Presentation given at Agile 2015 in Washington D.C. Is working with middle management the bane of your existence? Is middle management preventing progress with your agile adoption? Are the teams you are coaching being stifled by middle management? Or are you a middle manager trapped in the system struggling to break out and make a difference for your organisation? If you answered yes to any of the above questions then this session is for you! Middle management, also known as the "frozen middle", are often bemoaned as blockers to progress. It never fails to amaze me how often a conversation in a room full of agile coaches will turn to the topic of “what to do about middle management”. Frequently the solutions I hear proposed are along the lines of “work around them” or “get rid of them”. In this session we will explore a different approach. Instead of removing middle management from the picture, how can we harness their energy to lead rather than hinder an agile transition? In this interactive presentation, Em will share with you what it is like to be part of middle management, help you tap into your empathy by putting yourself in the shoes of middle management and provide you with numerous proven techniques to help managers at any level (frozen or otherwise!) accelerate their transition into agile leaders.

1. Em Campbell-Pretty
Partner, Context Matters
@PrettyAgile
www.prettyagile.com
au.linkedin.com/in/ejcampbellpretty/
em@contextmatters.com.au
Thawing the
“Frozen Middle”
AGILE 2015
WASHINGTON D.C.

3. https://flic.kr/p/8z6cna

4. https://flic.kr/p/cEJMpW

7. https://flic.kr/p/7CvwdN

8. http://www.solutionsiq.com/what-is-an-empathy-map/

9. Silent Brainstorming
Thinking about a middle manager you work with (or have worked with in
the past) on an agile implementation.
• What are they thinking & feeling about their role in the agile
implementation?
• What are they hearing about agile from their executives, their peers
and their teams?
• What are the saying about the implementation? What are they
doing? (Consider both in public or in private)
• What pain is the agile implementation causing them?
• What do they stand to gain from the agile implementation?
Each person should add at least one sticky to every section.
EMPATHY MAP INSTRUCTIONS

10. Photos of the Empathy Maps produced by attendees
at this session can be downloaded from:
http://bit.ly/Agile2015EmpathyMaps
(case sensitive link)

11. What patterns did you observe?

12. What surprised you?

13. https://flic.kr/p/iyKfj1

14. https://flic.kr/p/8qCCLW
I want you to do Agile
I want to be Agile

15. https://flic.kr/p/67nNta

17. https://flic.kr/p/do7GmV
Beware wolves in coach’s clothing

20. ” Those who can
read and don’t, are
only marginally
better off than those
who can’t.”
-Verne Harnish

21. https://flic.kr/p/a6rwJ7

22. LEAVE THE IVORY TOWER & GO TO THE GEMBA
"Farming looks mighty easy
when your plow is a pencil and
you're 1,000 miles from the
corn field."
— Dwight Eisenhower

26. https://flic.kr/p/dW9Tuf

27. The role of management is to support the
people who do the work.
https://flic.kr/p/dW9Tuf

28. https://flic.kr/p/987JDV
Provide the vision

29. Create Unity

31. https://flic.kr/p/fJ5esB
Train everyone

32. https://flic.kr/p/5YWuWk
Fund technical
enablers

33. Improve the system

34. Develop the next generation of leaders

35. https://flic.kr/p/rG2yT

36. https://flic.kr/p/8f7FoE

38. “The vulnerability paradox: It's
the first thing I look for in you and
the last thing I want you to see in
me.”
- Brene Brown

44. https://flic.kr/p/4D2ccY

45. https://flic.kr/p/7vXACv

46. • Find managers who are willing*
• Tap into your empathy
• Address their feelings
• Give them a role to play i.e. supporting the
people that do the work
• Help them display vulnerability
* Or inspire the unwilling
THAWING THE “FROZEN MIDDLE”

47. “…they are people too, they are just
stuck in the system”
– Jim Benson on Middle Management

48. Em Campbell-Pretty
Partner, Context Matters
@PrettyAgile
www.prettyagile.com
au.linkedin.com/in/ejcampbellpretty/
em@contextmatters.com.au
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
Check out my blog:
• Advice for coaches on “dealing with” management: http://bit.ly/FrozenMiddle
• Book Clubs at work - Are you serious? http://bit.ly/AgileBookClub
• Creating Unity: http://bit.ly/UnityHour
• Train everyone: http://bit.ly/TrainEveryone
• An Agile Team of Agile Leaders: http://bit.ly/AgileTeamOfLeaders
• Leading Through Vulnerability: http://bit.ly/LeadingVulnerability
• An Agile Christmas Story: http://bit.ly/AgileChristmas
Note: all links are case sensitive