Beginner’s Guide to Agile in Jira: How do you build your agile mindset?

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G’day, training & certification group! This week, we launched a brand-new free course called Beginner’s Guide to Agile in Jira, designed by the unstoppable @Andrew DeBell .

This on-demand training course has everything you need to get started with agile. You'll learn what agile is, why it's awesome, and how agile works in Jira Software. You’ll also find a downloadable sheet with 6 tips to build your agile mindset.

That’s where we need your help. We want to hear from you with your real-life experiences putting these tips in action.

This post is the first of a series (🎉): In each, I’ll share one of the tips, and you can comment on the post with how you’ve put it into practice in your professional life. Our plan is collect our favorite advice in one post, then share it back with you—and put it on our website, for other folks to learn from.

Also: We’ll be awarding something special to our most engaged users throughout the series! 👀 🥳

Ready to get started with the first tip?

Tip #1 to Build Your Agile Mindset: Show Respect for all team members

Healthy, high-performing teams create a culture of trust and mutual respect. That's the backbone of agility. 

Having an agile mindset means you embrace different ways of thinking and working, even if you don't always agree with them. Focus on keeping an open mind and seeking to understand new and unexpected ideas.

(You know, like Aretha says...)

Now, answer these questions by adding a comment below:

1. Can you tell us about a method you use to make sure you're showing respect for all team members?

2. Where do you have room to improve on showing respect?

3. Do you have a trick to jog your memory or help you flex your habit muscle for this particular tip of showing respect?

I’ll go first, to give you an example.

1. Here’s how I show respect for all my team members when I review their writing: With writing, you could almost always edit a sentence further. One of my favorite habits I’ve built is to coach myself into not changing a team member’s writing just because I can think of another way to say it, and to instead only correct what is actually wrong. This shows respect, which builds voice, confidence, and trust!

How do you show respect for your team members? Share below—and don’t forget to check out the course!

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Enroll today in the free course: Beginner’s Guide to Agile in Jira

Read the second post in the series: Tip #2: Communication!

Read the third post in the series: Tip #3: Look for ways to innovate

Read the fourth post in the series: Tip #4: Actively improve your skills

Read the fifth post in the series: Tip #5: Ditch perfectionism

Read the sixth post in the series: Tip #6: Be ready to PIVOT

[Kevin Tuei]

Can you tell us about a method you use to make sure you're showing respect for all team members?

Ensuring that team members who are not vocal in airing their opinions are given an opportunity by using my own opportunity to trigger feedback from the less vocal members of a team. E.g I seek audience then when given I ask, "Jeremy, what do you have to say about this?" Then I build on what he has said.

Where do you have room to improve on showing respect?

Trusting and openly respecting members who seem to be adamant in appreciating my value in the team. It's usually quite difficult to support and respect me. 

Do you have a trick to jog your memory or help you flex your habit muscle for this particular tip of showing respect?

I usually use a visual cue, before speaking once given an opportunity say in a brainstorming session. I look around the team to see if there is that one person who I would point out first to say something just before I speak. 

[Jaime Netzer]

@Kevin Tuei such a great tip! I particularly love the idea of giving your platform over to voices that might be less heard. Thanks for sharing!

[Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_]

Showing respect: First, a confession: This is a tough one for me. I frequently assume people know I respect their opinion not just when I agree with them, but even when I disagree. And, I am not the most patient person in the world. Disagreement + lack of patience leaves people feeling disrespected. 😕

So, over the years, I've learned to ask "why" questions. In so doing you show you are interested in hearing more — and you are showing you want to understand the persons perspective.

Room to improve: More patience 😉

Trick: I've learned to pause and let others fill the silence before I push ahead (impatiently).

[Jaime Netzer]

Agh @Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_ I absolutely *love* the transparency in this comment. AND the tip is actionable, to boot. Thank you!

[Sam Nadarajan]

Can you tell us about a method you use to make sure you're showing respect for all team members?

I'm far from perfect, but I've gotten in mild trouble in the past for calling on people to share their thoughts in a forum where they didn't feel comfortable doing so. I am currently at the point where cross-functional teams have more than just various roles, they have various personalities as well. With this mindset, I practice positive reinforcement where I can. If a team member who seldom offers thoughts speaks up, I will validate their thought (if it's not bad of course) and tell them thank you. In this way, I hope to encourage them that it's okay to contribute to the team's success.

Where do you have room to improve on showing respect?

I need to remember that different kinds of personalities require different types of strategies for showing respect. I understand there's a basic level of human decency and respect that can be shared across all team members universally, but a one-size-fits-all approach hasn't been beneficial for me.

Do you have a trick to jog your memory or help you flex your habit muscle for this particular tip of showing respect?

Every now and then (maybe before retro or some other significant milestone in the day-to-day of team operations) I will make a note of who hasn't contributed in a while and focus my attention on noticing and praising their contributions when the opportunity arises. This helps me avoid naturally gravitate towards the louder voices in a forum all the time.

[Jaime Netzer]

Thanks so much for these tips @Sam Nadarajan — I especially love and appreciate your point about one-size-fits-all not working for how you show respect to each individual team member.

[Deleted user]

Showing Respect:

I use active listening. To make my team members feel heard, I often respond by repeating what I just heard. This can also lead to clarifying comments or digging deeper into the idea.

Improve:

Allowing silence to happen. I often rush to fill these moments.

Trick: 

I jot down key words while listening to other team members.

[Jaime Netzer]

OMG @[deleted] definitely guilty of rushing to fill silence as well. Thank you for sharing!!

[Vijay Venkataramani]

Most of the folks here have addressed how to respect others in great ways. Kudos to all of them. 

Just wanted to add on to this topic that being aware of some of the "Unconcious Bias" towards people will definitely help ease us being respectful of others. This encourages a Inclusive culture which is really important towards respecting others for what they are. 

[Andy Gladstone]

Can you tell us about a method you use to make sure you're showing respect for all team members?

I try to practice active listening. Not interrupting a team member when they are expressing an idea or opinion, no matter how much I agree or disagree with the position or opinion.

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Where do you have room to improve on showing respect?

Hiding my frustrations. Understanding that everyone is human and has inherent strengths and weaknesses and focusing on their strengths even when their actions or words are revealing their weakness.

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Do you have a trick to jog your memory or help you flex your habit muscle for this particular tip of showing respect?

I take a ton of meetings from my office. If I am sitting behind my own desk I know I'll start getting distracted by emails and other work. Unless I must use my computer during the meeting, I will make an effort to get up and move to the meeting table in my office so I can increase my attention to the person I am meeting with.

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[Paul Grant]

Can you tell us about a method you use to make sure you're showing respect for all team members?

Allow them space to get on and update their issues. But ensure they feel supported when there is a problem or missed opportunity to capture, share and improve.

Where do you have room to improve on showing respect?

Ensure that the discussion is not biased towards the complete agile end goal. Open and Balanced discussions.

Do you have a trick to jog your memory or help you flex your habit muscle for this particular tip of showing respect?

Using the available tools/app/addons to integrate calendar, jira and timings I've found has opened a door to sharing more and left a relaxed working environment. Getting teams to update / comment more often is invaluable in this approach and is helped by using the timing tool in jira and its associated apps/addons.