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Kelley O'Connell

Agile frameworks have become a dominant way of working because of their proven success in delivering value and fostering engaged, robust teams. As remote work becomes increasingly common, the challenges of managing distributed teams also grow. Agile leadership provides a flexible, collaborative framework for overcoming these challenges and driving team success. This short course is divided into three parts, each focusing on a key aspect of agile leadership in the context of distributed teams. Within each part, we delve into three specific topics to provide participants with actionable strategies and insights.

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Agile frameworks have become a dominant way of working because of their proven success in delivering value and fostering engaged, robust teams. As remote work becomes increasingly common, the challenges of managing distributed teams also grow. Agile leadership provides a flexible, collaborative framework for overcoming these challenges and driving team success. This short course is divided into three parts, each focusing on a key aspect of agile leadership in the context of distributed teams. Within each part, we delve into three specific topics to provide participants with actionable strategies and insights.

This program is for professionals across industries interested in Agile leadership techniques for distributed teams. It offers practical strategies for optimizing collaboration in the digital age, empowering participants to drive performance and innovation within their teams.

Participants should have basic computer skills, familiarity with business software and online navigation, and openness to new ideas. These foundational elements enable the implementation of Agile leadership techniques in distributed teams, fostering innovation and growth.

After completing this course, learners will be equipped to articulate the key concepts and principles of Agile leadership, enabling them to effectively employ agile practices to enhance team dynamics and productivity within distributed settings. They will develop the ability to recognize and address common challenges facing distributed agile teams both presently and in the evolving landscape, empowering them to navigate future complexities with confidence and foresight.

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What's inside

Syllabus

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Read about what's good
what should give you pause
and possible dealbreakers
Provides strategies for fostering collaboration in remote work, which is increasingly common in many industries
Focuses on key aspects of agile leadership, including drivers for value and robust team dynamics
Offers practical strategies for enhancing team performance and innovation
Provides insights and strategies for overcoming challenges in managing distributed teams
Requires basic computer and software skills, which are common among professionals
Does not provide hands-on practice or opportunities to implement the techniques taught

