Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches Vasco Duarte, Agile Coach, Certified Scrum Master, Certified Product Owner

Patty Aluskewicz: Breaking Down Walls, Strategies for Collaborating with an External PO Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
The Great Product Owner: Courage, Empathy and Action, Qualities of Great PO’s In this segment, Patty discusses the qualities of courage, empathy, and active listening that define exceptional POs. How do these traits foster team equality and enhance performance? Gain insights into how a PO can act as a catalyst for team cohesion and why building strong relationships within the team is crucial for success.
The Bad Product Owner: Breaking Down Walls, Strategies for Collaborating with an External PO In this segment, Patty explores the anti-pattern of the Product Owner that is external to the team, and the challenges it presents. How does a PO that sees themselves as external to the team impact team dynamics? Patty discusses her firsthand experience dealing with this common issue and provides practical tips for Scrum Masters aiming to bridge the gap between the team and an externally positioned PO. Learn strategies to enhance involvement and neutralize the us-vs-them mentality.
 
[IMAGE HERE] Are you having trouble helping the team work well with their Product Owner? We’ve put together a course to help you work on the collaboration team-product owner. You can find it at bit.ly/coachyourpo. 18 modules, 8+ hours of modules with tools and techniques that you can use to help teams and PO’s collaborate.
 
About Patty Aluskewicz
Patty Aluskewicz is an Agile Coach for PwC and the founder of Agile Mindset Consulting. With over 15 years of experience, she assists businesses and their employees in building fundamental Agile and Scrum skills, improving team dynamics and communication, and successfully implementing organizational change.
You can link with Patty Aluskewicz on LinkedIn.

Patty Aluskewicz: How Consistency Helps Building Trust as a Scrum Master Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
What does it mean to truly walk the walk of a Scrum Master? Patty shares her insights into the core qualities of a successful Scrum Master, from mindfulness to consistency in action. And how Scrum Masters can cultivate trust and demonstrate their reliability to their teams. Discover Patty's personal strategies for self-reflection, managing stress, and fostering team achievement.
Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: The Sailboat Retrospective Patty chooses the Sailboat Retrospective as a favourite retro format. This is a dynamic tool for teams seeking to reflect and identify paths for improvement. Explore how this simple yet powerful visual metaphor can help teams navigate through their agile journey, focusing on both their anchors and winds—what holds them back and what propels them forward.
 
[IMAGE HERE] Retrospectives, planning sessions, vision workshops, we are continuously helping teams learn about how to collaborate in practice! In this Actionable Agile Tools book, Jeff Campbell shares some of the tools he’s learned over a decade of coaching Agile Teams. The pragmatic coaching book you need, right now! Buy Actionable Agile Tools on Amazon, or directly from the author, and supercharge your facilitation toolbox! 
 
About Patty Aluskewicz
Patty Aluskewicz is an Agile Coach for PwC and the founder of Agile Mindset Consulting. With over 15 years of experience, she assists businesses and their employees in building fundamental Agile and Scrum skills, improving team dynamics and communication, and successfully implementing organizational change.
You can link with Patty Aluskewicz on LinkedIn.

Patty Aluskewicz: The Listening Tour, Listening, Leading, and Learning to Inspire Change Adoption Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, we address some of the essentials of change management. Patty shares her approach to fostering open communication and trust among teams. What does it really take to lead change effectively? Patty shares her experiences from a "listening tour" where discovering pain points led to transformative solutions. How can understanding diverse perspectives within a team lead to better problem-solving? Learn about the strategies Patty employed to encourage teams to identify and tackle their biggest challenges together.
 
[IMAGE HERE] As Scrum Master we work with change continuously! Do you have your own change framework that provides the guidance, and queues you need when working with change? The Lean Change Management framework is a fully defined, lean-startup inspired change framework that can be used as the backbone of any change process! You can buy Lean Change Management the book at Amazon. Also available in French, Spanish, German and Portuguese.
 
About Patty Aluskewicz
Patty Aluskewicz is an Agile Coach for PwC and the founder of Agile Mindset Consulting. With over 15 years of experience, she assists businesses and their employees in building fundamental Agile and Scrum skills, improving team dynamics and communication, and successfully implementing organizational change.
You can link with Patty Aluskewicz on LinkedIn.

Patty Aluskewicz: Beyond the Blame Game, A Simple Technique That Transformed A Team Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
Have you ever wondered why some teams succeed while others stumble? Patty shares a compelling story of a team entrenched in blame and how she guided them towards accountability and success. What happens when a product's failure turns into a blame game? Explore how Patty used a simple flowchart to transform team interactions and process understanding, turning a negative environment into a collaborative success story.
Featured Book of the Week: A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink In this episode, Patty discusses how Daniel H. Pink's "A Whole New Mind" ignited a spark that drove her to action. What makes creative problem-solving an essential skill in today's world? Patty reflects on the transformative power of switching to focus on creativity over memorization and how the book inspired her to step into a coaching role. Patty also shares her key takeaways from another of Pink's works, "The Power of Regret”. Learn about how understanding your deepest regrets can guide personal and professional growth. How can regrets propel us towards more courageous decisions?
 
[IMAGE HERE] Do you wish you had decades of experience? Learn from the Best Scrum Masters In The World, Today! The Tips from the Trenches - Scrum Master edition audiobook includes hours of audio interviews with SM’s that have decades of experience: from Mike Cohn to Linda Rising, Christopher Avery, and many more. Super-experienced Scrum Masters share their hard-earned lessons with you. Learn those today, make your teams awesome!  
 
About Patty Aluskewicz
Patty Aluskewicz is an Agile Coach for PwC and the founder of Agile Mindset Consulting. With over 15 years of experience, she assists businesses and their employees in building fundamental Agile and Scrum skills, improving team dynamics and communication, and successfully implementing organizational change.
You can link with Patty Aluskewicz on LinkedIn.

Patty Aluskewicz: The Leap of Faith, How Business Coaching Redefined A Career Path Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
Have you ever felt stuck in the monotony of a job, simply "punching the clock"? This episode follows Patty's journey from a traditional classroom teacher to an innovative business owner and coach. Witness how a simple decision to leave the education sector led Patty to explore the realms of entrepreneurship and personal growth. What triggers someone to leave a stable job and venture into the uncertain world of business? How did embracing coaching transform Patty's approach to work and life? Dive into her story of transformation, the trials of building a business from scratch, and the invaluable lessons learned from hiring a business coach.
 
[IMAGE HERE] Recovering from failure, or difficult moments is a critical skill for Scrum Masters. Not only because of us, but also because the teams, and stakeholders we work with will also face these moments! We need inspiring stories to help them, and ourselves! The Bungsu Story, is an inspiring story by Marcus Hammarberg which shows how a Coach can help organizations recover even from the most disastrous situations! Learn how Marcus helped The Bungsu, a hospital in Indonesia, recover from near-bankruptcy, twice! Using Lean and Agile methods to rebuild an organization and a team! An inspiring story you need to know about! Buy the book on Amazon: The Bungsu Story - How Lean and Kanban Saved a Small Hospital in Indonesia. Twice. and Can Help You Reshape Work in Your Company.
 
About Patty Aluskewicz
Patty Aluskewicz is an Agile Coach for PwC and the founder of Agile Mindset Consulting. With over 15 years of experience, she assists businesses and their employees in building fundamental Agile and Scrum skills, improving team dynamics and communication, and successfully implementing organizational change.
You can link with Patty Aluskewicz on LinkedIn.

BONUS: Transitioning from Non-Tech to Tech Roles with Mariana Trigo, A Guide For Scrum Masters, and Agile Coaches Read the full Show Notes and search through the world’s largest audio library on Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.
In this episode, Mariana Trigo, a pioneer in assisting professionals transition from non-tech to tech roles, shares stories about transitioning from non-tech to tech jobs.
Starting the Transition "It’s all about realizing that your career is not moving forward and finding out what will work for you in the tech industry."
Mariana began her journey in the tech world in 2021, identifying a significant demand for professionals seeking to pivot their careers into technology. She observed that despite having good jobs, many were dissatisfied and felt their careers stagnated. This led her to found Tekya, a company dedicated to aiding professionals in moving to tech without a coding background and leveraging their careers to build their dream life.
"Conquering the mindset that you can perform even if you are not tech-savvy is the first step towards building a career that truly gives you the life you want."
One of the first hurdles Mariana noticed was the limiting beliefs held by individuals. Many feel inadequate and struggle to convince hiring managers of their worth due to a lack of tech-specific skills.
Essential Skills for Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches "Hire for character, train for skills. Focus on small improvements to continually develop both yourself and your teams."
Mariana stresses the importance of soft skills such as communication, conflict resolution, and servant leadership. These skills are pivotal for anyone aspiring to roles like Scrum Master or Agile Coach.
"Understanding and mastering the hard skills of your chosen tech role will not only improve your confidence but also build trust with your team."
Hard skills are equally crucial, with Mariana emphasizing the need to understand the Scrum framework, Agile methodologies, organization, metrics, and engineering best practices. She also mentions the importance of becoming familiar with the tech vocabulary specific to each company.
For learning these essential skills, Mariana suggests starting with understanding the day-to-day routine of a Scrum Master or Agile Coach. She recommends finding courses that cover both soft and hard skills necessary for these roles.
"Changing your mindset is crucial. Be prepared to invest time and some money into structured learning paths like those offered by Tekya."
Building a Professional Identity "Showcase how your past experiences have prepared you to add value in the tech industry."
Mariana advises starting immediately to tailor your LinkedIn profile and other professional materials to reflect your new career path, emphasizing past experiences and how they relate to your future in tech.
"The support from a professional community can be the most comforting part of your transition journey."
Networking is vital in the tech industry. Mariana encourages speaking with those already in the role and participating in communities like Tekya to find mentors and expand your professional circle.
"Understand the mission of the company and align it with your values to increase your chances of getting hired."
When it comes time to apply for jobs, Mariana recommends focusing on companies whose mission and products you are passionate about. Ensuring your LinkedIn profile and cover letters are top-notch will help you stand out.
Further Learning and Resources "Real stories from real people can provide the motivation and roadmap for your own career transition."
For those eager to learn more about this employment transition, Mariana suggests listening to success stories from individuals who have successfully made the transition.
About Mariana Trigo Mariana Trigo's professional journey began in