common anti-patterns of a scrum master. Tune in to find out and avoid these anti-patterns early on in your journey as a scrum master or improve if you've already been one for a long time. AGILE HIGHLIGHTS The critical role of the scrum master Anti-Pattern #1: Scrum master acting like a project...

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach! We have a special episode for you today as we bring some of the best moments of our amazing guest, Adam Miner, Founder of Miner Legacy Group and Agile Coach at Huntington National Bank. Tune in for some valuable nuggets of insight and information in our past two interviews with Adam! HIGHLIGHTS Adam relates the importance of communication in sports and the corporate world Moving around impediments as a Scrum Master Building relationships...

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Pabitra talks about identifying the anti-patterns for the different roles in a scrum team. She dives deep into the usual anti-patterns observed for anyone in a product owner role so you can identify these and get rid of them as early as you can. Tune in to find out the common signs of these anti-patterns and the most effective solutions you can apply. AGILE HIGHLIGHTS The primary roles of a product owner Common anti-patterns for the product owner...

A TEAM THAT GROWS TOGETHER, STAYS TOGETHER In this special episode of The Agile Coach, Pabitra goes solo to discuss the 5 stages of team development. As a scrum master, it is very important to be intact with your team and Pabitra is here to help you. Tune in to find out which stage is most crucial, and how you can get more ideas and feedback from your team. AGILE HIGHLIGHTS The 5 Stages Of Teams The Forming Stage The Storming Stage The Norming Stage The Performing Stage The Adjourning...

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach, and today will be special, as we will be bringing you some of the best moments of our guest, Matthew Philip, Senior Director, Agile Coaching and Kaizen Lead at Pfizer. Tune in and find out what’s the best moment in our interview with Matt, and watch out for more highlights in the coming episodes. HIGHLIGHTS Measuring outcome vs output You can build, but think if it's the right thing to build Remember that the features are still just a...

Welcome to another episode of The Agile Coach, and today we are back with Laurin Lukas Stahl, as he and Vivek continue to discuss more details about product management, what it’s like to onboard as a new PM, understanding product market fit, and the importance of making mistakes and making it a learning opportunity. HIGHLIGHTS On-boarding as a product manager Getting the product strategy across Understanding what product market fit is It's always a learning opportunity Minimum Viable vs....

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A CAREER IN PRODUCT MANAGEMENT? Then this is the episode for you! Learn what is a product manager and his/her role in the business as a whole, the ins and outs of this job in terms of day-to-day tasks, and its dynamics with the product management team. Today we have Laurin Lukas Stahl on board. Laurin is the Head of Product at Trality and is a great source of insight into product management. Meet Laurin and learn more from him in this latest episode of The Agile Coach....

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek and Pabitra will go in-depth with explaining the difference between a Sprint Review and a Sprint Retrospective. Pabitra will be spilling all the juicy details from the definition, to how each of these two activities is executed. HIGHLIGHTS What is a Sprint review Observed patterns The need for databases What is a Sprint Retrospective Make the retrospective fun It's not a blame game QUOTES Pabitra - Defining a Sprint Review: “Sprint Review really...

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PLAN. Vivek and Pabitra will be sitting down today to discuss the ins and outs of sprint planning. Tune in and learn how sprint planning is done, what challenges you may face and the best methods to use straight from our hosts, only here in the latest episode of The Agile Coach. HIGHLIGHTS The art of sprint planning The definition of ready Autonomy defines the team's capacity The purpose of backlog refinement The best method of conducting a standup QUOTES Pabitra -...

Lynnea is back for another round in The Agile Coach. In this episode, Lynnea will be talking about Radical Self Awareness, where she and Vivek will be touching on The Drama Triangle, its roles, and how it is observed. Tune in and learn more about how this awareness can be used in your daily role. Haven’t checked Part 1 with Lynnea Brumbaugh yet? Don’t miss Episode 58: CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP: What It Is, What It Does, How It’s Done, With Lynnea Brumbaugh (Part 1) HIGHLIGHTS Lynnea Brumbaugh...

