Product Confidential: The reality of PM life! 034 | The Essence of True Agility with Johanna Rothman
Is Your Team Truly Agile or Just Faking It?
In this energising episode, Evie Brockwell and Michael Palmer sits down with renowned author and consultant Johanna Rothman to unpack what real agility looks like in project management.
They dive into the tell-tale signs of "fake agile," why collaboration beats rigid frameworks every time, and how feedback loops can supercharge your team’s effectiveness.
Johanna brings her trademark clarity and practical wisdom, offering up actionable strategies for building self-organising teams that still deliver on big-picture goals. If you're tired of buzzwords and ready for meaningful agility, this one’s for you.
Chapters
00:00 Understanding Fake Agility
07:18 The Essence of True Agility
10:57 Balancing Team Autonomy and Organizational Direction
20:37 The Importance of Feedback Loops
35:36 Strategies for Overcoming Resource Challenges
Book: https://www.jrothman.com/books/project-lifecycles-how-to-reduce-risks-release-successful-products-and-increase-agility/
More of Johanna's work:
- https://www.jrothman.com/mpd/2019/04/product-roles-part-1-product-managers-product-owners-business-analysts/
- https://www.jrothman.com/mpd/2017/09/alternatives-for-agile-and-lean-roadmapping-part-5-the-product-value-team/
- https://www.jrothman.com/mpd/2023/09/integrate-product-owners-into-many-teams-to-create-good-product-goals-part-3/
- https://www.jrothman.com/mpd/2023/09/how-scrum-masters-use-facilitative-leadership-especially-when-planning-part-4/
- https://www.jrothman.com/mpd/2017/08/alternatives-for-agile-and-lean-roadmapping-part-1-think-in-feature-sets/
Follow Johanna Rothman on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johannarothman/
And don’t miss the chance to see Evie, one of your Product Confidential hosts, speak at an upcoming event! Get your tickets now and use the code productconfidential20 to score a 20% discount. Grab yours before they sell out!
Link to the event: https://ti.to/sequel-media/product-led-summit-amsterdam-2025/discount/productconfidential20