Observation created about 6 years agohttps://lessonly.slack.com/archives/C8UPX4UPM/p1571263756008600
This note starts with a dose of awesomeness with a call out to the momentum. Therefore bringing brightness to the room, while about to have a semi-difficult conversation.
I really appreciated the fact that the following message made me feel unworried, because I believe there are clear indications the squad has their eye on the ball with statements like; "slowed down by two back-end blocker stories... merge conflicts". Talk about delivery operational awareness!
Reflection without a gameplan for change is often pointless. So I was thrilled to read things like; "if we can get those into review tomorrow morning and be proactive about seeking reviewers". This shows a plan and how the plan differs from what we might have been doing.
Then with statements like this; "I think we can have all of Epic 1 done by end-of-week and start testing with customers on Monday. @adam, I'm sure you're eager for this, so I'll keep you posted on our progress tomorrow."
... it exudes a quote I love, which is
Keep the most important thing, the most important thing.
In this case, the most important thing is getting working software in the hands of our customers so that we can keep the learning going strong! This reminds me of a Jeff Gothelf quote
Keep measuring and learning even after you ship.
... it’s all discovery and we learn from everything we make; be it a paper prototype, or the next feature in your production software. I agree with him.
🙌🏾
This is a great example of us calling out when we are behind, when we are ahead, and when we are on pace, and what is the most important thing for us. Delivery management = operational awareness = self and squad accountability = excellence.
I think overall the squad was a little behind their goals at the time of writing this. I'd love to see us lean into that difficult conversation a bit and express the psychological safety and clarity that comes with simply stating it plainly. The goal isn't perfection, the goal is alignment, togetherness, and communicating reality so that we as a tribe can react, learn, and grow from the highs and lows of our journey.
It ended in such an inspirational way that I'll end this with that same sentiment:
Let's keep up the momentum, and keep helping each other out tomorrow! :fire: