Disagreement means learning

Listen and Disagree

It is invigorating to have back and forth between fellow agile professionals.  It represents the give and take of knowledge between people.  People inevitability disagree about subjects, and the practice of Agile is no different this week I would like to talk about disagreement.

One of the more interesting books about leadership is “Team of Rivals,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  The central thesis of this book was that President Lincoln had a unique leadership style where he relied on the opinions of political rivals in this cabinet to help him better manage the events of the American Civil War.  Having a room full of devil’s advocates made Lincoln a better leader.  Numerous other articles and books have also surfaced which emphasized that diversity of opinion and perspective is necessary for success and innovation.

Lately, my blog posts and discussion on the Google plus agile community are being challenged by coach from Europe.  Some people would recoil from this kind of push back; I do not.  This individual has credentials and plenty of experience in the field so while I may disagree with his opinion; I respect his perspective.  I am a firm believer in disagreeing with people without being disagreeable.

My approach to Agile and Scrum centers around the Agile Manifesto and Agile Principles.  The Scrum Alliance gave me formal training as a Scrum Master.  Finally, I have spent nearly four years in the role of a scrum master shipping software with domestic and offshore development teams.  I have seen some things and done some stuff.  My experience colors my agile knowledge and opinions.

The product owner has the hardest job in the scrum.  The Scrum Master is a Coach, Therapist, and often the bad cop which keeps things moving forward.  Finally, the development team generate shippable code each day and are the unsung heroes of the process.  I live this experience every day and hope each of you who read this blog gain from my knowledge.

Disagreement is healthy, and if you are not willing to consider other opinions and activities, you are not going to grow as Scrum Master.   Listen to others who you disagree with; you never know what you might learn.

Until next time.