The Human Side of Agile - How to Help Your Team Deliver

by Gil Broza

As an Agile team leader, your biggest challenge is also your biggest asset.

The human side of Agile is tricky. It's the least manageable, understood, and appreciated asset in an Agile environment. Even if your customers are reasonably happy and your developers seem to be doing okay, you know your team is capable of more: delivering great products and staying ahead of ever-changing demands.

You need a team that’s self-organized, energetic, and flexible, even in tough situations. But how do you build it and lead it?

Whether you're a ScrumMaster, project manager, functional manager, or team leader, you want to feel good about using Agile and to create the conditions for great results. But the project management skills you honed in traditional environments don't always apply to the role of Agile team leader. The Human Side of Agile fills this gap, guiding you to:
•Establish yourself as a confident and capable leader who adds value
•Build and lead an engaged team that can handle almost any challenge
•Cultivate collaboration and a continuous improvement mind-set
•Reap the full benefits of Agile in the real world with real people
"I just found the next must-read book for our entire leadership team."
Tricia Broderick, Director of Development, TechSmith

"This book is up there with Peopleware, with concrete examples you can use immediately."
Dave Rooney, Sherpa, Shopify

"Agile teams need effective leaders who 'get' the people stuff. Without that you're merely going through the Agile motions."
Scott W. Ambler, co-creator of Disciplined Agile Delivery

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction, Technical, Reference

346 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2012

About the author

Gil Broza specializes in helping tech leaders deliver far better results by upgrading their organizations’ Agile ways of working. He also supports their non-software colleagues in creating real business agility in their teams. Gil has helped over 100 organizations achieve real, sustainable improvements by working with their unique value delivery contexts and focusing on mindset, culture, and leadership. Companies also invite Gil for specialized support, such as strategic mapping of their improvement journey, facilitation of organizational mindset workshops, and keynotes for internal conferences. He is the author of four highly acclaimed books: Deliver Better Results, The Agile Mind-Set, The Human Side of Agile, and Agile for Non-Software Teams. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

Reviews

[Johanna Rothman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what I said for my review on Amazon: "Is your Agile project missing stewardship, the facilitation that would help it succeed? If so, run to buy Gil's book, "The Human Side of Agile." Chock full of stories, tips, and advice, this book will 'unwedge' your project, and position you for effective team leadership throughout your project."

Agile is all about cultural change. You can't just apply practices, whether they are technical or process. You have to observe the team--the humans--and see what they are doing. Then you have to help them see what they need to do to succeed. Gil's deep understanding of teams and how they work will help *your* agile team succeed.

[Yves Hanoulle · Rating 5 out of 5]

After having read a few books for agile coaches, I did not think we needed another book about the human side of agile. I was wrong. This book has lots of advice, written in a practical way.

[Mike Iacolino · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of good lessons and applicable tools in this book. However, I found it pretty boring and generally tough to get through. I know the book is formatted as a series of Q&A, but it seemed somewhat disorganized at times, where a topic would be covered in many random points throughout the book. The logical flow of certain sections seemed a little wonky as well.

Part 3 was outstanding, however, and was worth the price of the entire book.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read my share on agile over the years. This was the most moving and deep, really. The promise of agile is, for me, about embracing complexity and meeting directly the realities and potential of human nature with respect and admiration. Also, the philosophy is nearly subversive in an anti-hierarchical embrace of cooperative effort. I heartily recommend this work for anyone seeking a reframing of team-based knowledge work in any field.

[Luís Marques · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gil Broza approaches what he suggests in the book title. Anyone can read the book, but I would like to reference it for people who already know the agile basics. The content shares insights and real stories that help us to think and confront preconceived beliefs. Different from what the author says somewhere in the book, this is a book to revisit! I hope I don't forget it on my shelf!

[Lukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Human Side of Agile
Sporo jest pozycji opisujących agilne metody pracy, jednak niewiele jest pozycji, które koncentrują się na tym jak ważne jest ludzkie podejście do pracownika i ludzi w kontekście tych metod. Bardzo dobra książka.

[Ashley Jane Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read for anyone working agile, or anyone wanting to understand what agile teams face day to day. While I don’t work agile, his book helped me understand how people centric the process is.

[Eric · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought I would learn about Agile methodologies, so I chose the wrong book.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Human Side of Agile gets into the psychology of teams and team members. There are many books out there on the framework of Scrum but this is the first I have read that focuses on the human side. I read this book from cover to cover and I know there will be many chapters I'll revisit as they become relevant to the team. Gil Broza does a great job using real-work examples and explanations. Normally I search the web for blog posts from fellow ScrumMasters on "real world" experiences (How did someone else resolve this type of situation?) and Gil is now another resource I'll turn to. Gil recognizes and explains being a ScrumMaster, an agile coach, an agile leader is so much more than just knowing the frameworks but also having the skills to read your team, support your team and deal with human emotions.

Chapters I know I'll be visiting again and again,
-Consider Team Sociology
-How to Handle Negative Attitudes (because we all have those people)
-Deliberate Language (because language matters. What we say and how we say it makes a difference)

Overall, go and get yourself a copy of this book if you want to go beyond framework.

[Bovereem · Rating 4 out of 5]

The question & answer structure makes the book approachable and easy to find relevant information, it also contains lots of practical handouts and tips.

[Olli Sorje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something every person in role like Scrum Master, Agile Coach etc. should read.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are many books about agile leadership. This is the one to start with as it covers all of the key areas and also points you to many of the canonical resources for the role of people in agile.

[Bob Schatz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great read for Scrum Masters who are looking to raise their leadership skill levels and ensure that they are fulfilling their role as coach and facilitator.