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Reviews summary

Agile leadership for distributed teams

According to students, this course offers highly practical and immediately applicable strategies for effective Agile leadership within distributed and remote teams. Many learners found the content to be well-structured and easy to follow, with bite-sized modules that fit busy schedules. The instructor's clear explanations and focus on aspects like psychological safety and communication are frequently highlighted as strengths. While the course provides a solid foundational understanding, some more experienced agile practitioners note it might be too basic, suggesting it's ideal for those seeking practical application rather than advanced theoretical depth.
Well-structured content delivered by a clear and engaging instructor.
"The instructor's approach was practical and easy to follow."
"Absolutely brilliant! The concepts were explained clearly, and the bite-sized modules made it easy to consume even with a busy schedule."
"I particularly appreciated the focus on communication strategies and the instructor's engaging style."
Provides actionable techniques for real-world distributed team challenges.
"I found the strategies for improving communication and collaboration in distributed teams to be immediately applicable."
"Practical and actionable! I learned a lot about fostering psychological safety and building trust in remote settings. The course provided concrete steps..."
"The practical exercises and case studies were incredibly useful. I've already started implementing some of the techniques."
Some found content generic or tools outdated, particularly if advanced.
"Some of the content felt a bit generic and not specific enough to distributed teams... a few of the recommended tools seemed a bit outdated."
"I was looking for more advanced techniques and deeper dives into specific tools or challenges. It felt a bit superficial for my needs as an experienced agile coach."
"Expected more depth. It's a good intro, but if you already know agile, it might be repetitive."
Strong for beginners, but may lack depth for experienced agile practitioners.
"For someone already experienced in agile, some parts might feel like a refresher, but the specific distributed team insights are valuable."
"I was looking for more advanced techniques and deeper dives into specific tools or challenges. It felt a bit superficial for my needs..."
"Waste of time. I already knew all of this from basic agile training. There was nothing new about distributed teams."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Agile Leadership for Distributed Teams with these activities:
Review Agile terminology
Review some of the common words, terms, and phrases associated with Agile software development.
Browse courses on Agile Frameworks
Show steps
  • Compile a list of Agile-related terms
  • Review definitions and explanations
  • Practice using the terms in context
Review 'Agile Management for Software Engineering'
This book provides a comprehensive overview of agile principles and practices, specifically in the context of software engineering. Reviewing it beforehand will help you build a solid foundation for the course.
Show steps
  • Read the introduction and first three chapters.
  • Summarize the key concepts and principles of agile management.
  • Identify the benefits and challenges of using agile in software development.
Form a Study Group for Agile Leadership
Collaborating with peers in a study group will provide opportunities for discussion, knowledge sharing, and mutual support, which can enhance your learning experience.
Browse courses on Agile Leadership
Show steps
  • Identify a group of peers who are also taking the course.
  • Set up regular meetings to discuss course material, share insights, and work on assignments together.
  • Take turns leading discussions and presenting on specific topics.
Eight other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all 11 activities
Follow a tutorial on Scrum
Learn the basics of Scrum, one of the most popular Agile frameworks.
Browse courses on Scrum
Show steps
  • Find a reputable tutorial on Scrum
  • Follow the tutorial step-by-step
  • Try out Scrum in a practical setting
Practice Agile Estimation Techniques
Regular practice of agile estimation techniques will enhance your ability to estimate project scope and timelines accurately, which is a critical skill for agile leaders.
Browse courses on Agile Estimation
Show steps
  • Familiarize yourself with different agile estimation techniques.
  • Participate in online estimation exercises or simulations.
  • Estimate the size and complexity of user stories or tasks.
Attend an Agile Leadership Workshop
Participating in an agile leadership workshop will allow you to engage with experts and practitioners, gain hands-on experience, and deepen your understanding of the course material.
Browse courses on Agile Leadership
Show steps
  • Research and identify relevant workshops.
  • Register for a workshop that aligns with your learning goals.
  • Attend the workshop and actively participate in discussions and exercises.
  • Reflect on the learnings and apply them to your own work.
Attend an Agile meetup
Network with other Agile practitioners and learn about their experiences.
Show steps
  • Find an Agile meetup in your area
  • Attend the meetup and introduce yourself
  • Participate in discussions and ask questions
Practice using Agile tools
Become more proficient with the tools and techniques used in Agile development.
Show steps
  • Identify the Agile tools you need to practice with
  • Find online resources or tutorials on how to use these tools
  • Practice using the tools in a simulated or real-world environment
Create a personal Agile project
Apply your Agile knowledge and skills to a project of your own.
Show steps
  • Define the scope of your project
  • Create a project plan using Agile principles
  • Implement your project using Agile techniques
  • Reflect on your experience and identify areas for improvement
Mentor a junior Agile practitioner
Share your Agile knowledge and experience with someone new to the field.
Show steps
  • Find a junior Agile practitioner who is willing to be mentored
  • Set up a regular meeting time to provide guidance and support
  • Share your experiences and insights
Contribute to an open-source Agile project
Contribute to the Agile community by participating in open-source projects.
Show steps
  • Find an open-source Agile project that interests you
  • Identify a way to contribute to the project
  • Make your contributions to the project

Career center

Learners who complete Agile Leadership for Distributed Teams will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Reading list

