Kirill Golubev: When Conflicts Escalate, Lessons Learned from a Scrum Master's Story of an Agile Team’s Self-Destruction
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In this episode, Kirill Golubev shares the story of a team that entered an unresolvable conflict. It all started small, with discussions on what framework and technology to use for the front-end. One person suggested that the decision was not optimal, but this person was not the lead developer. The team had other developers who had been together for a while and felt very united, and they started to push back against this developer's comments and disagreement.
Unfortunately, the situation escalated, and it led to nearly-physical confrontation. Kirill was not prepared to see the conflict grow that big, although there were other conflicts in the team that were positive and constructive. Even when he tried to address the topic in the team retrospectives, there were no specific action steps to address the conflict issue. Overall, Kirill's story highlights the importance of addressing conflicts proactively, especially when there are disagreements among team members. It's essential to have clear action steps to resolve conflicts and prevent them from escalating.
Featured Book of the Week: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark MansonKirill Golubev mentioned "The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck" by Mark Manson as the book that most influenced him. He highlighted the Pareto rule, which states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes, and in that context, he stressed the importance of being selective in daily work and identifying which actions bring the most value, which is similar to prioritizing the backlog for Product Owners.
In addition, Kirill emphasized the need to take the smallest step possible to deliver the most value, which is crucial in Agile. Overall, the book helped Kirill understand the importance of prioritizing and identifying the most valuable tasks, which is essential for Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches.
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About Kirill Golubev
Kirill considers himself an Agile and common-sense apologist. He wants to see simple processes in place, when people self-organize and manage themselves without constant push from management.
You can link with Kirill Golubev on LinkedIn.
