Two Scrums Up Sarah Rose Belok & John Ragozzine, Certified Scrum Masters
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Learn how your team can reach their full potential. Our Agile advice, anecdotes, and research-based practices can be applied to all teams with and without Scrum. Let us help you build equity-minded and people-first, high performing teams.
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Unlocking Flow State on Teams
It’s the Season 2 finale, we’re at the top of the mountain, and Sarah Rose and John are here to show you the view. Accompanied by multidisciplinary designer and founder of /ayd, Charis Alexander, they explore the question of what is really at the heart of driving ourselves and our teams towards more meaningful achievement? Together, they’ll guide you through the ways in which cultivating psychologically safe, equity-minded teams is a precursor to Flow State which, in turn, is the foundation of peak performance. In fact, the entanglement between these concepts is such that one experience may not be possible without the other.
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Referenced this week:
Charis Alexander: https://layd.life/ Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Journal of Leisure Research, 24(1), 93–94.Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Finding flow. New York: Basic.Ghosh, R., Haynes, R. K., & Kram, K. E. (2013). Developmental networks at work: Holding environments for leader development. Career Development International, 18(3), 232-256.MacCurtain, S., Flood, P. C., Ramamoorthy, N., West, M. A., & Dawson, J. F. (2010). The top management team, reflexivity, knowledge sharing and new product performance: A study of the Irish software industry. Creativity and Innovation Management, 19(3), 219-232.MacNeill, N., & Cavanagh, R. (2013). The possible misfit of Csikszentmihalyi’s dimensions of flow in the contemporary roles of school leaders. Management in Education, 27(1), 7-13.Maslow, A. (1965). Self actualization and beyond. Proceedings from the Conference on the Training of Counselors of Adults. Winchester, MA: The New England Board of Higher Education. Moneta, G. B. (2004). The flow experience across cultures. Journal of Happiness Studies, 5, 115–121. Quinn, R. W. (2005). Flow in knowledge work: High performance experience in the design of national security technology. Administrative Science Quarterly, 50(4), 610-641._____
Show Norms
Be transparent about where we're at. Only record show when we're both ready.Tell me where your head is at. This will help us adapt to our moods and tones. Share the mic. Push for equity of voice in recording and editing.Respect each other's privacy. Use 'I'. Avoid broad generalizations.Speak your truth. Stay positive, but honest.Ask WHY. If something's unclear, we push each other to clarify.We make decisions together. Nothing goes live unless we are both happy.We will make mistakes, tell me when so I can learn.______
Do you want to learn more about Scrum? Follow us!
Twitter / Facebook: scrumsup | Instagram: twoscrumsup
Find out more about Alley at https://alley.co -
FeedForward: Feedback Models for Growth
What is the right way to engage in feedback conversations? In this episode, John and Sarah Rose challenge traditional, default modes of feedback, including telling it how it is, blaming, and constructive criticism—all of which are unidirectional and assume one “right” answer. Instead, your intrepid hosts guide you out of the binary realm of one truth and walk you step by step through alternative models that contribute to building a feedback culture for growth.
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Referenced this week:
Exploring the relationship between learning and leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. (Brown & Posner, 2001).Leading adult learning: Supporting adult development in our schools. (Drago-Severson, 2009). How the way we talk can change the way we work: Seven languages for transformation. (Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2001).)Managing diversity at work: Does psychological safety hold the key to racial differences in employee performance? (Singh & Selvarajan, 2013). Situation, Behavior Impact Model (Center for Creative Leadership, 2020)_____
Show Norms
Be transparent about where we're at. Only record show when we're both ready.Tell me where your head is at. This will help us adapt to our moods and tones. Share the mic. Push for equity of voice in recording and editing.Respect each other's privacy. Use 'I'. Avoid broad generalizations.Speak your truth. Stay positive, but honest.Ask WHY. If something's unclear, we push each other to clarify.We make decisions together. Nothing goes live unless we are both happy.We will make mistakes, tell me when so I can learn._____
Do you want to learn more about Scrum? Follow us!
Twitter / Facebook: scrumsup | Instagram: twoscrumsup
Find out more about Alley at https://alley.co -
Powerful Praise and The Pitfalls of Prizes
Beware the default mode of prizes and back-pats lest you drain the power from praise. Trite and nonspecific praise can at best offer minimal value, and at worst create a system of winners and losers. We know it’s common to under-communicate genuinely positive, appreciative, and admiring regard for our coworkers in a powerful way. That's why Sarah Rose and John are jumping into the deep end of the praise pool and focusing this episode on sharing 3 tactical checkpoints to examine, reform, and transform your team’s practice of praise.
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Referenced this week:
Exploring the relationship between learning and leadership. Leadership & Organization Development Journal. (Brown & Posner, 2001).Leading adult learning: Supporting adult development in our schools. (Drago-Severson, 2009). Excerpt from: How the way we talk can change the way we work: Seven languages for transformation. (Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2001).)Managing diversity at work: Does psychological safety hold the key to racial differences in employee performance? (Singh & Selvarajan, 2013). _____
Show Norms
Be transparent about where we're at. Only record show when we're both ready.Tell me where your head is at. This will help us adapt to our moods and tones. Share the mic. Push for equity of voice in recording and editing.Respect each other's privacy. Use 'I'. Avoid broad generalizations.Speak your truth. Stay positive, but honest.Ask WHY. If something's unclear, we push each other to clarify.We make decisions together. Nothing goes live unless we are both happy.We will make mistakes, tell me when so I can learn.____
Do you want to learn more about Scrum? Follow us!
