BONUS: When AI Knows Your Emotional Triggers Better Than You Do — Navigating Mindfulness in the AI Age | Mo Edjlali
Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: Agile storytelling from the trenches29 Nov

BONUS: When AI Knows Your Emotional Triggers Better Than You Do — Navigating Mindfulness in the AI Age | Mo Edjlali

BONUS: When AI Knows Your Emotional Triggers Better Than You Do — Navigating Mindfulness in the AI Age

In this thought-provoking conversation, former computer engineer and mindfulness leader Mo Edjlali explores how AI is reshaping human meaning, attention, and decision-making. We examine the critical question: what happens when AI knows your emotional triggers better than you know yourself? Mo shares insights on remaining sovereign over our attention, avoiding dependency in both mindfulness and technology, and preparing for a world where AI may outperform us in nearly every domain.

From Technology Pioneer to Mindfulness Leader

"I've been very heavily influenced by technology, computer engineering, software development. I introduced DevOps to the federal government. But I have never seen anything change the way in which human beings work together like Agile." — Mo Edjlali

Mo's journey began in the tech world — graduating in 1998, he was on the front line of the internet explosion. He remembers the days before the internet, watched online multiplayer games emerge in 1994, and worked on some of the most complicated tech projects in federal government. Technology felt almost like magic, advancing at a logarithmic rate faster than anything else. But when Mo discovered mindfulness practices 12-15 years ago, he found something equally transformative: actual exercises to develop emotional intelligence and soft skills that the tech world talked about but never taught. Mindfulness provided logical, practical methods that didn't require "woo-woo" beliefs — just practice that fundamentally changed his relationship with his mind. This dual perspective — tech innovator and mindfulness teacher — gives Mo a unique lens for understanding where we're headed.

The Shift from Liberation to Dependency

"I was fortunate enough, the teachers I was exposed to, the mentality was very much: you're gonna learn how to meditate on your own, in silence. There is no guru. There is no cult of personality." — Mo Edjlali

Mo identifies a dangerous drift in the mindfulness movement: from teaching independence to creating dependency. His early training, particularly a Vipassana retreat led by S.N. Goenka, modeled true liberation — you show up for 10 days, pay nothing, receive food and lodging, learn to meditate, then donate what you can at the end. Critically, you leave being able to meditate on your own without worshiping a teacher or subscribing to guided meditations. But today's commercialized mindfulness often creates the opposite: powerful figures leading fiefdoms, consumers taught to listen to guided meditations rather than meditate independently. This dependency model mirrors exactly what's happening with AI — systems designed to make us rely on them rather than empower our own capabilities. Recognizing this parallel is essential for navigating both fields wisely.

AI as a New Human Age, Not Just Another Tool

"With AI, this is different. This isn't like mobile computing, this isn't like the internet. We're entering a new age. We had the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Industrial Age. When you enter a new age, it's almost like knocking the chess board over, flipping the pieces upside down. We're playing a new game." — Mo Edjlali

Mo frames AI not as another technology upgrade but as the beginning of an entirely new human age. In a new age, everything shifts: currency, economies, government, technology, even religions. The documentary about the Bronze Age collapse taught him that when ages turn over, the old rules no longer apply. This perspective explains why AI feels fundamentally different from previous innovations. ChatGPT 2.0 was interesting; ChatGPT 3 blew Mo's mind and made him realize we're witnessing something unprecedented. While he's optimistic about the potential for sustainable abundance and extraordinary breakthroughs, he's also aware we're entering both the most exciting and most frightening time to be alive. Everything we learned in high school might be proven wrong as AI rewrites human knowledge, translates animal languages, extends longevity, and achieves things we can't even imagine.

