Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches Creating Conditions for Healthy Conflict and Continuous Improvement in Agile Teams | Bernard Agrest
Jul 3, 2025
In this conversation, Bernard Agrest, who leads software implementation at the University of Wisconsin—Madison Medical School, shares insightful strategies for Scrum Masters. He promotes the idea of embracing healthy conflict instead of artificial harmony to foster genuine dialogues within teams. Bernard discusses the '4L's retrospective format' as a powerful tool for understanding team dynamics, emphasizing the importance of self-reflection. He also highlights the need for transparent communication and the role of humor in enhancing team engagement.
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Retrospective Sparks Meeting Change
- Bernard applied the 4L's retrospective to a leadership meeting that had grown unproductive over time.
- This led to changing the meeting's focus to cross-functional alignment on upcoming deadlines, improving collaboration.
4L's Retrospective Benefits
- Use the 4L's retrospective format to explore what the team liked, learned, lacked, and longed for.
- Focus particularly on "longed for" to connect feelings with performance and drive actionable improvements.
Culture Shifts Unlock Issues
- At Teach for America, people avoided raising issues to not be bothersome.
- After culture shifts, people felt safe to raise problems that benefited both themselves and the business.