We've selected 50 books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Agile Leadership for Distributed Teams.
Comprehensive guide to Extreme Programming (XP), an agile framework that emphasizes close collaboration between developers and customers. The author leading expert in XP and has been instrumental in its development.
Offers practical tools and techniques for leaders in agile environments. It's particularly useful for understanding how to create an environment where self-managing teams can thrive. The book is connected with Scrum.org's leadership programs, making it a valuable resource for those pursuing professional certifications. It provides a comprehensive toolkit for continuously improving your environment, including structures, metrics, meeting techniques, and governance.
Provides a realistic and practical guide for leaders looking to grow mature agile teams and organizations. It offers insights and strategies based on real-world experience in helping leaders achieve and sustain agile transformations. It valuable resource for understanding the journey of agile leadership.
Building on her research on psychological safety, Edmondson provides a practical guide for creating environments where team members feel safe to speak up, experiment, and challenge the status quo. This key contemporary topic in team building and essential for fostering innovation and growth.
Offers a practical framework for giving and receiving feedback, which is crucial for building strong and effective teams. It emphasizes the importance of caring personally while challenging directly. This book is highly relevant for developing essential communication skills within teams and valuable reference tool for managers and team members alike. The revised and updated edition is particularly relevant for contemporary workplaces.
Coaching fundamental stance for Agile Leaders and Scrum Masters. comprehensive guide for developing coaching skills to support agile teams. It's an essential resource for anyone in a leadership or coaching role within an agile framework.
Drawing on military experience, this book offers a contemporary perspective on how large organizations can achieve the agility and adaptability of small teams. It emphasizes decentralized decision-making and shared consciousness through transparent communication. is valuable for understanding modern approaches to collaboration in complex environments and is relevant for both students and professionals in dynamic fields.
Effective communication is vital for team management, and this book provides practical tools and techniques for handling difficult but important conversations. Mastering crucial conversations helps teams address conflict, build trust, and improve overall performance. useful reference tool for navigating challenging interpersonal dynamics within a team.
Considered a classic in the field, this book explores the distinction between working groups and real teams, and what it takes to create high-performing teams. It provides a solid understanding of the fundamentals of team performance and valuable resource for both broad understanding and deepening knowledge.
A comprehensive guide specifically for leading remote and hybrid teams, addressing challenges such as communication, trust, and culture in a virtual setting. is highly relevant to contemporary team building topics and provides actionable strategies for managers navigating the complexities of remote work.
Comprehensive guide to the agile mindset. It covers all aspects of the agile mindset, from principles and values to practices and tools. The authors are leading experts in agile and have helped many organizations to adopt the agile mindset.
Focuses on the specific challenges and opportunities of leading teams with diverse backgrounds and perspectives. This highly relevant contemporary topic in team building, addressing the increasing diversity in modern workplaces. It provides valuable insights for fostering inclusive and high-performing diverse teams.
Another valuable book by Patrick Lencioni, this focuses on the essential virtues of an ideal team player: humble, hungry, and smart. It helps managers identify and develop individuals who contribute positively to team dynamics. is useful for hiring and team development.
Drawing on lessons from the military, this book presents a model for adapting to complex environments by transforming large organizations into a network of empowered teams. It offers insights into leadership, communication, and trust in dynamic settings, making it highly relevant for managing teams in fast-paced industries.
While not exclusively about Agile, this book provides a powerful real-world example of empowering teams and creating leaders at every level, a core principle of Agile Leadership. It is highly recommended for its unique perspective on leadership and decision-making. serves as excellent additional reading to understand the cultural shift required for agile adoption.
Explores the evolution of organizational models, including 'teal' organizations that operate on principles of self-management, wholeness, and evolutionary purpose, which align with advanced concepts in Agile Leadership and organizational design. It offers a vision for future organizations and the leadership required to create them.
Examines the dynamics of virtual teams, including communication strategies, technology use, and building trust in a remote setting. is directly relevant to the challenges of contemporary team building in a globalized and increasingly remote work environment.
A classic in management literature, this book by the former CEO of Intel provides a framework for understanding and improving managerial effectiveness and team productivity. While not recently published, its principles remain highly relevant for anyone in a management role, offering timeless insights into creating highly productive teams and motivating performance. It useful reference tool for experienced professionals.