The Mental Health Tsunami and Loss of Purpose

"If we do enter the age of abundance, where AI could do anything that human beings could do and do it better, suddenly the system we have set up — where our purpose is often tied to our income and our job — suddenly, we don't need to work. So what is our purpose?" — Mo Edjlali

Mo offers a provocative vision of the future: a world where people might pay for jobs rather than get paid to work. It sounds crazy until you realize it's already happening — people pay $100,000-$200,000 for college just to get a job, politicians spend millions to get elected. If AI handles most work and we enter an age of abundance, jobs won't be about survival or income — they'll be about meaning, identity, and social connection. This creates three major crises Mo sees accelerating: attacks on our focus and attention (technology hijacking our awareness), polarization (forcing black-and-white thinking), and isolation (pushing us toward solo experiences). The mental health tsunami is coming as people struggle to find purpose in a world where AI outperforms them in domain after domain. The jobs will change, the value systems will shift, and those without tools for navigating this transformation will suffer most.

When AI Reads Your Mind

"Researchers at Duke University had hooked up fMRI brain scanning technology and took that data and fed it into GPT 2. They were able to translate brain signals into written narrative. So the implications are that we could read people's minds using AI." — Mo Edjlali

The future Mo describes isn't science fiction — it's already beginning. Three years ago, researchers used early GPT to translate brain signals into written text by scanning people's minds with fMRI and training AI on the patterns. Today, AI knows a lot about heavy users like Mo through chat conversations. Tomorrow, AI will have video input of everything we see, sensory input from our biometrics (pulse, heart rate, health indicators), and potentially direct connection to our minds. This symbiotic relationship is coming whether we're ready or not. Mo demonstrates this with a personal experiment: he asked his AI to tell him about himself, describe his personality, identify his strengths, and most powerfully — reveal his blind spots. The AI's response was outstanding, better than what any human (even his therapist or himself) could have articulated. This is the reality we're moving toward: AI that knows our emotional triggers, blind spots, and patterns better than we do ourselves.

Using AI as a Mirror for Self-Discovery

"I asked my AI, 'What are my blind spots?' Human beings usually won't always tell you what your blind spots are, they might not see them. A therapist might not exactly see them. But the AI has... I've had the most intimate kind of conversations about everything. And the response was outstanding." — Mo Edjlali

Mo's approach to AI is both pragmatic and experimental. He uses it extensively — at the level of teenagers and early college students who are on it all the time. But rather than just using AI as a tool, he treats it as a mirror for understanding himself. Asking AI to identify your blind spots is a powerful exercise because AI has observed all your conversations, patterns, and tendencies without the human limitations of forgetfulness or social politeness. Vasco shares a similar experience using AI as a therapy companion — not replacing his human therapist, but preparing for sessions and processing afterward. This reveals an essential truth: most of us don't understand ourselves that well. We're blind navigators using an increasingly powerful tool. The question isn't whether AI will know us better than we know ourselves — that's already happening. The question is how we use that knowledge wisely.

The Danger of AI Hijacking Our Agency

"There's this real danger. I saw that South Park episode about ChatGPT where his wife is like, 'Come on, put the AI down, talk to me,' and he's got this crazy business idea, and the AI keeps encouraging him along. It's a point where he's relying way too heavily on the AI and making really poor decisions." — Mo Edjlali

Not all AI use is beneficial. Mo candidly admits his own mistakes — sometimes leaning into AI feedback over his actual users' feedback for his Meditate Together app because "I like what the AI is saying." This mirrors the South Park episode's warning about AI dependency, where the character's AI encourages increasingly poor decisions while his relationships suffer. Social media demonstrates this danger at scale: AI algorithms tuned to steal our attention and hijack our agency, preventing us from thinking about what truly matters — relationships and human connection. Mo shares a disturbing story about Zoom bombers disrupting Meditate Together sessions, filming it, posting it on YouTube where it got 90,000 views, with comments thanking the disruptors for "making my day better." Technology created a cannibalistic dynamic where teenagers watched videos of their mothers, aunts, and grandmothers being harassed during meditation. When Mo tried to contact Google, the company's incentive structure prioritized views and revenue over human decency. Technology combined with capitalism creates these dangerous momentum toward monetizing attention at any cost.

