KatAnu Resources

—Blog Posts—

—Downloadable Resources—

—Podcast Episodes—

  • Over-Talkers, Under-Talkers, and the Meetings Nobody Enjoys

    Every team has them. The teammate who turns a one-word answer into a five-minute monologue. The developer who has not said a word in three retrospectives. The Product Owner who "adds context" to every user story before anyone gets a chance to read it. This episode is a high-energy, no-nonsense look at the over-talkers and under-talkers who quietly shape every meeting, and at the facilitation moves that turn a room of crickets and ramblers into a room of contributors. Expect a practical tour through the Explorer, Shopper, Vacationer, and Prisoner lens from Diana Larsen and Esther Derby's Agile Retrospectives, a fresh take on meeting personas like the Rambler, the Interrupter, the Silent Assassin, and the Ghost Participant, and a stack of techniques you can use this week:Sand timers in stand-ups. Parking lots that get used. Round-robin and popcorn share-outs. Intentionally crafted breakout rooms. Silent brainstorming. "Make space, take space" working agreements. And the most underused move of all, one-on-one coaching outside the meeting.The takeaway is simple and bracing. The goal of a great meeting is not equal talking time. The goal is meaningful contribution. Great facilitators do more than manage conversations. They create the conditions for better conversations to happen.

  • Drop the Framework Theater. Deliver the Work.

    Organizations are still struggling to deliver what their customers want, when they want it, and the loudest question in delivery right now is whether agile and traditional project management are stronger together.Some Scrum practitioners are pursuing PMP certifications for the first time, traditional project managers are picking up the updated PMI-ACP, and the lines between Scrum Master and Project Manager have blurred in the marketplace.  Both disciplines bring real strengths. Forward thinking leaders are leaning into the blend instead of defending a camp.Most organizations are not picking sides anymore.  They are picking outcomes. The question is no longer "are we doing real Scrum" or "are we doing proper Project Management."  The question is whether your teams are delivering value, learning fast, and treating their customers like the heroes of the story.In this episode, we discuss:Why "Technical Project Manager" and "Scrum Master" have quietly become the same role on most job boardsHow the updated PMI-ACP is bridging traditional project management and agile leadershipThe hybrid skills organizations are hungry forThe leadership move that changes everything, regardless of title or framework

  • Call It What You Want. Can You Deliver?

    The framework wars are over, and the only question that still matters is whether the work is landing in your customers' hands.This episode dives into the great convergence of project management and agility. Job titles are blending, PMI is leaning hard into adaptive approaches, and the new PMBOK reads nothing like the tablet of stone we used to study. The lines between Scrum Master and Project Manager have blurred in the marketplace, and forward-thinking leaders are leaning into the blend instead of fighting it.Most organizations are not picking sides anymore; they are picking outcomes. The question is no longer "are we doing real Scrum" or "are we doing proper Project Management." The question is whether your teams are delivering value, learning fast, and treating their customers like the heroes of the story.In this episode, we discuss:Why "technical project manager" and "Scrum Master" have quietly become the same role on most job boardsHow PMI and Agile Alliance moved from rivals to partners, and what the new PMBOK signals about the futureThe Shuhari path of mastery, and why so many teams skip straight to “ri” without earning itThe better questions leaders should be asking instead of arguing about labels

  • You Don’t Have a Strategy Problem: You Have an Execution Problem

    High-performing organizations don’t just plan better: They shorten the distance between decision, action, and learning.This episode closes out the deep dive into the Manifesto for Enterprise Agility.  This week covers the three principles of execution: move authority to where value is created, deliver value frequently and make work visible, and sense early, learn quickly, and act with confidence.Most organizations don’t have a strategy problem; they have an execution problem.  Work moves too slowly, stays invisible, and sits disconnected from the people best placed to decide what to do next.  These three principles are the mechanics for fixing that.In this episode, we discuss:Why authority must travel with accountability if empowerment is going to be realUsing Management 3.0’s Delegation Poker to make decision rights explicitWhat ’making work visible’ really means beyond having a Jira boardWhy a Sprint Review should be a real show and tell, not a smoke-and-mirrors PowerPointHow sensing early shortens the gap between signal, decision, and actionWhy psychological safety, air cover, and a learning culture sit underneath all three principles

  • Org Design for Agility: Guardrails, Flexible Funding, and Building for Adaptability

    Most organizations don't need more frameworks: they need fewer constraints.This episode continues the deep dive into the Manifesto for Enterprise Agility, this week tackling the three principles of organizational design.  From guardrails vs. gatekeepers to funding teams over projects, we unpack why the way most organizations are structured is quietly killing their agility.In this episode, we discuss:Why empowering teams starts with replacing gatekeepers with guardrailsThe case for funding outcomes and value streams, not projectsWhy efficiency is the enemy of adaptability and what to focus on insteadDelegation Poker and other practical tools for shifting decision-making cultureWhy your org design will stop your agility before your methodology ever will

—Webinars—

Watch our Retrospection 2024 webinar!

Watch our Influencing Culture webinar!

Watch Kate and Anu’s retrospective on Scotland and how this whirlwind trip reminded them to HAVE FUN!

 

Kate and Anu took some Scottish beach time not to relax, but to bring us all a lesson about rocks (strategic goals) and sand (everything else in day-to-day life).

Watch our Managing Versus Leading webinar!

Watch our Leading High-Performing Teams webinar!

Watch our Leading a Values-Based Culture webinar!

Watch our Strategic Leadership webinar!