Women in Agile

Making an Impact with Courage and Heart - Sarah Olivieri | 2018

Sarah Olivieri is a nonprofit business strategist, author, and founder of PivotGround where they leverage her Impact Method to help nonprofits simplify their operations, build aligned teams, and make a bigger impact without getting overwhelmed or burning out. Olivieri has learned from her many experiences to speak up when things don’t look right, something many women might not be comfortable doing.
"I go about my life assuming we misunderstand each other,” she says. “It’s only by intention that people all get on same page and understand each other.”
Leslie Morse hosts.
The Women in Agile community champions inclusion and diversity of thought, regardless of gender, and this podcast is a platform to share new voices and stories with the Agile community and the business world, because we believe that everyone is better off when more, diverse ideas are shared.
Podcast Library: www.solutionsiq.com/womeninagileWomen in Agile website: https://womeninagile.org/
Connect with us on social media!LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/womeninagile/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninagile/Twitter: https://twitter.com/womeninagileorg

Servant Leadership is a Decision - Jennifer Willems | 2017

Ontario-based Agile coach Jennifer Willems was a featured speaker in the Launching New Voices program at the 2020 Business Agility Conference in New York City. She believes that a growth mindset is essential and the key to unblocking the path for achieving agility.  
Willems takes us through her journey to becoming an agile coach and the lessons she learned along the way. Servant leadership is near and dear to her heart and you’ll hear real-life examples of what it does and doesn’t look like. She says servant leadership is something you are, not something you do.  
Finally, Jen advises us to take time for introspection, picking apart the work we’ve done to understand what happened. This helps you see what you’ve gained from the experience and discover patterns that will help build your own awareness of your values and principles. To her, “The principles are a lot more important than the process and the practice.”  
Leslie Morse hosts.  
The Women in Agile community champions inclusion and diversity of thought, regardless of gender, and this podcast is a platform to share new voices and stories with the Agile community and the business world, because we believe that everyone is better off when more, diverse ideas are shared.
Podcast Library: www.solutionsiq.com/womeninagile Women in Agile website: https://womeninagile.org/
Connect with us on social media! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/womeninagile/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninagile/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/womeninagileorg

How to Claim Your Authority - Marsha Shenk | 2016

Marsha Shenk works with leaders, integrating business anthropology, social neuroscience, and ecosystem thinking to build business environments that can morph with change. She says, “Change can be described as behavioral plasticity.” Her advice to agilists is that you do not have to be looking for a job that has the title Agile Coach or Scrum Master, instead look more broadly to find opportunities to help companies get back on their feet in a more flexible, fluid manner.  
Shenk discusses how to claim authority as a woman and as a coach: “You want to take authority to say what are the things you need to accomplish the goal.” 
Leslie Morse hosts. 
The Women in Agile community champions inclusion and diversity of thought, regardless of gender, and this podcast is a platform to share new voices and stories with the Agile community and the business world, because we believe that everyone is better off when more, diverse ideas are shared.
Podcast Library: www.solutionsiq.com/womeninagile Women in Agile website: https://womeninagile.org/
Connect with us on social media! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/womeninagile/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninagile/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/womeninagileorg

Agile at Home - Yvonne Marcus | 2015

Yvonne Marcus’s passion centers around bringing agile values and principles into home and family life. She regales us with her family’s foray into using agile practices in their household using two-week sprints, daily standups, and retrospectives. She has found that practicing agile at home not only results in a happier, more cohesive family unit because everyone is being heard and participating, but also as a woman, you’re able to get more time for yourself instead of doing #allthethings.  
Leslie Morse hosts.
The Women in Agile community champions inclusion and diversity of thought, regardless of gender, and this podcast is a platform to share new voices and stories with the Agile community and the business world, because we believe that everyone is better off when more, diverse ideas are shared.
Podcast Library: www.solutionsiq.com/womeninagile Women in Agile website: https://womeninagile.org/
Connect with us on social media! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/womeninagile/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninagile/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/womeninagileorg