Remaining Sovereign Over Your Attention

"Traditionally, mindfulness does an extraordinary job, if you practice right, to help you regain your agency of your focus and concentration. It takes practice. But reading is now becoming a concentration practice. It's an actual practice." — Mo Edjlali

Mo identifies three major symptoms affecting us: attacks on focus/attention, polarization into black-and-white thinking, and isolation. Mindfulness practices directly counter all three — but only if practiced correctly. Training attention, focus, and concentration requires actual practice, not just listening to guided meditations. Mo offers practical strategies: reading as concentration practice (asking "does anyone read anymore?" recognizing that sustained reading now requires deliberate effort), turning off AirPods while jogging or driving to find silence, spending time alone with your thoughts, and recognizing that we were given extraordinary power (smartphones) with zero training on how to be aware of it. Older generations remember having to rewind VHS tapes — forced moments of patience and stillness that no longer exist. We need to deliberately recreate those spaces where we're not constantly consuming entertainment and input.

Dialectic Thinking: Beyond Polarization

"I saw someone the other day wear a shirt that said, 'I'm perfect the way I am.' That's one-dimensional thinking. Two-dimensional thinking is: you're perfect the way that you are, and you could be a little better." — Mo Edjlali

Mo's book OpenMBSR specifically addresses polarization by introducing dialectic thinking — the ability to hold paradoxes and seeming contradictions simultaneously. Social media and algorithms push us toward one-dimensional, black-and-white thinking: good/bad, right/wrong, with me/against me. But reality is far more nuanced. The ability to think "I'm perfect as I am AND I can improve" or "AI is extraordinary AND dangerous" is essential for navigating complexity. This mirrors the tech world's embrace of continuous improvement in Agile — accepting where you are while always pushing for better. Chess players learned this years ago when AI defeated humans — they didn't freak out, they accepted it and adapted. Now AI in chess doesn't just give answers; it helps humans understand how it arrived at those answers. This partnership model, where AI coaches us through complexity rather than simply replacing us, represents the healthiest path forward.

Building Community, Not Dependency

"When people think to meditate, unfortunately, they think, I have to do this by myself and listen to guided meditation. I'm saying no. Do it in silence. If you listen to guided meditation, listen to guided meditation that teaches you how to meditate in silence. And do it with other people, with intentional community." — Mo Edjlali

Mo's OpenMBSR initiative explicitly borrows from the Agile movement's success: grassroots, community-centric, open source, transparent. Rather than creating fiefdoms around cult personalities, he wants mindfulness to spread organically through communities helping communities. This directly counters the isolation trend that technology accelerates. Meditate Together exists specifically to create spaces where people meditate with other human beings around the world, with volunteer hosts holding sessions. The model isn't about dependency on a teacher or platform — it's about building connection and shared practice. This aligns perfectly with how the tech world revolutionized collaborative work through Agile and Scrum: transparent, iterative, valuing individuals and interactions. The question for both mindfulness and AI adoption is whether we'll create systems that empower independence and community, or ones that foster dependency and isolation.

Preparing for a World Where AI Outperforms Humans

"AI is going to need to kind of coach us and ease us into it, right? There's some really dark, ugly things about ourselves that could be jarring without it being properly shared, exposed, and explained." — Mo Edjlali

Looking at his children, Mo wonders what tools they'll need in a world where AI may outperform humans in nearly every domain. The answer isn't trying to compete with AI in calculation, memory, or analysis — that battle is already lost. Instead, the essential human skills become self-awareness, emotional intelligence, dialectic thinking, community building, and maintaining agency over attention and decision-making. AI will need to become a coach, helping humans understand not just answers but how it arrived at those answers. This requires AI development that prioritizes human growth over profit maximization. It also requires humans willing to do the hard work of understanding themselves — confronting blind spots, managing emotional triggers, practicing concentration, and building genuine relationships. The mental health tsunami Mo predicts isn't inevitable if we prepare now by teaching these skills widely, building community-centric systems, and designing AI that empowers rather than replaces human wisdom and connection.

