Mike Kaufman's Agility Narrative on meaningful connection thru difficult conversations

The Agility Narratives

Mike's journey has been driven through curiosity. As an agilist with IT software delivery background, he brings organizational & relational systems coach and mediator to leadership coaching.
He uses a broad set of tools he integrates to great effect to help leaders as a coach. His protagonists in his agility narrative are leaders seeking change. The theme is meaningful connection with showing how fear, the villain of the narrative, breaks trust and connection. He also discusses resolution processes where interests compete and trust is in place.
His call to action is to work with neutral third parties to help lay out your thoughts, similar to how executive coaches are used today, but for relational issues. He sees great opportunity in the movement towards the engaged workforce, people oriented cultures, purpose driven organizations.
We really enjoyed this conversation and seeing how Mike integrates mediation into his coaching practice with leaders. We hope you will enjoy this conversation and find it insightful. We did.
00:00:00
Welcome to The Agility Narratives Podcast
00:00:13
Mike's Introduction
00:00:46
Mike's Agile Origin Story
00:02:19
Mike's journey to the organizational-leadership aspects of Agile
00:05:02
Mike's experience with conflict
00:06:28
Context to Mike's agility narrative - How he integrates coaching, relational techniques and mediation
00:08:49
Martin's experience with integrating different relational approaches
00:09:47
Mike's protagonist - Leaders wanting to make an impact
00:10:00
Mike's theme is connection to self, others and the ecosystem
00:10:58
We are hardwired to be in connection
00:14:18
Discussing the "villain" - Fear breaks connection
00:17:32
Fear, conversations, assumptions, experiments and challenging assumptions
00:19:20
Exploring interests in context of trust and shared interests
00:21:04
Exploring competing and underlying interests are
00:24:23
What's at stake of not having these types of conversation that make connection meaningful
00:25:52
The call to action - Understand the value of a neutral third party
00:28:01
The opportunity in movement towards the engaged workforce, people oriented cultures, purpose driven organizations
00:29:10
Threats to human connection
00:29:55
Thank you - Sharing about how we enjoyed "geeking out" as agilists and mediators

Chapters

1. Welcome to The Agility Narratives Podcast (00:00:00)

2. Mike's Introduction (00:00:13)

3. Mike's Agile Origin Story (00:00:46)

4. Mike's journey to the organizational-leadership aspects of Agile (00:02:19)

5. Mike's experience with conflict (00:05:02)

6. Context to Mike's agility narrative - How he integrates coaching, relational techniques and mediation (00:06:28)

7. Martin's experience with integrating different relational approaches (00:08:49)

8. Mike's protagonist - Leaders wanting to make an impact (00:09:47)

9. Mike's theme is connection to self, others and the ecosystem (00:10:00)

10. We are hardwired to be in connection (00:10:58)

11. Discussing the "villain" - Fear breaks connection (00:14:18)

12. Fear, conversations, assumptions, experiments and challenging assumptions (00:17:32)

13. Exploring interests in context of trust and shared interests (00:19:20)

14. Exploring competing and underlying interests are (00:21:04)

15. What's at stake of not having these types of conversation that make connection meaningful (00:24:23)

16. The call to action - Understand the value of a neutral third party (00:25:52)

17. The opportunity in movement towards the engaged workforce, people oriented cultures, purpose driven organizations (00:28:01)

18. Threats to human connection (00:29:10)

19. Thank you - Sharing about how we enjoyed "geeking out" as agilists and mediators (00:29:55)