psychology
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What Do You Believe? Many people in the agile community believe their way of doing agile is the only right way. This is supported by confirmation bias, which lets us only see facts that support our beliefs. We deserve data-based approaches to determine what leads to the best outcomes. Can you look beyond your personal beliefs? |
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No Joke: You Should Be Laughing More How often do you truly laugh? Probably not nearly enough. Laughter relaxes the whole body, boosts the immune system, and relieves stress. It also lowers blood pressure, exercises several muscles, and increases the response of disease-killing cells. That’s a pretty good case for laughing as often as possible. |
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A Perspective on Other People’s Perspectives Whenever someone behaves in a way that seems inappropriate or counterproductive, it seems useful to wonder what might be going on to trigger that behavior. In the workplace, this matter of perspective requires only that you accept that your colleagues and coworkers face challenges similar to your own. |
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How Challenging Your Beliefs Can Improve Your Work The psychological term "confirmation bias" means that once you have a certain belief, you tend to see evidence that supports that belief and to ignore, belittle, or miss evidence that refutes it. This can make you narrow-minded. Instead, try to seek evidence that challenges or refutes your beliefs. |
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Rule Number 6: Don’t Take Yourself So Seriously When you've got way too much to do and not nearly enough support, it seems only natural to take things seriously—and to react accordingly. Yet, a case can be made not to take yourself overly seriously. After all, worrying isn't productive and your time is limited. Learn how to lighten up a little. |
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Before Jumping to Conclusions with Clients, Consider the Possibilities When customers react in a way that's other than you expect, don't jump to conclusions about the reason. There are often numerous possible explanations for someone's reaction, so don't get upset or dismiss it out of hand. Instead, consider the possibilities. There may be much to learn in doing so. |
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Cultivating the Growth Mindset To the fixed mindset, new ideas are either not important and easily rejected, or scary and different. It forces us to focus on our roles and learn in places that are already our strengths. Strive to cultivate a growth mindset, where what you don’t know is an opportunity to learn more and get better. |
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The Challenge of Being the Intermediary Within every team, people have different methods of tackling problems. Some strive to solve a problem within its bounds, while on the other end of the spectrum, others redefine the problem. Smack in the middle: the intermediary. Though it's tough, this role is important in bridging the two sides. |
