Agile Coaches' Corner Agile Psychology and Rise of the Agile Jedi with Quincy Jordan
In today’s episode, Dan Neumann is once again joined by his colleague, Quincy Jordan! Quincy is a Principal Transformation Consultant and Agile Competency Lead who has been with AgileThought for just over two years. Prior to AgileThought, Quincy was the transformation lead for Pivotal’s Atlanta office, where he consulted with clients to help them reach enterprise scale. Quincy also served as a principal consultant and agile coach at SCRUMstudy.com for over six years.
Today, they’re talking agile psychology and the rise of the agile Jedi. They go beyond the general skills and practices of agile to the key mindset pieces and various ways of thinking. Similar to a Jedi, agilists need to also go on a journey of mastery to improve all aspects of their skills. So tune in to find out more about agile psychology and begin on your path to becoming an agile Jedi!
Key Takeaways
What is agile psychology?
Being more in tune with how things are impacting the teams
From a human standpoint, you’ll have an easier time getting teams to perform better
Understanding people better and then understanding how to use that information effectively
Evaluating things like reading the room and reading microexpressions — and not only picking up on them but knowing what to do with that information
What does it mean to be an agile Jedi?
It is a play on Star Wars — Jedi is a master of certain skills, so in reference to agility, it is referring to going beyond agile coaching to a true mastery of agile psychology and understanding how you influence vs. manipulate, etc.
It’s about mastering the soft skills, reading microexpressions, seeing microaggressions, etc.
Quincy’s tips for coaches and project managers:
It’s important to ask yourself if the project was truly successful (i.e. it’s not always just about getting the result — ask yourself, ‘Are you contributing to a sustainable model?’ or ‘Is this a sustainable business model that goes toward business agility?’)
As a coach, it is important to teach behaviors and skills rather than a shift in mind-shift
Bad practice: project managers that are more concerned about if the process was followed rather than if the outcome was achieved
It’s important to understand that the individuals on your team understand the psyche of the role they’re assigned in an agile framework (i.e. you can’t just spray paint a lime orange and call it an orange!)
When you’re moving someone from one role to another during an agile transformation it is important to take psychology into consideration
It’s important to consider the ‘why’ behind the Agile Manifesto
Agile coaching vs. Agile psychology:
A key difference: getting into the experience that those that you’re influencing are having i.e. influence vs. manipulation
The difference between influence vs. manipulation is the intent
If you’re operating in agile psychology, you want to influence, not manipulate
Helpful tools, tips, and skills around building agile psychology:
Active listening training can be helpful in helping you to empathize with the person you’re listening to and forcing you to put your own thoughts aside and genuinely listen — critical thinking is also crucial
Micro-expressions and negotiation training is beneficial in learning how to read others (the agile psychology part comes in when you learn what to do with this information)
If you can empathize with someone it puts you in a better position to help them in shifting their thinking that is more beneficial for the whole
Mentioned in this Episode:
The Dave Ramsey Show (Podcast)
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