Last week we talked about minding emotions as a leader, this week, we will be talking about conscious leadership. And there’s no better way to do this than having Lynnea Brumbaugh in this latest episode of The Agile Coach. Lynnea is the CEO of Quantum Empowerment Academy, dedicated to its advocacy of transformational leadership. Tune in to Lynnea and Vivek as they unpack what conscious leadership is and how it helps leaders improve. HIGHLIGHTS Introducing Lynnea Brumbaugh What is conscious...

There’s a misconception that the tech world is not a place for emotions, but Sagar Satyal completely disagrees. For Sagar, emotional intelligence is a key factor in communication and is very very vital. Join Vivek as he welcomes Sagar, and they will be talking about the ins and outs of emotional intelligence factoring in the NVC framework, only here in the latest episode of The Agile Coach. HIGHLIGHTS Introducing Sagar Satyal Importance of psychological safety Empathy and...

You gotta learn a little bit of everything. These are the best words from Sangya Gyawali, Head of Product at Flextock. Sangya has a mix of business analytics and entrepreneurial background and will be sharing with Vivek and the audience her background, what it takes to be in her role, and how she deals with challenges in her daily routine. HIGHLIGHTS Sangya Gyawali: Business Analyst & Entrepreneur Being a business analyst in banking The day-to-day routine Challenges in...

Dilip, author and now the Founder, CEO, and Chief Product Therapist of Nimi is back in the pod with Vivek. This time around Dilip will go deep with Vivek as he shares his personal journey, his dream to work in America, and the challenges he had to go through to get where he is now. The two will also be exchanging their personal experiences in moving to America and their humble beginnings. HIGHLIGHTS Dilip's background The 3 phases of Dilip's career Aspirations can hold you back There are...

It’s ANU day, ANU episode, and in this latest edition of The Agile Coach, Vivek Khattri welcomes Anu Jayasinghe. Anu is the Design Lead at Publicis Sapient. Formerly a UX Designer at IBM, Anu would be a great resource of UX design insights and he will be sharing big chunks of it here, in The Agile Coach. HIGHLIGHTS How Anu get into UX Finding the first job Anu's first experience with agile The UI-UX difference Current projects and challenges How to start with UX design What sets a designer...

Joe Ziadeh is back in another value-packed episode of The Agile Coach with Vivek Khattri. Vivek and Joe will be diving into the art of estimation and will be exploring a lot of interesting bits and pieces today such as what is estimation, why do it, the right approach to estimate, amazing story points, and when teams should estimate. Tune in and learn more about estimation now. HIGHLIGHTS The what and why of estimation Probabilistic vs. Deterministic approach Dissecting story...

Dilip Ramachandran took the uphill journey to become a product manager, learned as much as he can, and now has reached the level he has wanted to achieve. Dilip is an author and now the Founder, CEO, and Chief Product Therapist of Nimi. Vivek and Dilip will be talking about his journey and the valuable lessons he learned along the way, only here in The Agile Coach. HIGHLIGHTS Dilip's Professional Story The Uphill Journey To Product Management The Love Of Product Building The Learning Curve...

It’s Round 2 in this latest episode of the Agile Coach, as Vivek Khattri once again welcomes Michelle Pauk, the Director for Agile Coaching and Kaizen Facilitation at Pfizer. Michelle will be sharing her views on resistance to change and how it affects Agile Transformation, her views on maintaining psychological safety, and the SCARF Model. HIGHLIGHTS Resistance to change in leadership and teams Michelle on Psychological Safety The More Humane Way of Applying Agile Giving a good experience...

Many people hesitate in getting into the Agile, Scrum, or Product Ownership career simply because they don’t have a background in tech or they come from a different industry. In this episode of The Agile Coach, Kevin King, a Sr. Product Owner for Data Analytics/Integration at Charter Communications will be sharing his story and prove that is not the case. Kevin hailed from a Sales career before getting into Agile and Product Ownership, which led him today to his very fulfilling career. Learn...

In this latest episode of the Agile Coach, Vivek Khattri welcomes Michelle Pauk, the Director for Agile Coaching and Kaizen Facilitation at Pfizer. Michelle will be sharing her unlikely entry to the world of tech and her personal experience from her humble beginnings in Agile and Scrum, to the mindset shift of anticipating risks, to the struggles of being a new Scrum Master. HIGHLIGHTS The start of Michelle's tech career Getting into Agile and Scrum Mindset shift of anticipation Struggles...