Consulting and Mentoring

Agility was supposed to be a driver towards simplicity. It exploited exploration and feedback to guide us towards appropriate solutions. And, for a while, that’s what developers did.

Unfortunately, that simplicity has been lost. Modern so-called “Agile” has become a source of complexity, stress, and bloat.

The industry then compounds the problem by chasing the latest frameworks, tools, and processes, hoping that they’ll solve our problems for us. They make them worse.

Let me show you a better way.

My Approach

There are no rules or procedures that will magically make your team more effective; every team, every organization, and every project is different. This means it is up to the people doing the work to discover what works best for them in their particular context.

That’s not easy. Every team member must learn to step outside their immediate task to question what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and whether there’s a better way. They need to have the skills (and courage) to experiment, take small steps, and measure the results.

This is what I teach and mentor teams to do. We have exercises. We work through scenarios one-on-one. I show the team how they can support each other as they experiment. And I make sure that this same kind of support works between the team and its managers.

This work is typically a week or two on site. After I leave, I check back in periodically to see how things are going. And, if questions arise at other times, I’m always available to help.

What I Do

Basically, I do what it takes in your particular circumstances. Having said that, there’s a common thread that runs through most of my engagements.

I Listen

I spend time with you, your team, and ideally your customers, to understand your context, and what works and doesn’t work. I’ll ask lots of questions, take lots of notes, and generally look for the patterns that are hard to see when you’re in the middle of them.

I Work One-on-One

I find the best communication happens if I draw up a chair and just talk to people. I dislike meetings with a passion.

I Mentor

As I begin to understand your team, I’ll start to suggest techniques they can use to discover better ways to do things. I’ll show them how to experiment, take small steps, and learn from their experiences. I’ll help them understand the principles behind what they do, so they can adapt those principles to their own context. I’ll do this by example, working one-on-one. If needed, I can also facilitate mini-workshops where the team can practice as a group.

Dave has been a true mentor over the past few years. He has an amazing talent to ask the right questions. As a technology company, we felt we did not fit in the standard way of doing things. With the help of Dave we set up our own philosophy on how to collaborate with clients and how to manage our team. The results have been amazing, we have a happy team, happy clients, and we keep on growing.

Stijn De Witte, Founder 3DConfig, Antwerp

What I Don’t Do

I Don’t Tell You What To Do

Even if I knew everything there is to know about your context, at best that would be rapidly expiring advice.

Instead, I’ll show you and your team how to make these decisions for yourselves by being truly agile. We’ll work on constantly questioning the assumptions behind everything, devising changes, taking small steps, analysing feedback, and adjusting. The result is rapid improvement and a more engaged team. More importantly, the team will continue adapt and imp:rove as their context changes. I’m not advocating some “Agile Process.” Instead, I’m demonstrating what it means to be agile.

I Don’t Have the Answers

But I do have some damn good questions; they’ll help you and your team discover the answers that are right for you.

I Don’t Write a Report and Run

In a typical engagement, I’ll spend concentrated time with you, your team, and ideally your customers, on site if possible. After that, we’ll discuss next steps, which might range from occasional mentoring to spending more time on site facilitating change.

Whatever path we choose, I’ll always remain available for questions and advice.

Next Steps

Let’s talk. Choose a time on my calendar that works for you, and we’ll have a no-obligation chat about your situation and how I might be able to help. Alternatively, you can email me at [email protected].