Invitation-Based Change and Inviting Leadership

Executives, coaches, decision-makers, and teachers… those focused on ‘agile transformation’…. 


…are you getting the feeling that there is something emerging here? That something new is brewing?

There is consolidation in the Agile world: 
The PMI bought Disciplined Agile Delivery, and Net Objectives FLEX. 
PMI is definitely sensing a change…


There is real action in the Agile world:  SCRUMINC is now offering their own from-Jeff-Sutherland certifications… https://www.scruminc.com/certified-scrum-master-training/

…and there are all kinds of new conferences out there. 

And a lot of folks are discussing how ‘agile’ means everything…and nothing. 
Some writers are now calling out how money has taken over….”transactions over transformations” seems to be the new value statement:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/money-changes-everything-kurt-nielsen/


Some folks are publicizing the fact that they are NOT renewing their Scrum certifications from Scrum Alliance: 

https://vitalitychicago.com/blog/why-i-am-not-going-to-renew-my-scrum-certification/

What Working And What’s NOT Working? 


It’s obvious that push-based, top-down, rolled-out, mandated approaches to “transformation” not only do not work, they can be (and usually are) quite harmful to people. 


In fact, there is now a cottage industry developing in calling out “agile bullshit”: https://media.defense.gov/2018/Oct/09/2002049591/-1/-1/0/DIB_DETECTING_AGILE_BS_2018.10.05.PDF


What’s Next?

There is a very obvious crisis of leadership in the Agile space. Instead of trying to fix that, it might be better to simply acknowledge it as a reality, and move on. 


Move on, and admit that something really BIG is brewing….and go do THAT. Just move on to the next step…

  • Invitation-Based Change: Change based on employee engagement and opt-in participation, instead of mandates
  • Inviting Leadership: Leadership that mixes in some invitations with those delegations, thereby generating self-organized FEEDBACK
  • Whole-group Approaches: Instead of top-down “push”, get all the people in the room, and find out what’s possible!
  • Workforce Engagement in the Change: Instead of ignoring the employee-engagement aspect, FOCUS ON IT and address it by using Open patterns and practices.
  • Open patterns and practices: Use proven patterns and practices that invite participation, awkward conversations, and real improvement by engaging the workforce in the change
  • Solving for scale: Realize that scaling anything in practical terms depends on willing people, human agency, and the space to exercise that agency. PUSH doesn’t scale.
  • Solving for business-agility, at scale: Developing the tools, techniques, patterns and practices for achieving better outcomes…at scale…

The Open Leadership Symposium TAMPA Feb 4-5-6


This NOT your typical/mainstream Agile conference. We won’t be discussing user stories a or planning poker at the Tampa Symposium. What we WILL be doing is teaching Open patterns and practices!


If you are new to agile, perhaps focusing on agile across the whole business, then this is your conference. Come to Tampa to get off on the right foot. At this conference you’ll learn how to improve engagement scores and get real traction with your business transformation. 


If you are experienced with Agile, and losing patience with mainstream agile, and looking for what the future holds, then this is your conference: we are offering 11 full-day Masterclasses in Open patterns and practices, including Agendashift, No Limits Self Management, OpenSpace Agility, Promise Theory and more.


If you are sensing that something big is brewing, this is your conference: the future of work has everything to do with workforce engagement, whole-group process, and the leveraging of the best available scientific research on how to coordinate work, at scale. Come to Tampa and learn how.

Some of the more notable speakers include….

  • Mark Burgess, originator of PROMISE THEORY
  • Doug Kirkpatrick, originator of NO LIMITS SELF MANAGEMENT
  • Eb Ikonne, Assistant Vice President of Engineering, Cox Automotive
  • Carol McEwan, CEO of SCRUM AT SCALE, formerly of Scaled Agile and Scrum Alliance
  • Bob Galen, prolific blogger and noted authority on Agile coaching and the Agile industry
  • Mike Burrows, originator of the Agendashift Engagement Model

In addition….

There are 10 full-day Master Classes:


February 4: 



February 6: 


Each of these classes are usually about $600 each, but if you act now, you can get these classes for as little as $375 a day, saving you over $200US.

And it’s in February, in Tampa Florida where it is 80 degrees. The venue is right next to Busch Gardens! And the beach is just a few miles away…


…And you’ll learn a lot, and find the others who are using Open patterns and practices to TRULY bring genuine and lasting change in their organizations…


…And you’ll receive a whole bunch of gifts including books on Open patterns


…And by attending, you’ll become a lifetime member of the Open Leadership Network

Here’s your code: it takes TWENTY FIVE PERCENT off the ticket….
TAKE25OFF


Here’s your information and registration link: https://OpenLeadershipNetwork.com/events/2020-tampa