How to Turn Agile Skeptics into Fans - Carmen Guerra Jurado | 2014

Carmen Guerra Jurado is an agile coach based in the Netherlands. She was a Launching New Voices speaker at the Women in Agile session at the 2020 Business Agility Conference in New York.
Jurado recounts a colorful story of her experience as a scrum master on a team with a long-term employee who was very resistant to change and also negatively affected the rest of the team. Jurado shares the fantastic tips she used and discovered for turning this skeptic into a fan.
The three steps Carmen suggests taking are: 
Deposits into an emotional bank account 
Monk-like patience 
Walk down your garden path (i.e. small steps) 
Leslie Morse hosts.  
Read Carmen’s blog post here: https://www.organizeagile.com/update/how-to-turn-your-biggest-agile-skeptics-into-fans/  
The Women in Agile community champions inclusion and diversity of thought, regardless of gender, and this podcast is a platform to share new voices and stories with the Agile community and the business world, because we believe that everyone is better off when more, diverse ideas are shared.
Podcast Library: www.solutionsiq.com/womeninagileWomen in Agile website: https://womeninagile.org/
Connect with us on social media!LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/womeninagile/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninagile/Twitter: https://twitter.com/womeninagileorg
 

Helping Workplaces Thrive - Vivian Acquah | 2013

Vivian Acquah is a workplace wellness advocate who helps companies keep their team members engaged, healthy & safe. Overall career and personal well-being are things that she has passion in, noting that women, who are natural caretakers, must take care of themselves as well. “There is only one you,” she says. “The company will exist – but there’s only one you.”
She shares stories of overcoming adversity in the workplace, finding her own voice at a WIA event in Amsterdam, and also ways that people can energize their work environments.
Vivian Acquah’s words of wisdom: “I want to challenge you to do two minutes of meditation, maybe two or three days a week.”
Hosted by Leslie Morse.
Connect with Vivian Acquah on LinkedIn (vivianacquah) or Twitter (@VivalaViveNL)
The Women in Agile community champions inclusion and diversity of thought, regardless of gender, and this podcast is a platform to share new voices and stories with the Agile community and the business world, because we believe that everyone is better off when more, diverse ideas are shared.
Podcast Library: www.solutionsiq.com/womeninagile
Women in Agile website: womeninagile.org/
Connect with us on social media!
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/womeninagile/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/womeninagile/
 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/womeninagileorg 

Agile Coaches are Bad at Being Coached - Samantha Laing | 2012

Agile consultant, international keynote speaker, and author Samantha Laing is passionate about self-care – going so far as to chair one of the tracks at Agile2020 on the topic. The crazy thing about it is that agile coaches often don’t find time to give themselves the same level of care and attention that they give to others. As Laing puts it, “we’re really bad at having our own coaches. I know very few … who actually have coaches.”
Self-care isn’t necessarily about yoga retreats or a spa day (despite what Instagramers will have you believe): instead, at the root of self-care self-discovery. Laing’s journey in life and in agile has led to some lasting discoveries: “My wife and I have drastically cut down on how we live and how we tread on the earth… I’m focused on being my best self, which for me means having a lighter footprint on the earth.”
Samantha Laing’s words of wisdom are: “We’re all amazing, kind, generous human beings – every single one of us.”
Accenture SolutionsIQ’s Emilia Breton hosts.
The Women in Agile community champions inclusion and diversity of thought, regardless of gender, and this podcast is a platform to share new voices and stories with the Agile community and the business world, because we believe that everyone is better off when more, diverse ideas are shared.
Podcast Library: www.solutionsiq.com/womeninagile Women in Agile website: https://womeninagile.org/
Connect with us on social media! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/womeninagile/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/womeninagile/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/womeninagileorg

Embrace Your “Yet” - Christina Hartikainen | 2011

Christina Hartikainen recently joined ICAgile as Director of Agile Learning, and she has been on her own agile learning journey ever since, as a business analyst, she was “voluntold” to be a product owner at a former employer.
Last year, she was the chair for Agile2019, an “amazing and intense” experience with high highs and low lows: “We had over 2000 submissions … and only 280 speaking slots. I sent out almost 1800 nos.”
“Not everybody learns the same way…” Hartikainen acknowledges, expressing her hope to help people embrace their “yet.” “There’s a drive behind yet,” she says. “There’s this idea of someday… Someday, I’m gonna hit that goal because I’m embracing it in myself that I can’t do it yet.”
Leslie Morse hosts.
Check out these other episodes mentioned in this one:
- “Ish and the Life-Changing Practice of Good Enough” with Lynne Cazaly
- “Five Characteristics of a Playful Leader” with Portia Tung
The Women in Agile community champions inclusion and diversity of thought, regardless of gender, and this podcast is a platform to share new voices and stories with the Agile community and the business world, because we believe that everyone is better off when more, diverse ideas are shared.
Podcast Library: www.solutionsiq.com/womeninagile
Women in Agile website: womeninagile.org/
Connect with us on social media!
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/womeninagile/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/womeninagile/
Twitter: twitter.com/womeninagileorg