Stepping Off The Edge

" When you walk to the edge of all the light that you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen…there will be something solid for you to stand upon or you will be taught to fly. "

- Patrick Overton

When I first read this quote, I thought of how nervous I was when I became an independent consultant. I left my company of more than 18 years with a 6-month plan and faith that things would work out. It definitely felt like taking a step into the darkness of the unknown...

And then I remembered how I felt on my first agile team...new lingo, new tools, new practices. Everything I had known was disappearing and I was being figuratively pushed into darkness – or at least it felt that way at times.

Some of my teammates must have felt pushed too, because they resisted every step of the way. They clung to their old roles and familiar behaviors. They did not trust that the team had full support, or something to stand on, if we failed. And without support, we retreat to what is comfortable, even if it’s dysfunctional.

Even after we got an agile coach, and reassurance from management, I don’t think they had faith that we could succeed. Their fear of the unknown, of the uncomfortable, kept them grounded in the status quo. They did not want to learn how to fly.

I understood their trepidation. They had been taught that their value was in knowing the answers, not in discovering better questions. So they stopped being curious. They no longer searched for new ideas. They had no time for experiments.

Thankfully, I had a moment of enlightenment early on, something like an ‘aha,’ where it just clicked. I don’t remember what I was doing at that moment, but I knew that I would never go back to the old way. At that moment, I stepped off the edge.

Agile is a curious thing. As a methodology, it provides solid development practices and proven testing techniques, as well as better ways to collaborate with stakeholders and customers to make sure we’re building the right thing. These are solid things to stand upon.

And, when embraced as a mindset, agile creates environments where trust is valued and expected. New ideas are respected and expanded. Learning & discovery are the new status quo. In this way, an agile mindset teaches us to fly to heights not yet imagined.

What about you? What have you resisted? What helped you to step into the darkness of the unknown? 

TestRetreat: NYC

A weekend ago I traveled to NYC so I could participate in a one-day event called TestRetreat. It was a first for me and I was a bit nervous about attending. I’ve worked with testers before and they are a pretty intense bunch. J

Several months ago, Matt Heusser, founder of Excelon Development and the organizer of the event, convinced me to attend on the basis of bringing perspectives from folks outside the testing arena. I met the requirements, as I have never held the title of tester. I spent many years as a business analyst, working side-by-side with testers so I greatly respect what it takes to be a good tester. Plus, breaking down silos always sounds like a great idea to me, so I booked my flight. (And did I mention that it was in NYC? Twist my arm…)

I knew that I chose wisely as the attendees started gathering Friday evening. After easy introductions, the conversation bounced between industry debates, family updates, career moves, and ideas for the evening plans. Warm and welcoming, this crowd immediately removed my “new person status.”

The next morning, we swarmed on the sleek, modern offices of Liquidnet, our gracious host for the day. (Special thanks to Anna Roysman and Thomas Vaniotis!) After a few bites of breakfast and a few bits of socializing, we got to work creating the schedule for the day. Matt Barcomb did a nice job facilitating the open space format and we quickly had a wall full of topics and discussions underway.

No matter how many I’ve seen, open space events still fascinate me. Most of the dysfunctions I see in teams and in organizations are caused by people, intentionally or not. Over time, I start to lose faith in humanity! So the self-organization, openness and adaptability of participants in this kind of event renew my hope in humans.

And that leads to my biggest takeaway from the day. When we create environments that are safe – free of judgment or repercussions – with a loose structure to support them, people will share ideas freely and take ownership of their time.

Regardless of industry, we carry around different knowledge, ideas and experience. Unfortunately, we also haul around our own insecurities, fears and unconstructive habits. What Test Retreat reinforced for me is that people want to contribute and connect. So our challenge is to create spaces, every day, where they can do that.

Are you creating safe spaces for those around you? Do you see people easily sharing ideas on a daily basis? What can you do to increase the conversations and collaboration on your team?