Esther Derby
Co-author of "Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management"
I started my career as a programmer, and over the years I’ve worn many hats, including business owner, internal consultant and manager. From all these perspectives, one thing became clear: our level of individual, team and company success was deeply impacted by our work environment and organizational dynamics. As a result, I have spent the last twenty-five years helping companies design their environment, culture, and human dynamics for optimum success.
I’ve written over 100 articles, and co-authored two books–Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great and Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management. I write about management, leadership, collaboration, organizations and change (or another topic I’m currently exploring).
Follow me on Twitter @estherderby
Presentations
The New Work of management in Agile Organizations
Sometimes I see teams that reject all direction and go their own way, declaring, 'We are self-organizing'. They are missing an important fact. When someone is paid by a company to be part of a team, that team exists within the organizational context.more »Working with Complex Adaptive (Human) Systems
The world abounds with complex theories and complex advice about complex adaptive systems. But most of them aren't very helpful when it comes to knowing what to do to make a system work better. In this interactive session, we'll explore three levers thamore »Team Traps and How to Avoid Them
Some teams soar; others wallow, bicker and slog their way to uncertain results. Teams that soar have a few things in common: they have a shared goal, interdependent work, complimentary skills, mutual accountability. Slogging teams have a few things in cmore »Improving Customer Conversations
It’s not easy to build the right product. People sometimes don’t know exactly what they need, want things that won’t help, and don’t imagine what’s possible. Agile project capture requirements on cards that contain a statement of want and benefit and notemore »Motivation that Doesn't Misfire
Many managers ask me, “How can I motivate my team?” The zeroth step in boosting motivation is to stop doing things that demotivate people. But what is a manager to do after that?more »Questionable Questions
Questions are powerful. Presidential historians believe that the questions presidents ask and the way they ask those questions have huge ramifications. Questions asked and not asked influence policy initiatives, invasions, and trips to the moon.more »All Together Now: How Teams Decide
Have you had the experience of watching smart people argue endlessly over which technology to use? Have you walked out of a meeting believing the group had agreed, only to find out that five different people thought they’d agreed to five different things?more »Seeing and Steering Organizational Systems: Tools for Managers
When managers get themselves out of the day to day work and shift their focus to improving the way the organization functions, they need a different set of tools. Many of these tools aren’t new; on the other hand, they haven’t been widely taught in businmore »Scaling Agile Teams
Agile methods depend on effective cross-functional teams. We’ve heard many Agile success stories…at the team level. But what happens when a product can’t be delivered by one team?more »What Does Self-Organizing Team Really Mean?
"Self-organizing team" may be the most over-used, mis-understood, vague, and mis-leading term of the decade. So what is a self-organizing team? How are self-organizing teams different from other teams?more »Books
Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great
by Esther Derby and Diana Larsen
Price: $21.75
You Save: $8.20 (27%)
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See how to mine the experience of your software development team continually throughout the life of the project. The tools and recipes in this book will help you uncover and solve hidden (and not-so-hidden) problems with your technology, your methodology, and those difficult "people" issues on your team.
Project retrospectives help teams examine what went right and what went wrong on a project. But traditionally, retrospectives (also known as "post-mortems") are only helpful at the end of the project--too late to help. You need agile retrospectives that are iterative and incremental. You need to accurately find and fix problems to help the team today.
Now, Derby and Larsen show you the tools, tricks, and tips you need to fix the problems you face on a software development project on an on-going basis. You'll see how to architect retrospectives in general, how to design them specifically for your team and organization, how to run them effectively, how to make the needed changes, and how to scale these techniques up. You'll learn how to deal with problems, and implement solutions effectively throughout the project--not just at the end.
With regular tune-ups, your team will hum like a precise, world-class orchestra.
Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management (Pragmatic Programmers)
by Johanna Rothman and Esther Derby
Price: $16.39
You Save: $8.56 (34%)
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Great management is difficult to see as it occurs. It's possible to see the results of great management, but it's not easy to see how managers achieve those results. Great management happens in one-on-one meetings and with other managers---all in private. It's hard to learn management by example when you can't see it.
You can learn to be a better manager---even a great manager---with this guide. You'll follow along as Sam, a manager just brought on board, learns the ropes and deals with his new team over the course of his first eight weeks on the job. From scheduling and managing resources to helping team members grow and prosper, you'll be there as Sam makes it happen. You'll find powerful tips covering:
- Delegating effectively
- Using feedback and goal-setting
- Developing influence
- Handling one-on-one meetings
- Coaching and mentoring
- Deciding what work to do---and what not to do
- ...and more.
Full of tips and practical advice on the most important aspects of management, this is one of those books that can make a lasting and immediate impact on your career.