Effective communication is paramount in agile environments. focuses on the specific types of conversations that build trust, transparency, and collaboration within teams. It provides actionable techniques for improving interpersonal interactions in an agile context.
Emotional intelligence critical component of effective teamwork and leadership. Goleman's seminal work highlights the importance of self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills in personal and professional success. provides foundational knowledge for understanding the interpersonal dynamics within teams.
Building on the themes of 'Start With Why,' this book explores the importance of creating a 'Circle of Safety' within a team, where members feel secure and supported. It argues that great leaders prioritize the well-being of their team, leading to increased trust and cooperation.
Emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence for effective leadership. It provides practical tools and techniques for developing self-awareness, managing emotions, and building strong relationships. While it addresses a specific aspect of leadership skills, it is highly relevant to the overall topic.
Emphasizes the importance of emotional intelligence for effective leadership. It provides insights into how leaders can develop self-awareness, empathy, and social skills, making it highly relevant to the topic of Leadership Skills in the context of emotional intelligence.
Retrospectives are a keyinspect and adapt ceremony in Agile. provides practical guidance and activities for conducting effective retrospectives that help teams improve continuously. It's a valuable reference tool for Agile Leaders and team members.
This foundational text in management is essential for understanding the core responsibilities of an executive and how to focus on results. While not solely focused on team management, its principles on effectiveness, time management, and decision-making are crucial for anyone leading a team. It is considered a classic and provides valuable background knowledge for all levels.
Provides a comprehensive overview of remote work, covering topics such as the benefits and challenges of remote work, and how to manage and lead remote teams. It is written by two experts on remote work: Robert C. Pozen, a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, and Alexi Marmot, a visiting fellow at the University of Oxford.
Comprehensive guide to agile scaling. It covers all aspects of agile scaling, from team dynamics to project management. The authors are leading experts in agile scaling and have helped many organizations to scale agile successfully.
Comprehensive guide to lean software development, a set of principles and practices that can help teams to deliver software faster, better, and cheaper. The authors are leading experts in lean software development and have helped many organizations to implement it successfully.
Agile Leadership is closely tied to product development. focuses on the role of the Product Owner and how to effectively manage the product backlog and deliver value using Scrum. It's a crucial resource for leaders involved in product development in agile environments.
While the title is provocative, this book addresses the serious issue of toxic behavior in the workplace and its impact on team morale and performance. It provides strategies for identifying and addressing such behavior to create a more positive and productive team environment. is highly relevant for maintaining a healthy team culture.
Written from the perspective of a software engineering manager, this book offers practical and often humorous insights into the challenges of managing technical teams. While specific to the software industry, many of the lessons on communication, motivation, and dealing with difficult personalities are universally applicable to team management.
Provides a comprehensive guide to creating and managing a remote-first company. It covers topics such as hiring, onboarding, and managing remote teams.
Provides practical advice on how to succeed in a remote work environment. It covers topics such as setting up a home office, managing your time, and staying motivated.
Practical guide to agile software development. It covers all aspects of agile development, from team dynamics to project management. The author leading expert in agile development and has helped many organizations to implement it successfully.
Practical guide to using Kanban for project management. It covers all aspects of project management, from planning and estimation to risk management and quality control. The author leading expert in Kanban and has helped many organizations to implement it successfully.
A practical guide covering the fundamentals of managing teams, suitable for those new to a team leadership role. It offers a broad overview of essential team management concepts and techniques. good starting point for gaining a broad understanding of the topic.
A growth mindset is essential for continuous improvement and adapting to change, both critical in Agile. explores the power of believing that abilities can be developed, which is fundamental for fostering a culture of learning and resilience within agile teams and organizations.
Ineffective meetings can be a significant drain on team productivity and collaboration. This book, another fable from Patrick Lencioni, addresses the common issues with meetings and provides a framework for making them more engaging and productive. It's a practical guide for improving a fundamental aspect of team interaction.
While not strictly a team-building book, this explores how to create memorable and impactful experiences. This can be applied to team contexts to design moments that build connection, boost morale, and reinforce shared purpose. It offers a unique perspective on fostering positive team experiences.
Effective communication is fundamental to team management, and this book offers a powerful framework for communicating with empathy and resolving conflict constructively. It provides practical tools for improving interpersonal interactions within a team. useful reference for enhancing communication skills.

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