About Mo Edjlali

Mo Edjlali is a former computer engineer, and also the founder and CEO of Mindful Leader, the world's largest provider of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction training. Mo's new book Open MBSR: Reimagining the Future of Mindfulness explores how ancient practices can help us navigate the AI revolution with awareness and resilience.

You can learn more about Mo and his work at MindfulLeader.org, check out Meditate Together, and read his articles on AI's Mind-Reading Breakthrough and AI: Not Another Tool, but a New Human Age.

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From AI Anxiety to AI Advantage: A Scrum Master's Experimental Approach | Shawn Dsouza

From AI Anxiety to AI Advantage: A Scrum Master's Experimental Approach | Shawn Dsouza

Shawn Dsouza: From AI Anxiety to AI Advantage: A Scrum Master's Experimental Approach Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Shawn faces the massive AI transformation currently reshaping the tech industry, acknowledging both its benefits and the fear it creates among professionals questioning their relevance. In his organization, he witnesses AI delivering wonders for some teams while others struggle and lose projects. Rather than viewing AI as an overwhelming wave, Shawn advocates for experimentation. He shares practical examples, like helping a Product Owner streamline story creation from Excel to JIRA using AI tools, and leveraging MIRO AI for team collaboration. His approach focuses on identifying friction points where AI experiments could add value while keeping conversations centered on possibilities rather than fears. Self-reflection Question: Instead of fearing technological changes like AI, how can you create small experiments to explore new possibilities and reduce friction in your current work processes? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn't just about innovation—it's about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she's caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about the product—it's about the people. 🚨 Will Angela's coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Shawn Dsouza Shawn, a Mangalore native and Software Technology postgraduate from AIMIT, brings 8+ years of IT expertise, excelling as a Scrum Master fostering innovation and teamwork. Beyond technology, he leads SPARK, a social service initiative, and pursues his passion as an aquarist, nurturing vibrant aquatic ecosystems with dedication. You can link with Shawn Dsouza on LinkedIn.

17 Sep 13min

The Database Migration Disaster— Why Software Development Teams Need Psychological Safety | Shawn Dsouza

The Database Migration Disaster— Why Software Development Teams Need Psychological Safety | Shawn Dsouza

Shawn Dsouza: The Database Migration Disaster— Why Software Development Teams Need Psychological Safety Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Shawn worked with a skilled team migrating a database from local to cloud-based systems, supported by a strong Product Owner. Despite surface-level success in ceremonies, he noticed the team avoided discussing difficult topics. After three months of seemingly smooth progress, they delivered to pre-production only to discover 140 critical issues. The root cause? Unspoken disagreements and tensions that festered beneath polite ceremony facades. The situation deteriorated to the point where a senior engineer quit, teaching Shawn that pausing to address underlying issues doesn't cost time—it builds sustainability. In this segment, we refer to the episodes with Mahesh Jade, a previous guest on the Scrum Master Toolbox podcast. Featured Book of the Week: The Advice Trap by Michael Bungay Stanier Shawn discovered this transformative book when he realized he was talking too much in team meetings despite wanting to add value. The Advice Trap revealed how his instinct to give advice, though well-intentioned, was actually self-defeating. The book taught him to stay curious longer and ask better questions rather than rushing to provide solutions. As Shawn puts it, "The minute you think you have the answer you stop listening"—a lesson that fundamentally changed his coaching approach and helped him become more effective with his teams. Self-reflection Question: When working with teams, do you find yourself jumping to advice-giving mode, or do you stay curious long enough to truly understand the underlying challenges? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn't just about innovation—it's about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she's caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about the product—it's about the people. 🚨 Will Angela's coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Shawn Dsouza Shawn, a Mangalore native and Software Technology postgraduate from AIMIT, brings 8+ years of IT expertise, excelling as a Scrum Master fostering innovation and teamwork. Beyond technology, he leads SPARK, a social service initiative, and pursues his passion as an aquarist, nurturing vibrant aquatic ecosystems with dedication. You can link with Shawn Dsouza on LinkedIn.