Twitter / Facebook: scrumsup | Instagram: twoscrumsup
Find out more about Alley at https://alley.co -
Team Autonomy: A Necessity, Not Just a Nicety
Scrum teams perform at their best when given the trust to be self-managing, the freedom to decide how their work gets done, and clear goals for the sprint ahead. But what are the limitations on autonomy and what does it look like to protect it in the face of pressure from different stakeholders? In this episode, Sarah Rose and John discuss autonomy’s nemeses—like the micromanager and the illusion of democracy—in order to finally set the record straight: Scrum team members are not order-takers, overtime heroes, or planning poker lobbyists. There are clear ways to support team autonomy and obstacles that can be removed right away IF you know where to look!
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Referenced this week:
Controlling the uncontrollable: ‘Agile’ teams and illusions of autonomy in creative work. (Hodgson & Briand, 2013). Knowledge worker team effectiveness: The role of autonomy, interdependence, team development, and contextual support variables. (Janz, Colquitt, & Noe, 1997).Individual autonomy in work teams: The role of team autonomy, self-efficacy, and social support. (van Mierlo, Rutte, Vermunt, Kompier, & Doorewaard, (2006).Show Norms
Be transparent about where we're at. Only record show when we're both ready.Tell me where your head is at. This will help us adapt to our moods and tones. Share the mic. Push for equity of voice in recording and editing.Respect each other's privacy. Use 'I'. Avoid broad generalizations.Speak your truth. Stay positive, but honest.Ask WHY. If something's unclear, we push each other to clarify.We make decisions together. Nothing goes live unless we are both happy.We will make mistakes, tell me when so I can learn.----
Do you want to learn more about Scrum? Follow us!
Twitter / Facebook: scrumsup | Instagram: twoscrumsup
Find out more about Alley at https://alley.co -
An Equitable Seat at the Scrum Team Table
We could talk about the core Scrum values ‘til the cows come home — Focus, Openness, Commitment, Courage, and Respect! HOWEVER, what does it look like to reflect and act on those core values from the perspective of an ally? Sarah Rose and John share their own experiences as allies and times they wished they had an ally. Through those experiences, they analyze the critical impact of recognizing different voices on a team as a way to make sure no team member remains invisible.
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Referenced this week:
Black Futures [ONE WORLD] (Jenna Wortham & Kimberly Drew, 2020)
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Show Norms
Be transparent about where we're at. Only record show when we're both ready.Tell me where your head is at. This will help us adapt to our moods and tones. Share the mic. Push for equity of voice in recording and editing.Respect each other's privacy. Use 'I'. Avoid broad generalizations.Speak your truth. Stay positive, but honest.Ask WHY. If something's unclear, we push each other to clarify.We make decisions together. Nothing goes live unless we are both happy.We will make mistakes, tell me when so I can learn.
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Do you want to learn more about Scrum? Follow us!
Twitter / Facebook: scrumsup | Instagram: twoscrumsup
Find out more about Alley at https://alley.co -
Protocols: Our Highway to the Comfort, Risk, and Danger Zones
Making the most of collaborative time is challenging. Whether it's designing, brainstorming, planning, or learning, discussion protocols offer structured processes to support focused and productive conversations, build collective understanding, and drive equitable team improvement. In this episode, Sarah Rose and John divulge the secret sauce of protocols and, as a treat, try out a long-time favorite that you can take back to your team: Zones of Comfort, Risk, and Danger!
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Referenced this week:
John's Zones
Sarah Rose's Zones
Protocols:
Zones of Comfort, Risk, and Danger Microlabs for Exploring Equity by Emily White & Linda LantieriOpeners and Other Protocols created and/or adapted by AlleyProtocol Library from the School Reform Initiative----
Show Norms
Be transparent about where we're at. Only record show when we're both ready.Tell me where your head is at. This will help us adapt to our moods and tones. Share the mic. Push for equity of voice in recording and editing.Respect each other's privacy. Use 'I'. Avoid broad generalizations.Speak your truth. Stay positive, but honest.Ask WHY. If something's unclear, we push each other to clarify.We make decisions together. Nothing goes live unless we are both happy.We will make mistakes, tell me when so I can learn.
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Do you want to learn more about Scrum? Follow us!
Twitter / Facebook: scrumsup | Instagram: twoscrumsup
Find out more about Alley at https://alley.co
Customer Reviews
Scrum by real people
I love hearing stories about scrum in practice and the challenges and successes along the way.
Real conversations about Scrum in the remote workplace
Interesting to hear about scrum in the real world, and particularly from a company that is fully remote. There is a lot of insight here. I really enjoyed the episode on sprint retrospectives and look forward to more episodes!
Great scrum and agile info
I love the real world examples of scrum implementation, it really breaks down the finer details of scrum and it’s super insightful