Leadership Link Round-Up

Written By Allison Pollard

Photo by Will Lion

I've been keeping some blog posts marked as unread in my Google Reader, waiting for the moment to post them here.  The time is now.

5 Essential Skills for Contemporary Leaders by Nan S. Russell.  I was sold at #1, operating with trust.  'Nuff said.

Managers Should Not Be Coaching Developers by Jurgen Appelo.  I've been interested in the role of management in agile adoptions recently, and Jurgen seems to be providing the answers I've been looking for; I have his book, Management 3.0: Leading Agile Developers, Developing Agile Leaders, on my shelf waiting to be read.  I believe teams often need coaches, but I respect that he says managers need to manage the system.  It's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it.

Influence and Authority: Using Your Personal Power to Get Things Done by Johanna Rothman.  Johanna posted a slide deck from a recent presentation, and it touches on the challenges of verbal persuasion.  I love her slide on "When do people change their behavior" because I think we often assume that we've made the case for change when we're only halfway there.

How Self-Compassion Makes You a Better Leader by Henna Inam.  I'm guilty of being quite critical of myself, so I needed this reminder to not be so hard on myself so I can learn from my mistakes and be happier.  According to the test, I am moderately self-compassionate, so I have room for improvement.

Allison Pollard

Allison Pollard is a coach, consultant, and trainer who brings the power of relationship systems intelligence to go beyond tasks, roles, and frameworks to create energy for change. She engages with people and teams in a down-to-earth way to build trust and listen for signals to help them learn more and improve. Allison focuses on creating alignment and connection for people to solve business problems together. Her experience includes working with teams and leaders in energy, retail, financial, real estate, and transportation industries to help improve their project/product delivery and culture. Allison currently volunteers as program director for Women in Agile’s mentorship program. Her agile community focus is championing new voices and amplifying women as mentors and sponsors for the next generation of leaders. Allison earned her bachelor’s degrees in computer science, mathematics, and English from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC), a foodie, and proud glasses wearer. Allison is a prolific speaker at professional groups and international conferences, including Scrum Gatherings and the Agile Alliance Agile20xx conferences. Allison is co-owner of Helping Improve LLC.

http://www.allisonpollard.com
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