I Thought YOU Were Flying the Plane: Preventing Projects from Falling Out of the Sky

One of the most cherished concepts of the Agile Manifesto is valuing individuals and interactions over processes and tools. Within this idea is the implicit assumption that individuals innately know how to interact. Dramatic lessons from aviation suggest otherwise. During the mid-1960s the frequent crashes of perfectly good aircraft alarmed the world’s airlines. Investigators discovered nothing lacking in the pilot’s “stick and rudder” skills; these accidents were the result of the flight crew’s inability to work as a team. Steve Adolph shares four leadership roles necessary for well managed communications in software development—Sheltering to create quiet, focused time needed to get the job done; Supporting  to cover the backs of others; Boundary Spanning to connect the silos of communications; and Drum Beating to prevent communications from grinding to a halt. Some individuals are blessed with “natural leadership” talents, but, no worries, these skills can be learned. Join Steve to discover how.