16 Sep 13min

When Scrum Masters Forget to Listen - A Team Trust Crisis in Agile Implementation | Shawn Dsouza

When Scrum Masters Forget to Listen - A Team Trust Crisis in Agile Implementation | Shawn Dsouza

Shawn Dsouza: When Scrum Masters Forget to Listen - A Team Trust Crisis in Agile Implementation Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Shawn shares a powerful lesson about the importance of listening before implementing. Working with a young, talented team drowning in firefighting, he rolled out Scrum in "full" without taking time to understand the team's context. Going through the motions of Scrum ceremonies without genuine team ownership led to dropping energy levels and lost trust. The turning point came when Shawn realized the team had lost faith in his approach, prompting him to rebuild the process collaboratively with team ownership at its core. This story highlights how good intentions can backfire when we prioritize frameworks over people. Self-reflection Question: Before implementing any new process or framework, how do you ensure you truly understand your team's current challenges and context rather than jumping straight to solutions? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn't just about innovation—it's about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she's caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about the product—it's about the people. 🚨 Will Angela's coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Shawn Dsouza Shawn, a Mangalore native and Software Technology postgraduate from AIMIT, brings 8+ years of IT expertise, excelling as a Scrum Master fostering innovation and teamwork. Beyond technology, he leads SPARK, a social service initiative, and pursues his passion as an aquarist, nurturing vibrant aquatic ecosystems with dedication. You can link with Shawn Dsouza on LinkedIn.

15 Sep 14min

Problems vs. Solutions: The Great Product Owner Distinction | Bernie Maloney

Problems vs. Solutions: The Great Product Owner Distinction | Bernie Maloney

Bernie Maloney: Problems vs. Solutions: The Great Product Owner Distinction Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. The Great Product Owner: The Strategic Problem Solver Bernie describes an exemplary Product Owner from a stealth program sponsored by a CTO, where the company needed to create new intellectual property. This Great Product Owner understood that Agile operates in three dimensions: most organizations only focus on outputs and delivery (first dimension), some reach outcomes (second dimension), but the truly great ones operate in the third dimension of strategic or business agility - defining problems worth solving. This Product Owner knew that high-performing teams need to understand what problem is worth solving rather than just receiving solutions to build. They embraced the Mobius loop approach, focusing on discovering the right problems rather than jumping straight to solutions. In this segment, we refer to the Mobius Loop, and to Steve Blank's work on the job of a startup. We also refer to the episode with Elliott Parker on the critical importance of the "startup mindset" to foster innovation in larger organizations. The Bad Product Owner: The Backlog Jockey with Authority Issues Bernie identifies the anti-pattern of Product Owners being treated as mere "backlog jockeys" by their organizations, which forces them into solution-building mode rather than problem-solving mode. These Product Owners don't understand the importance of saying "no" and lack clarity about intent and goals. The worst case Bernie encountered was a team manager who also served as Product Owner, wielding positional authority that shut down team communication. This person would interrupt daily scrums, causing teams to revert to waiting for direction rather than self-organizing. The combination of unclear intent and positional authority creates a toxic environment that destroys team autonomy and psychological safety. Self-reflection Question: Is your Product Owner focused on defining problems worth solving, or are they primarily managing a backlog of predetermined solutions? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn't just about innovation—it's about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she's caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about the product—it's about the people. 🚨 Will Angela's coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Bernie Maloney Bernie Maloney has helped teams grow businesses to beyond $4B / year, delivering products from consumer electronics to network infrastructure to services & payments. He helps clients achieve performance breakthroughs with their teams, organizations and themselves, and believes that leads both to outrageous effectiveness, and a whole lot more fun. You can link with Bernie Maloney on LinkedIn, and visit Bernie's website and YouTube Channel.

