Are you a Manager that believes in the power of Scrum? There is a difference between thinking, believing and knowing. Don't miss out on a huge opportunity to become the next market leader in your space. It's time to understand your role and how it needs to change in order to survive in a creative economy, and it starts by transforming your mindset from Manager to Enabler.
At the turn of the century, I was a proud and young Manager. I had the job title, a 'corner office', people reported to me, and life was good. I was entrusted to manage a lot: people, projects, programs, customers, company strategies and the like. But I could tell that something wasn't right with the world. What was it?
At the time, I couldn't put my finger on it, but the signs were deceivingly clear and compelling. Experience a few pieces of painful evidence from my own 360 feedback around the Y2K period, which looked something like this:
Clear as mud, or clear as crystal? Was I a Manager or an Enabler? What did the organization want me to be?
It took some time for me to fully process and understand this feedback, but I eventually had a breakthrough moment that launched my own professional transformation. If you are a Manager who lives in a bureaucratic and controlling company hierarchy, then you might be receiving similar feedback.
Are you ready for your own breakthrough moment? Is this YOUR time? If so, then consider embarking on a challenging and rewarding personal journey from Manager to Enabler. If you are able to transform from a Manager to an Enabler, then great Agile leadership ability will be attainable for you. You will also be in a position to truly understand the essence of The Scrum Framework for complex product development.
Welcome to the innovation economy - where Enablers allow their organizations to effectively compete and succeed in a turbulent and relentlessly-changing marketplace.
I offer a few introductory questions as a thought provoking tool to evaluate your professional frame of mind. These are just some questions - I invite you to think about the answers for yourself. Write them down on sticky notes and take some time to think about each one. Expand your awareness as you reflect on each of these questions and what they mean to you, your teams, your organization, your customers and your competitors.
This is not a formal assessment tool and you won't receive a chart or graph that explicitly tells you whether you're a Manager or an Enabler. But I assure you that if you invest some time to think about these questions, you'll start to understand where you are now and if a journey from Manager to Enabler is right for you. If you're already an Enabler, then you might be ready for an even more fulfilling journey into great Agile leadership.
As you work through this on your own, read the beginning of this post again and try to answer these questions from the perspective of the young Manager. This will test your sense of empathy, which is a powerful component of great Agile leadership. What were my answers back in Y2K? What do you think my answers are now?
Are you a Manager or an Enabler? Are you helping to Enable the power of Scrum in your organization? Share 'your answer' in the comments section below.
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I really appreciate you taking time to read this post. If you learned something new or were inspired in any way, please consider sharing with your colleagues so we can collectively make a difference in organizations of all shapes and sizes. Scrum On!
I am living my passion by teaching, mentoring and coaching People, Teams and Organizations to high levels of performance in an Agile environment. Want to experience some of my teachings in person? I would be privileged to collaborate with you at one of my upcoming events.
Try some of my recent posts and let me know if they inspire you to bring out the best in Scrum in your organization:
At the turn of the century, I was a proud and young Manager. I had the job title, a 'corner office', people reported to me, and life was good. I was entrusted to manage a lot: people, projects, programs, customers, company strategies and the like. But I could tell that something wasn't right with the world. What was it?
At the time, I couldn't put my finger on it, but the signs were deceivingly clear and compelling. Experience a few pieces of painful evidence from my own 360 feedback around the Y2K period, which looked something like this:
- Subordinate: He is a good Manager and very smart, but he doesn't trust us.
- Superior: He is an extremely hard-working Manager, but needs to improve his ability to "drive the teams and the results" to customers.
- Peer: (blank)
- Self: (???)
Clear as mud, or clear as crystal? Was I a Manager or an Enabler? What did the organization want me to be?
Transforming from Manager to Enabler
It took some time for me to fully process and understand this feedback, but I eventually had a breakthrough moment that launched my own professional transformation. If you are a Manager who lives in a bureaucratic and controlling company hierarchy, then you might be receiving similar feedback.
Are you ready for your own breakthrough moment? Is this YOUR time? If so, then consider embarking on a challenging and rewarding personal journey from Manager to Enabler. If you are able to transform from a Manager to an Enabler, then great Agile leadership ability will be attainable for you. You will also be in a position to truly understand the essence of The Scrum Framework for complex product development.
Welcome to the innovation economy - where Enablers allow their organizations to effectively compete and succeed in a turbulent and relentlessly-changing marketplace.
I offer a few introductory questions as a thought provoking tool to evaluate your professional frame of mind. These are just some questions - I invite you to think about the answers for yourself. Write them down on sticky notes and take some time to think about each one. Expand your awareness as you reflect on each of these questions and what they mean to you, your teams, your organization, your customers and your competitors.
This is not a formal assessment tool and you won't receive a chart or graph that explicitly tells you whether you're a Manager or an Enabler. But I assure you that if you invest some time to think about these questions, you'll start to understand where you are now and if a journey from Manager to Enabler is right for you. If you're already an Enabler, then you might be ready for an even more fulfilling journey into great Agile leadership.
Are you a Manager or an Enabler?
How does it feel to coordinate a large group of people and own the results of their work?
Do you enjoy being the go-to person for the answers? Do you pride yourself on being the source of business and technical knowledge in your company?
If you're a people Manager, what does it feel like to invest in those people? Could their own professional growth and autonomy threaten your position in the company?
What does the concept of self-organization mean to you?
Are these 4 secrets of enablement new or foreign to you?
Does "work" feel like work to you and others in your organization? What would it mean for work to be fun?
Is money the motivator for you and others? If not, what is the motivator for you and others in your organization?
As you work through this on your own, read the beginning of this post again and try to answer these questions from the perspective of the young Manager. This will test your sense of empathy, which is a powerful component of great Agile leadership. What were my answers back in Y2K? What do you think my answers are now?
Are you a Manager or an Enabler? Are you helping to Enable the power of Scrum in your organization? Share 'your answer' in the comments section below.
---------------------------------------
I really appreciate you taking time to read this post. If you learned something new or were inspired in any way, please consider sharing with your colleagues so we can collectively make a difference in organizations of all shapes and sizes. Scrum On!
I am living my passion by teaching, mentoring and coaching People, Teams and Organizations to high levels of performance in an Agile environment. Want to experience some of my teachings in person? I would be privileged to collaborate with you at one of my upcoming events.
Try some of my recent posts and let me know if they inspire you to bring out the best in Scrum in your organization:
- 4 Secrets to Great Agile Leadership
- What Does a Great Team Feel Like?
- The 1 Skill Every Agile Leader Must Learn
- Empathy in the Air
- What Does it Take to Change?
- The Power of Appreciating Others