Dan Mezick is a management consultant, author & keynote speaker. His work includes The Culture Game, a book based on five years of experience coaching 119 Agile teams across 25 different organizations. He is also the cultivator of Open Space Agile Adoption.
This interview is a continuation of Part I
Notes from Interview
After Open Space
Proceedings are the beginning
Adoption is learning through experimentation, inspected at next open space
Stuart Kauffman, Santa Fe Institute — The Adjacent Possible (http://edge.org/conversation/the-adjacent-possible)
Coaching Change
Coaching + experimentation => learning can take place
Experiments make a space for learning
Cannot inflict help
Power of Invitation
Pull out of comfort zone rather than push through invitation
Frame it like a party
Let the teams pull changes instead of pushing on them
Play
A lot of work is really serious play
The opposite of work is not play
Solving problems doesn’t have to be heavy process
Open to Failure
Games dissolve tension, make room for love
We like to fail fast, but are uncomfortable with vulnerability
Mandated collaboration is ultimate oxymoron
Unwilling Participants
Reduce commitment by 1/2 until they willing to try
Create opportunities to try, not mandated
Disengagement Epidemic — Pushing Mindset
We pull work in Agile, but routinely push agile without teams consent
Most people unhappy/disengaged with work
Engagement is associated with a sense of control and belonging
Improving Velocity
Great work possible for any team
Make the team the genius instead of hiring geniuses
Genius Teams — McCarthy Project (http://www.mccarthyshow.com/aboutus/)
Interpersonal Equity
Substantial asset to team productivity
Energy is created in group from history of the group
Creates lasting friendships, strong networks
Dependency, Autonomy and Mastery
Consulting versus Coaching
Explicit boundaries needed