12 Sep 19min

From Permission-Seeking to Forgiveness-Begging—Agile Team Evolution in Self-Management | Bernie Maloney

From Permission-Seeking to Forgiveness-Begging—Agile Team Evolution in Self-Management | Bernie Maloney

Bernie Maloney: From Permission-Seeking to Forgiveness-Begging—Agile Team Evolution in Self-Management Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Bernie defines success for Scrum Masters as creating teams that can thrive and do their best work independently. His ultimate goal is to make himself unnecessary - developing self-directing teams that step out of waiting for direction and instead seek permission or even beg forgiveness when needed. Using the "Circles and Soup" framework, Bernie helps teams stretch their circles of influence and control. He recognizes that every manager wants teams to succeed but may lack the necessary tools, making it crucial for Scrum Masters to coach managers as well. Bernie recommends building a backlog of organizational impediments and focusing on the top priority that will move the ball forward most effectively. Featured Retrospective Format for the Week: Sailboat Bernie champions the Sailboat retrospective format for its simplicity and adaptability. While the basic format is straightforward, he appreciates that you can add layers of complexity as needed. Bernie tends to keep retrospectives simple and also mentions the "What the Duck?" technique as another valuable retrospective tool. He suggests incorporating creative elements like having people build LEGO representations of what they're discussing, which helps teams visualize and engage with concepts more effectively. To know more about LEGO Serious Play, check out the Serious Play book. In this segment, we also refer to Dissociation in Psychology, which helps with "third position" coaching/thinking, and Bernie's video on creative retrospective formats. Self-reflection Question: How are you measuring whether your teams are becoming more self-directing, and what specific behaviors indicate they're ready to operate with less guidance? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn't just about innovation—it's about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she's caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about the product—it's about the people. 🚨 Will Angela's coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Bernie Maloney Bernie Maloney has helped teams grow businesses to beyond $4B / year, delivering products from consumer electronics to network infrastructure to services & payments. He helps clients achieve performance breakthroughs with their teams, organizations and themselves, and believes that leads both to outrageous effectiveness, and a whole lot more fun. You can link with Bernie Maloney on LinkedIn, and visit Bernie's website and YouTube Channel.

11 Sep 14min

Mastering Complexity Through Systems Thinking and NLP Coaching | Bernie Maloney

Mastering Complexity Through Systems Thinking and NLP Coaching | Bernie Maloney

Bernie Maloney: Mastering Complexity Through Systems Thinking and NLP Coaching Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Bernie addresses the constant challenge of mid-sprint changes by asking the crucial question: "what do you want to trade in for that new request?" His approach centers on recognizing that everyone is trying to do their best with what they have, using techniques from NLP and the three coaching positions to help people see the whole system. Bernie emphasizes rapport building as a key skill for Scrum Masters and warns against the anti-pattern of becoming judgmental when challenges arise. He advocates for moving from a plan-and-predict mentality to sense-and-respond thinking, highlighting the importance of conducting retrospectives once challenges are solved. Bernie's coaching philosophy revolves around helping people step into the "third position" - a dissociated perspective that enables better problem-solving and systems thinking. In this episode, we refer to Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), and to Instant Rapport by Michael Brooks, a primer on NLP. We also refer to the plan-and-predict vs sense-and-respond mentality. Self-reflection Question: How effectively are you helping your teams and stakeholders see the whole system when challenges arise, rather than just focusing on individual pain points? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn't just about innovation—it's about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she's caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about the product—it's about the people. 🚨 Will Angela's coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Bernie Maloney Bernie Maloney has helped teams grow businesses to beyond $4B / year, delivering products from consumer electronics to network infrastructure to services & payments. He helps clients achieve performance breakthroughs with their teams, organizations and themselves, and believes that leads both to outrageous effectiveness, and a whole lot more fun. You can link with Bernie Maloney on LinkedIn, and visit Bernie's website and YouTube Channel.

