Every year I try to spend time on my own training. I usually start thinking about two things the year before:
- What are some knowledge gaps that I have that I’d like to fill, and
- What are upcoming trends that will cause me to become obsolete if I don’t get ahead of them?
Then I review the available courses and I’ll try to come up with 2-3 things that I’ll focus on for improvement.
Last year I posted my first "Sharpening the Saw" post in June. That inspired me to do it again for 2017, but closer to the beginning of the year. You'll probably see this become an annual post to remind me (and perhaps you) to plot a journey of continuous learning.
This year, I’ve planned on the following:
- Kanban Coaching Professional Masterclass, with David Anderson in March
- Scrum Gathering - San Diego in April and Dublin in October
- Agile Conference - Orlando in August
- Scrum Alliance CAL - Leadership Agility
Kanban
I took this class in 2011. At the time, it was a 3-day version. This time I'm retaking it as a refresher and it's a 5-day version. I'm sure there will be lots to learn.
One of the reasons for signing up is David Anderson. He announced that he's taking a respite from teaching after a series of 2017 classes. And I wanted to catch him before he goes.
Scrum Gathering & Agile Conference
This year I'm attending these conferences as an attendee. In both cases, I plan on fully engaging with the Coaching Clinics to practice my coaching chops and give back a little to our community. I'm particularly excited about going to the European Scrum Gathering in Dublin. It will be my first in Europe and I'm looking forward to meeting an entirely new Scrum community while there.
Lastly, I also plan on focusing on new trends and learning. And the networking will be outstanding as well. If you happen to be going to any of the conferences, please look me up!
Leadership Agility
Last year I attended Bill Joiners Leadership Agility 360 workshop. The plan was to incorportate that tool (and the ideas from his book) Leadership Agility – Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change. into my coaching.
The plan was also to use it in my newly developed Certified Agile Leader workshop for the Scrum Alliance CAL certification. As part of developing the course materials, I've been doing quite a bit of research and reading around new forms of organizational leadership.
I expect that to continue heavily in 2017 as I introduce the course, run Beta versions, and evolve it on early feedback. This should be a real learning experience this year.
Wrapping Up
Some of you may be asking why did I share this post? The answer is three-fold.
First, I want to inspire my fellow agile trainers and coaches to invest in their own continuous improvement. I’ve written before about us needing to walk our own talk and this is a large part of that effort. It can be too easy to fall into the “revenue generation” trap. Literally we can wake up one day and be extinct.
Second, I want my clients to know that I’m walking my own talk. That I continue to challenge myself to learn and grow. And that this “habit” is something that’s ingrained in me, my agile coaching, my coaching practice, and in my daily life.
And third, I simply want to share some topic or class (trends) that I think are interesting to pursue.
Stay agile my friends!
Bob.