Berlin in December
I just returned from Berlin and I’m up quite early due to jet lag. I live in Southern California and whenever I return from Europe it feels almost like I have some productivity superpowers since I am waking up at 3am. Everyone else in my house is asleep so I can focus and get things done or I can lose myself in my phone while I drink my morning coffee.
It’s very festive in Berlin right now with the Christmas markets. I was able to experience one and catch up with a friend who lives there. Not gonna lie, it was really really cold.. think frozen feet, however we had warm drinks and delicious food to get our minds off of that.
I was in Berlin for the LeadingEng conference, which brings together senior leaders in engineering like CTOs and VPs of Engineering. I really enjoyed this conference especially because the talk slots are 20 minutes long, so you get to hear a lot of different perspectives in one day. It’s a one track conference as well, and on the smaller side so you are able to meet people and find them later. This is the same company that has the LeadDev conferences. My talk was titled Built to Flex - Strengthen your Org to Expect Change. Maybe the recording will be available at some point, and if so I will share it.
While I was in Berlin I had a couple of free days so I was also able to visit On, makers of the incredible running shoes and athletic apparel that many of us love and wear. At On I conducted a day-long workshop for a large group of technical leaders - one of whom posted about the workshop on Linked In, so look at my feed there if you would like to see a photo!
The nice thing about running workshops inside companies is that I can coach the team or group while we are running through the Dynamic Reteaming materials. The people in the workshop are part of a larger, collective entity and as such there is this opportunity to encourage people to co-create how they want to be together and work together in the future. I find that this is energizing to me and would love to help out more companies in this way.
This team was hybrid, and through this experience I was able to refine my skills in coaching and facilitating when some are in the room and some are elsewhere. We used a Miro board that I have been revising each time I use it, as well as breakout rooms and in person movement to different regions of the room for small group discussions.
Here is a description of the workshop that I run inside companies:
Dynamic Reteaming Workshop: Empowering Teams for a Resilient Future
Change is the only constant in the tech world, and your teams are no exception. As your company evolves, so must your teams. They may grow, split, merge, or even transform entirely. These shifts can feel seismic, but they also present opportunities for growth and innovation. How can we empower our teams to navigate these changes? How can we maintain our unique culture while integrating new members? In this interactive workshop, we'll delve into these questions and more, drawing on real-world case studies from successful companies that have harnessed the power of Dynamic Reteaming.
Key takeaways:
Discover patterns of team change, including isolation, one by one, grow and split, merging, and switching, and learn strategies to thrive amidst these changes.
Reflect on your company's current state through the lens of The Story of our Team, Ecocycle, and Panarchy exercises.
Envision evolutionary changes to your organizational structure that foster career growth, employee fulfillment, and effective teams, while aligning with your strategic goals for the coming year.
Hear inspiring stories and learn practical tactics for including everyone in organizational change, fostering an inclusive and empowered culture.
Gain practical techniques and activities to support teams that have recently undergone change, helping them to become dynamic, empowered, inclusive, and antifragile.
I hope that you enjoy your December and look forward to connecting with you in the new year.
What I can do for you - Reach out to me and we can talk. Reply to this email or send me one at heidi.helfand at gmail.
If you’d like a workshop for your team, like the one I mentioned in this post, please reach out and we can book it. I can also customize the workshop.
Are you interested in joining my next online public course on Dynamic Reteaming? I’m doing some market validation on that at the moment, and would love your thoughts. Join my waitlist and survey here.
I am booking conference keynotes and talks for 2024. I will be at Scrum Gathering Tokyo to kick of the New Year in January.
I’m looking to join a company in 2024 ideally full time. If you are at a fast changing company and could use my help, don’t hesitate to reach out. Here’s my linked in. I’ve played a variety of roles from IC to VP. I’m at my best when I’m coaching and supporting teams to deliver as they grow or shrink.