Coach-Ram

One of the traits that Project Managers or any Leader needs to develop is the ability to influence. Every project ecosystem consists of Stakeholders, internal and external. These include your own team members. The ability of a Project Manager to influence these Stakeholders will ensure that the project is in control. Dr. Robert Cialdini has developed 7 principles of influence which can be used by Leaders to influence others. 1.  Reciprocity :  When you do people a favour, they tend to respond in a manner you want them to. However, there are some points to note. - I t’s not about what is given, but HOW AND WHEN IT IS GIVEN . Be the first to give the favour. - Let it be personalized and unexpected. Tell them ‘ I am doing this only for you ’. Suppose, you have done a favour to a person and he/she says ‘Thank you’. What is your response? Many of us say, ‘Its okay’, ‘It was my duty’ etc. Some rare person may say ‘Now you also owe me a favour’.  Instead use this principle Respo...

I have delivered multiple training program and facilitated coaching interventions with Agile teams.  The most common discussion point is on the role of the Scrum Master. There is a lot of interpretations and hence confusion on this role. Let me try and provide some clarifications.   I will provide clarifications to 3 typical questions: 1. Who do Scrum Masters Report to? 2. How do I prove my value as a Scrum Master? 3. How do Scrum Masters encourage their team and other Stakeholders to follow Agile practices? 1. Who Do Scrum Masters Report To? Who should Scrum Masters report to is a tough question because so much depends on the Organization structure and the work being done by the Scrum team. Usually Scrum Masters will report into one of three places. A first option, which is common in product development teams, is to have Scrum Masters report into the product management group. However, this can sometimes lead to dysfunctional reporting paths such as the Scrum Master repor...

What happens when you have to give a presentation to an audience that might have some professionals who have more expertise on the topic than you do?  While it can be intimidating, it can also be an opportunity to leverage their deep and diverse expertise in service of the group’s learning. And it’s an opportunity to exercise some intellectual humility, which includes having respect for other viewpoints, not being intellectually overconfident, separating your ego from your intellect, and being willing to revise your own viewpoint — especially in the face of new information.  This blog is my attempt at sharing some thoughts on how you might approach a roomful of experts, including how to invite them into the discussion without allowing them to completely take over, as well as how to pivot on the proposed topic when necessary. I am 8 years into my executive coaching practice now and about 2 years ago, I was invited by the Institute from where I acquired by coach training, to spe...

It is said that we are a sum-total of our habits.   We have a habit of waking up at a particular time every day, following a specific morning routine, doing similar set of tasks during the day, eating our meals in a typical way and even ending our day with a set of routine tasks. Did you visualize your normal day as you were reading this? When we do a particular thing in the same way repeatedly, and derive some kind of instant pleasure from it, it becomes a habit. Once something becomes a habit, we can do that thing even without being prompted to do it and without being consciously aware.  Infact, after a while, we may not even derive the same pleasure from it, but we still keep doing it.  This is because our brain likes shortcuts which helps it to conserve energy. In any situation, the brain has to expend energy to make a conscious choice. Once a habit is formed, it becomes an unconscious action in that situation. The brain does not require a lot of energy to just repeat...