👋 Hello, I’m Carlos, and welcome to my newsletter, “The Holistic Leader” Raw notes from an Agile Coach. Share your questions with me here, and in exchange, I'll provide practical, grounded, and clear advice.
Today’s Overview:
Lead with Purpose: Guide meetings towards productive outcomes with clear goals.
Maintain Transparency: Be well-informed about meetings and what's happening within the team.
Stay Outcome-Focused: Understand your team's goals and use this insight to shape discussions.
Welcome to this week's Agile Pulse
Every Wednesday, I’ll share easy-to-follow tips and tricks that I wish I had known when I started on my own Agile journey.
Whether you’re leading an Agile team, a Scrum Master, Agile leader or just curious, this series is just for you.
3 Key Mindsets for Facilitation
Hello, my friend,
Let’s talk about the importance of facilitation as agile leaders.
Think of yourself as a guide for a bit.
Your main job is to help your team work better together.
You're not just there to watch.
You're there to steer the team towards getting things done well and on time.
So, how can you become a top-notch facilitator?
Key Skills for Effective Facilitation
Lead with Purpose
Start every meeting with a clear goal.
Ask yourself, "What should we accomplish today?"
This helps everyone stay focused and work towards the same target.
Maintain Transparency
Keep an open backlog visible to everyone.
Share meeting notes and ensure each member knows how their contributions fit into the bigger picture.
Stay Outcome-Focused
Remind your team of the meeting’s main points at the beginning and keep an eye on the clock to make sure you cover everything important without running over time.
BONUS: How to Run a Smooth Meeting
Choose the Right Discussion Style
✅ What to do: Think about what you need to achieve and pick the best way to talk about it.
For example, if you need lots of new ideas, try something fun like mind mapping where everyone throws in ideas as they think of them.
✅ Tools to use: Apps like Miro can help you create a digital space where everyone can contribute in real-time.
Plan Your Agenda Carefully
✅ What to do: Set up a clear agenda before the meeting starts.
Include a quick check-in with everyone, a list of topics to cover, and some time for questions at the end.
✅ How to do it: Write down your agenda and share it with the team ahead of time so they know what to expect.
Keep the Conversation on Track
✅ What to do: If the discussion starts to go off-topic, gently steer it back.
Be the guide who keeps everyone moving in the right direction.
✅ Tools to use: When opinions vary, use a quick poll to decide which ideas the team prefers.
Final Thoughts
Being a great facilitator means you are the driver of meaningful conversations.
At the end of the day, the success of our teams—and by extension, our projects,
Relies heavily on our ability to work well together.
Every time one of us learns to be a better team player, facilitator, or leader, it lifts everyone up, making our whole team stronger and more connected.
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Thanks for reading
See you next week!
- Carlos ✌️
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