It's probably not what you think

Coming back to Corporate America after 9 years of entrepreneurship was a bit of a jolt. I joined a startup that practiced Scrum, but I didn't really understand why we had to get together every morning and provide status. It wasn't until my next job that I began to understand what Agile was about.

Agile pulls all of these elements in a reasonable order, but no one explained it to me at the time.

In this new job, I was asked to pull a team of people together who produced technical and marketing materials for partners of Microsoft and AWS. I convinced the boss to use Jira to keep track of the documents that were being passed from department to department, which increased the accessibility of work in progress. Documents were attached to a Jira ticket that everyone could see, rather than being stuck in someone's email Inbox.

I didn't really know it at the time, but I was acting as a Scrum Product Owner and Scrum Master for that company.

As I had done so many times before, I leveraged that experience into a new type of job: I officially became a Scrum Master for a healthcare company. This time I knew I needed some training, and I sought Agile Certification as proof that I understood how to properly operate a Scrum Team.

I was learning the mechanics of the profession while wrangling multiple teams.

 

That first Scrum Master role really put me into a crucible. I was dealing with 6 different subgroups, each with their own preexisting work, not to mention a dozen hospital marketing teams that were anxious to preserve their own spheres of influence. I was responsible for pulling them all together towards a common goal, and yet I had zero control over whether they would cooperate.

I was not their manager. I was mostly a distraction from their already busy schedules.

That situation was the first time I realized that being an Agile leader meant not having control over the people I had to convince to pay attention to our common goal. Don't get me wrong, during my career I have studiously avoided becoming a manager, so I wasn't asking to become one.

I was somehow going to have to figure out how to get them to cooperate with me.

I can relate to this guy — creative leadership takes some thought.

 

My undergraduate degree was in Education, which meant that my idea of leadership was that we all agreed that I was in charge.

Mmm… nope that wasn't going to work.

I was an entrepreneur for 9 years; I marketed my services and convinced people to partner with me on their outbound business communications (websites, digital products, newsletters, you name it). I closed about 90% of my pre-screened client leads, so I was good at talking people into the "us" of it all.

Mmm… no, that wasn't going to work here either.

I was going to have to lead by influence, not authority.

Challenge accepted.

It's kind of a weird role to have, convincing everyone on the team to respond to and comply with the Agile method of shipping software. They may know that it's the accepted practice, but that doesn't make them thrilled at the prospect. The Developers don't report to you; they have a Lead or an Engineering Manager. The Product Owner doesn't report to you either, they have a similar challenge where they also have to interact and lead by influence.

Leading by influence; that's the skill missing from most Agile practices.

That ability is not taught in Certification classes — I should know, I teach them here. Those classes teach you principles and processes, but not how to wrangle a development team.

Note the headphones. Developers like to be left alone to do their work, and I don't blame them.

 

In addition, most Scrum Masters and Scrum Product Owners operate either by themselves or with maybe one or two others in their company. It can be a lonely job if you don't have others with whom you can share ideas and problem-solve. And if you don't understand how to start leading by influence, it's a very hard job.

So I jumped in at the deep end, making lots of mistakes along the way, but gaining experience with each new assignment. I've become passionate about teaching Agile; not just the mechanics of it but how to lead; how to lead by influence.

To aid my cause, I'm breaking down the skill of leadership by influence into a series of instructive videos on my YouTube channel. I'm explaining all the things I wish I had known when I started my Agile career.

Relationships. Negotiations. Critical Thinking. Conflict Resolution. How to handle a project manager. And more, much more to come.

I'm also reaching out to companies who want help getting their Scrum teams speaking same Agile language. And of course, I'm helping Scrum Masters, Scrum Product Owners, and Developers get their certifications.

Things in the Tech world are really tough right now, and every incremental improvement in how a team operates gives companies a greater chance for success. But it's how you lead them that matters, hence my motto:

My motto: something I've believed since I started my tech career.

 

It took a long time to find my niche in my tech career; somewhere I could lead without having to be a manager. I'm so glad I found it. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

If this article resonated with you, we should talk. There are several ways we can work together, and it starts with a simple conversation. Check my calendar by visiting https://www.TalkToToolie.com to book an appointment, and let's discuss solutions for your exact situation.

In the meantime, visit:

✅ https://www.RSSCorporateAgile.com for corporate consulting and training services
✅ https://www.remotescrumstudy.com for Agile Certifications
✅ https://www.youtube.com/@tooliem for videos on leading by influence