I recently returned from the Global Scrum Gathering held in San Diego. Short version: worth it!
Long version with my personal high and low reflections:
Agile For All peeps: We added two new people to the team: John Miller and Rob Myers. This was the first time that we would be mostly together (Peter Saddington was unable to join this trip). Although the week was packed full for some (John was running coaches clinic and Jake was running open space), any time that we are together – I’m happy. I’m proud to be with people that challenge me, support me and that I enjoy being around.
CST/CEC retreat: This is the first one I’ve attended since getting my CST in November. I’m not sure I can give a quality assessment as I was exhausted after finishing our coaching course the day before and driving from LA to San Diego…even extroverts like me need some recovery time! My high note was the world cafe style of the Scrum Alliance initiatives – I learned quite a bit what was going on. My low note moment was getting called out at breakfast for being on my laptop. Totally fair and understand that it was playful. Yet, I had Agile2017 program acceptances trying to be closed, trying to get enough sleep, trying to eat, etc that I was doing the best that I could.- Women in Agile breakfast: As an experiment to see if people would be interested and if it was valuable, a limited invite for a breakfast was sent out in advance. Unfortunately, the experiment and reason for limited wasn’t communicated well – so there were some upset women for not being included (feedback was given to Scrum Alliance). My high note: getting to sit and chat with some of my favorite people and meeting some fantastic new women. One moment stood out for me was when a high school lady asked “I’m awkward, how do I start conversations” and I remembered why events like this are important. My low note: I wasn’t always in support of the advice. Honestly, I frequently walk away from these events wondering if I’m a woman as I don’t relate to some of the advice. Personally, I’m still processing what this means for me…stay tuned.
- Conference – Sessions: Definitely a high note for me was having no conference responsibilities other than speaking, I was able to attend several sessions. Topics that I want to explore (LESS), Supporting my team (Bob Hartman, Peter Green), checking out old friends’ new topics (Alistair Cockburn – Guest Leadership), checking out new friends’ sessions (Karim Harbott), and exploring brand new topics/speakers (that gained me new exercises!!!) . I don’t think I had a low note for any sessions – very happy with what I attended.
Conference – My session: This was the farewell song for the Six Trumps (Training from the Back of the Room) session. The low note was that I was put in the last time slot of the last day – but someone has to go there, so I’m not complaining. My high note was I’m happy with this final delivery. The feedback was strong. The energy was solid. The laughter was plenty. The content was valuable.- Conference – Open Space: This is getting a special call out because Jake and Allison nailed facilitating the open space. The opening, the closing, the setup, everything was well done. Personally, I got to test out my Mile High Agile Denver session (thrilled with the results). Absolutely no low note here!
Conference – People: I know, I know…I say this for every conference but it is true. The best part is always the people. Catching up and hanging out with people that I see only a few times a year (or in some cases every couple of years), well, I value the time!
