The Agile Mindset Driving Steven Bartlett’s Success

Attending Steven Bartlett's Business and Life Speaking Tour this year in Adelaide was an incredible experience, especially with VIP access. Steven, a prominent entrepreneur known for his insightful perspectives on business and life, offered an inspiring event that left a lasting impression on me. During a personal meet-and-greet, Steven signed my copy of his book, Diary of a CEO, with the encouraging words: "Keep helping the world find their full potential."

Our conversation, which focused on my role as an Agile Coach and my strategies for working with teams and founders, sparked a thought-provoking dialogue. Here's a glimpse into that conversation and some highlights from the speaking tour.

Steven: What is an Agile Coach?

Jason: An Agile Coach helps teams and organisations adopt and improve agile methods and practices. We focus on fostering a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and customer-centric development. Our goal is to enable teams to deliver value more effectively and efficiently. For example, I worked with a team that transformed its workflow by embracing agile principles, leading to a significant increase in productivity and team morale. Agile coaching focuses on unique methods, including scrum and kanban, that differ from traditional project management techniques.

Steven: Do you work with teams or the founder?

Jason: My role involves both. With teams, I facilitate agile practices, help resolve impediments, and ensure that everyone is aligned with the project goals. When working with founders, I focus on strategic alignment, helping them set a clear vision and ensuring that the agile practices support their business objectives. For instance, I recently collaborated with a founder to align their strategic vision with agile practices, resulting in a more cohesive and motivated team working towards shared goals.

Steven: What would you do to help me as a founder?

Jason:

• Vision and strategy alignment: I would ensure that your company's vision and strategy are clearly defined and communicated. This alignment helps teams understand the bigger picture and how their work contributes to the company's success.
• Fostering a culture of innovation: Encouraging a culture where experimentation and learning are valued is crucial. This involves creating an environment where teams feel safe to take risks and innovate.
• Continuous improvement: I would implement a framework for continuous feedback and improvement. This includes regular retrospectives, metrics tracking, and adaptive planning to ensure that the company remains agile and responsive to change.

My personal observations and highlights

Steven is a master of blending personal anecdotes with actionable business insights, making him relatable to the audience.

Storytelling and personal growth: Steven started by sharing his personal journey from a struggling entrepreneur to a successful CEO. His stories were not just motivational but also filled with practical advice on overcoming obstacles and leveraging our unique strengths.

Concepts from Diary of a CEO: Throughout the tour, Steven weaved in concepts from his book, such as the importance of self-awareness, resilience, and the power of building meaningful connections. His narrative underscored the idea that personal growth is a continuous journey, essential for both personal and professional success.

Small steps and chunking goals: Emphasis on the importance of acting on small steps and chunking goals. Using the metaphor of a mountain, he illustrated how addressing scaling problems is akin to ascending a peak, tackling challenges one step at a time.

Prioritising goals: Highlighting a concept from his book, Steven spoke about "filling your buckets in the right order of priority." This involves focusing on the most important tasks first to ensure that your efforts align with your overall objectives.

Strengths and complementary skills: Steven stressed the importance of focusing on your differentiating strength while also developing complementary skills to enhance your niche. This dual approach can significantly boost your effectiveness and versatility.

Building a strong team: Steven shared his strategy for team building: find “A” players who not only excel in their roles but also bring complementary skills to strengthen the organisation. He emphasised that “A” players must raise the bar for the organisation. If someone lowers the bar, they shouldn't be hired.

Decisive action on team members: Act quickly on decisions to remove team members who don't raise the bar, as keeping them can negatively impact the culture and performance of the entire team.

Focusing on core supporters: The importance of "pissing off the 80% so that the 20% love you and your product or business." This means focusing on the core supporters who are passionate about your offerings.

Culture of experimentation: Steven shared the story of employing a Chief Experimentation Officer to protect the quality and volume of experiments. Building a culture of experimentation is crucial for innovation and continuous improvement.

Quality in every detail: Finally, Steven highlighted that quality is important, even in the parts of your product that people don't see. This builds organisational pride and a reputation for excellence.

Meeting Steven Bartlett was a remarkable experience that reinforced the importance of continuous learning and adaptation in both personal and professional spheres.

As an Agile Coach, my mission aligns perfectly with Steven's philosophy of helping individuals and teams reach their full potential. By fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement, we can unlock new levels of productivity and success.

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I am Jason Cameron ?? ,

Scrum & Scrum@Scale Trainer, Enterprise Agility Coach, Business Agility Trainer, Professional Coach, Neuroscience Enthusiast, Agile Stoic at ScrumCraft