As an Agile team leader, your biggest challenge is also your biggest asset.

The human side of Agile is tricky. It's the least manageable, understood, and appreciated asset in an Agile environment. Even if your customers are reasonably happy and your developers seem to be doing okay, you know your team is capable of more: delivering great products and staying ahead of ever-changing demands.

You need a team that’s self-organized, energetic, and flexible, even in tough situations. But how do you build it and lead it?

Whether you're a ScrumMaster, project manager, functional manager, or team leader, you want to feel good about using Agile and to create the conditions for great results. But the project management skills you honed in traditional environments don't always apply to the role of Agile team leader. The Human Side of Agile fills this gap, guiding you to:

Establish yourself as a confident and capable leader who adds value

Build and lead an engaged team that can handle almost any challenge

Cultivate collaboration and a continuous improvement mind-set

Reap the full benefits of Agile in the real world with real people

"I just found the next must-read book for our entire leadership team."

Tricia Broderick, Director of Development, TechSmith

"This book is up there with Peopleware, with concrete examples you can use immediately."

Dave Rooney, Sherpa, Shopify

"Agile teams need effective leaders who 'get' the people stuff. Without that you're merely going through the Agile motions."

Scott W. Ambler, co-creator of Disciplined Agile Delivery

While readable from cover to cover, the book is written as practical answers to the 80+ most relevant and pressing questions that team leaders ask, such as:

“How Can I Help the Team Buy In?”

“What If I Can't Work Full-Time as the Team’s Leader?”

“What Actions Will Build the Team's Trust in Me?”

“How Can I Mitigate the Damage of Performance Reviews?”

“What If a Member Doesn't Fit With the Team?”

“How Can We Focus on Our Work With So Many Meetings?”

“How Do I Get Stakeholders and Managers on My Side?”

“How Can I Make Changes Stick?”

“How Do We Avoid Reverting to Old Behaviors?”

In writing The Human Side of Agile, Gil Broza has tapped into fundamental concerns -- and challenges -- of Agile practitioners. For not only does the "human" in the book's title refer to the people that make up any Agile team, it also pertains to those who lead them, to those who run the company, and to the people who purchase and use the end product. Gil encourages Agile team members to take up the mantle of team leader and to steer all involved toward the excellence promised by properly executed Agile. Gil's experience and observations confirm that many who adopt Agile pay too much attention to the mechanics of the process, and are disenchanted with the results. Some are in denial and some are searching for a magic bullet. They're mired on a mediocre performance plateau, stalled in a mishmash of "best practices," and looking for answers. In the last 10 years alone, he has mentored more than 1,500 professionals who then delighted their customers, shipped working software on time, and rediscovered passion for their work. Gil has also served as a development manager, team leader, and programmer for 12 years, successfully applying Agile methods since 2001; coached more than 40 private- and public-sector clients, large and small, including independent software vendors, custom development firms, and organizations that build software for internal use; and written several practical papers for conferences and trade magazines, including the prestigious Cutter IT Journal (Gil also co-produced the Coaching stage at the Agile 2009 and 2010 conferences). Throughout his career, Gil has focused on human characteristics that prevent positive outcomes in software development teams. These include limiting habits, fear of change, outdated beliefs, and blind spots. In helping teams overcome these factors, he supports them in reaching ever-higher levels of performance, confidence, and accomplishment. Gil offers much-needed services (beyond basic education) to help ScrumMasters and other Agile team leaders grow in their roles. In addition, he provides workshops, consulting, facilitation services, and enablement programs to fix lackluster Agile attempts and support ongoing Agile improvement efforts. He is in high demand by individuals and companies looking to fully realize Agile's potential.