TBA - Translating my books

After finishing my second book about Agile leadership (both in Swedish), I've received quite some questions on if they are available in English. Sadly the answer has been not at this time, but then I've given it some thought and what the heck, this could be my chance to write an international bestseller :)

So... I decided that I'll merge the two books and start translating. It will definitely take some time, but I aim to be finished in spring 2021. You can follow my work at https://agile.vulkanmedia.se 
Here is a taste for my English speaking friends, enjoy!

I do not know if it is a rash of Gothenburg humor, but when I took my first steps in the world of education in 2004, we had a course on the schedule called the "Blind Course". You might think that it is about some kind of education to support the disabled with visual impairments, but the truth is quite far from it… The blind course was simply "C ++ for those who cannot C" and if you do not know these terms, Wikipedia describes it as ”C ++ is a programming language with support for data abstraction, object-oriented programming and generic programming as well as low-level hardware-based programming. The language was developed in the early 1980s by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs. Today it is one of the most popular programming languages and is used in everything from computer games to consumer electronics ”

That it became the "Blind Course" is of course connected with "for you who cannot C" and when I now sit and try to summarize uplifted insights about leadership and team-building, I think in similar ways about what leadership can look like when certain parts are missing. I am aware that there are any number of texts that describe in more depth virtually every area that I address in this book, but combined with my own thoughts and practical solutions, I feel that you who read this can get a lot with you useful to work with yourself and transform into just your own solutions!

Leading the blind

One morning when I was standing in the shower, the thought struck me that if you really want to engage employees, communication and interaction are some of the most important components! 

Blind faith is often something we hear about from the military of dictatorships where rational thoughts are struck down on. How many organizations do we not have where the "yes boss" thinking prevails? 

Let me develop a little. 

A typical "yes" organization is often based on a very dominant leader where everyone more or less assumes that the leader's words are law (as it is of course always the best option). Here are several examples where the financial result may be brilliant, but pretty much every time someone digs a little deeper, we rarely find satisfied and prosperous employees. The stress that builds up when the "yes" mentality is inherited downwards from the board to the CEO to the line manager means that the entire corporate culture is woven together into a machine that sooner or later crackles.

You will hardly find greater commitment and participation as everyone still knows that thoughts and ideas that emerge do not very often lead to something if they do not happen to coincide completely with the plans that have already been communicated as omnipotent. Leaders who try to find new ways and involve employees right from the start are seen as uncomfortable and with a distinct "yes" organization, it rarely takes long before these individuals are pushed away from an influential role and leaders who change employers, start their own and suddenly flourish and inspires in a way that can be difficult to understand when the person has previously been held back in order to maintain the designated line. I myself am convinced that from both a humane and an economic perspective, it is preferable to have an agile organization that builds success together! 

About the book

This is a book where I have gathered my own experiences over the past 20 years in terms of digitization, agile approach and leadership where care and continuous improvement work is in focus. We will go through phases around organizational development and how the agile approach with the team in focus supports both personal development as well as it provides financial benefits. As I myself also have a strong focus on using new digital technology to support dialogue, I also highlight how I have worked with this both in terms of leading and working in distributed teams, but also from the social media point of view.

In all areas of the book, there is great potential to deepen your knowledge further, so my hope is that with my book you will find areas that you feel you are more passionate about and then take responsibility for your own competence journey further. If you have questions about something in the book or where you can find more info, you are more than welcome to email me at tobias@jtstrandh.se 

My definition of agile may not fully agree with all the different methods and models you find on the market, but it is also my philosophy that it is you who creates and defines the meaning. I pick the goodies from different tanks and apply them as I see it work in the very best way. The basis of my view is that we always start from communication and aim for a way of working where you, me and the person we work with feel that we all get a result that we can be happy with. This is how I have always worked and it applies regardless of whether I sell a service / product or support employees in achieving the best results.

In the summer of 2019, I went to an inspirational conference with Microsoft in Las Vegas and one of my major gains from there is precisely the strong focus that is now highlighted around trust. A common thread that runs throughout the conference is transparency and inclusion. The idea is that everyone should feel welcome and involved. Already the first keynote addresses this and I actually think that every single session thereafter managed to squeeze it in somehow, so precisely these softer values are really highlighted as a success factor both in terms of employees, but also to actually have a value and significance on the market!

You cannot claim trust, you must earn it, every day
- Satya Nadella, Microsoft

In the autumn after the conference, I read an article in the Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri (Daily Industri) entitled "Soft manager gives better companies" which really points out that understanding among employees about how we are and what drives us all gives a better consensus and better results in the end. I myself have worked a lot with different models like DISC and REISS which I tell more about in my first book and no matter what structures you yourself work with, I am convinced that it is basically the communication and understanding that we are all different which is the important thing in finding a good collaboration.

 

I hope you will get one or two pearls from my book that you yourself will benefit from!

/Tobias Strandh