Abstract:

 

In this talk, I will present a simple model you can leverage to build empowered and high-performing teams within your organization.

The beauty of the model is that all levels in the organization are able to understand it, from the C-level down to the members present in the teams. It allows everyone to speak the same language and face challenges based on a shared mental model of the issues your teams are facing within the organization.

This way we're all talking about the same things, and we all understand why these issues are important to address. Because the biggest bottleneck usually isn't our expertise, but our ability to influence others so that they take our expertise into account.

Description:

Why is Product Management so infuriatingly difficult? Why is it so hard to build high-performing teams?

We often approach these questions by viewing them through the lens of our area of expertise. This is exactly the problem: our expertise is rarely the issue. The problems we have as Product Managers or Agilists usually have little to do with expertise, but our (in)ability to address the (dys)functioning of our organizational system.

Some of the best teams I worked with, didn't have the best people. But what they all had in common is that they had didn't allow the organizational system to get in their way.The beam of a lighthouse doesn't illuminate the ground under the lighthouse. When we're part of an organizational system, it's difficult for leaders to see the obstacles that stand in the way of high-performing and empowered teams.

In this talk, I will present a simple model you can leverage to build empowered and high-performing teams within your organization. Let's shift our conversations from processes and rules, towards creating an environment for high-performing, empowered teams.