10 Sep 18min

The Triangulation Technique—Coaching Agile Teams Through Challenges | Bernie Maloney

The Triangulation Technique—Coaching Agile Teams Through Challenges | Bernie Maloney

Bernie Maloney: The Triangulation Technique—Coaching Agile Teams Through Challenges Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Bernie identifies critical patterns that cause teams to self-destruct, with lack of clarity about intention being the most common culprit. When teams are treated as mere "task workers" without clear vision, strategy, or goals, they become depressed and directionless. Some teams seek forgiveness after failed experiments, while others get stuck seeking permission without taking enough self-leadership. Bernie emphasizes that waiting for direction is fundamentally self-destructive behavior, and Scrum Masters must create safety for teams to reach high performance. He introduces the coaching technique of triangulation, where problems become a third point that coach and coachee examine together, side by side, rather than facing each other in opposition. In this segment, we talk about "What the Duck", a Lego Serious Play workshop. Featured Book of the Week: Start with Why by Simon Sinek Bernie champions "Start with Why" by Simon Sinek as essential reading for Scrum Masters working to transform team culture. He explains that compelling stories are how leaders truly influence others, following the sequence of Attention-Emotion-Reason. This book helps Scrum Masters understand that their job fundamentally involves changing culture, and leaders must demonstrate the change they want to see. Bernie connects this to the broader leadership challenge of developing coaching and mentoring skills within organizational structures. During this segment, we also refer to the following books: Drive, By Dan Pink Change the Culture, Change the Game, by Connors et al. The Secret Language of Leadership, by Denning Too Many Bosses, Too Few Leaders, by Peshawaria The Geek Way, by McAfee Right Kind of Wrong, by Edmondson Self-reflection Question: What patterns of self-destructive behavior might your teams be exhibiting, and how could you help them move from seeking permission to taking ownership? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn't just about innovation—it's about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she's caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about the product—it's about the people. 🚨 Will Angela's coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Bernie Maloney Bernie Maloney has helped teams grow businesses to beyond $4B / year, delivering products from consumer electronics to network infrastructure to services & payments. He helps clients achieve performance breakthroughs with their teams, organizations and themselves, and believes that leads both to outrageous effectiveness, and a whole lot more fun. You can link with Bernie Maloney on LinkedIn, and visit Bernie's website and YouTube Channel.

9 Sep 16min

The Power of Psychological Safety in Agile Teams | Bernie Maloney

The Power of Psychological Safety in Agile Teams | Bernie Maloney

Bernie Maloney: The Power of Psychological Safety in Agile Teams Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes. Bernie shares a powerful story about learning what psychological safety truly means through both success and failure. Working in a high-pressure division with tight timelines and margins, Bernie discovered the transformative power of the mantra "always make a new mistake." When he made a significant error and was met with understanding rather than punishment, he experienced firsthand how psychological safety enables teams to thrive. Later, facing a different challenge where mistrust existed between management and teams, Bernie had to navigate the delicate balance of maintaining psychological safety while addressing management's desire for transparency. His solution was innovative: conduct retrospectives with the team first, then invite managers in at the end with anonymized contributions. Bernie's approach of framing changes as experiments helped people embrace newness, knowing it would be time-bound and reversible. In this episode we refer to Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP). Self-reflection Question: How might your current approach to mistakes and experimentation be either fostering or undermining psychological safety within your team? [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] 🔥In the ruthless world of fintech, success isn't just about innovation—it's about coaching!🔥 Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she's caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about the product—it's about the people. 🚨 Will Angela's coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue. Buy Now on Amazon [The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends] About Bernie Maloney Bernie Maloney has helped teams grow businesses to beyond $4B / year, delivering products from consumer electronics to network infrastructure to services & payments. He helps clients achieve performance breakthroughs with their teams, organizations and themselves, and believes that leads both to outrageous effectiveness, and a whole lot more fun. You can link with Bernie Maloney on LinkedIn, and visit Bernie's website and YouTube Channel.

8 Sep 16min

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