Agile Professional Development

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore”
—Dorothy

 

At a formal conference in Chicago in 2001, seventeen professionals in the software industry hashed out a new project management method based on their experience with their respective, preferred alternatives. They proceeded to identify four binary juxtapositions, showing a preference for this new approach.

 
Individuals & Interactions over Processes & Tools
Working Software over Comprehensive Documentation
Customer Collaboration over Contract Negotiation
Responding to Change over Following a Plan

Get stuff done with Agile Professional Development

Cross-functional Collaboration

Our cross-functional collaborative facilitation helps break down “silos” and creates a culture of continuous improvement in which employees take ownership of problems and work together to bring about solutions. We help increase teamwork, improve communication between diverse groups of people and increase the chance that positive change sticks.

Photo of a group of young professionals collaborating

Emotional Intelligence

Agile Professional Development provides you with the tools and strategies to help you identify key components of your emotional intelligence (EI) and assist you in formulating and implementing a professional development plan. It is well documented that high IQ does not necessarily translate to high EI.

To get to the next and higher level of competence in business, it’s important to blend intellect and IQ with invaluable competencies of EI. EI helps solve retention and morale problems, improve creativity, create synergy from teamwork, speed information by way of sophisticated people networks, drive purpose and ignite the best and most inspired performances.

Effective Communication Skills

Clear and assertive communication helps you express your thoughts with clarity and validity. It enables you to deal with all types of situations and express your point of view effectively. Our highly interactive, hands-on sprint helps you master all aspects of becoming a better communicator. From establishing rapport and building strong relationships to making an impact and communicating with difficult people in tough situations, Agile Professional Development will give you the confidence to navigate through any situation requiring clear and concise communication in writing or face-to-face.

Managing Change

“Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.”
—John F. Kennedy

Shocking events and surprises are part of daily life. We can access more information in a week than a president two decades ago could access during an entire term in office. And, the exponential pace of change is only accelerating.

Agile Professional development is specifically designed to help reframe issues and understand how to create a plan for change that can adapt to exponential growth. Beyond just identifying the critical steps in the change process, this sprint provides the tools for handling the “speed bumps” in a changing environment and crafting a personal change recipe.

Creative Problem-Solving Skills

Einstein was right. We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. Agile Professional Development takes you to the balcony to reframe virtually any discussion.

Elements of this sprint include:

  • The seven-part problem solving process
  • Root cause analysis
  • Identifying and refining the qualities of a good problem solver
  • Generating and evaluating creative solutions
  • Reframing any discussion
  • Testing and implementing new ideas

Powerful Presentation Skills

Being heard. Being understood. Understanding the difference between “presenting ” and “being present. ” This highly-interactive sprint covers all the bases for putting together and delivering impactful presentations.

Photo of a young black professional presenting in a casual business meeting
Photo of a puppy snarling at another puppy

Dealing With Conflict

Conflict. It‘s an inevitable, and crucial, part of every business. Handled well, the clash of ideas, claims, interests and preferences can be a positive force—exposing the weaknesses of positions and leading to creativity, innovative problem-solving and growth.

Facilitated correctly, it transforms “me against you” into “us against a problem.” Our sprint accentuates the benefits of conflict, where:

  • Hero‘s are born
  • Change is accelerated
  • New strategies evolve
  • Early warning systems develop
  • New competitive edges appear

Sparking Innovation & Creativity

High-speed, demanding lifestyles often leave many people with little time to indulge in creative pursuits. Creativity is an inherent gift that everyone possesses, in some form. Basic problem-solving, critical thinking, language, debate, spontaneity, and a myriad of other elements that make up human consciousness are all connected to creativity. This interactive sprint allows participants to “re-frame” issues and unlock the hidden creative potential in us all.

Photo of a robot parent and child

Managing Multiple Projects

Urgent. Non-urgent. Important. Non-important. This interactive sprint takes the principles of Stephen Covey and “kicks them up.” Beyond just theory, you‘ll go hands-on with numerous tools to help you manage your projects, time and energy more effectively and efficiently.

Managing Multiple Generations

Silents. Boomers. Xer’s. Millennials. Oh, my! And now, Z too?

This sprint closely examines the characteristics and motivators of each generation, including the myths. Knowledge is power and this session paves the way for significant improvement in cross-functional collaboration among multi-generational teams.

The Agile Manifesto

The Agile manifesto has twelve principles:

  1. Our highest priority is to satisfy the customer through early and continuous delivery of valuable software.
  2. Welcome changing requirements, even late in development. Agile processes harness change for the customer’s competitive advantage.
  3. Deliver working software frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, with a preference to the shorter timescale.
  4. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
  5. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need and trust them to get the job done.
  6. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within development team is face-to-face conversation.
  1. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
  2. Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely.
  3. Continuous attention to technical excellence and good design enhances agility.
  4. Simplicity, the art of maximizing the amount of work not done, is essential.
  5. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
  6. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

As this process became enthusiastically embraced in the software development community, it spread far beyond the confines of just “software development.” Organizations of all types and sizes are embracing many, if not all, of the manifesto principles to become more effective and competitive.