Halim Dunsky is an agile transformation leader who facilitates the Agile Transformation Leaders Network, a peer learning community for enterprise-level agile practitioners. He works with organizational leaders to navigate the practical challenges of implementing agile methodologies at scale.
Halim Dunsky emphasizes the transformative power of peer learning and vulnerability in professional growth. He believes that true value comes from creating spaces where agile transformation leaders can 'trust each other enough to show a little vulnerability to their difficulties and to really be open to listening.' His vision centers on building what he calls 'the we space that can emerge when people begin to trust each other and become close.'
For those grappling with agile implementation challenges, Dunsky offers practical wisdom about balancing idealism with reality. He acknowledges that 'agile purity is brittle and not terribly practical,' but warns against using compromises as stopping points rather than steps on the journey. His advice focuses on the critical question: 'Are we doing something else now so that it becomes possible to do a little more later or do we do something else now and just stop there?' He encourages leaders to seek out peer perspectives when they think 'there are probably other people out there I could talk to who might have some useful perspectives on this,' as this collaborative approach leads to more satisfying outcomes where organizations can say 'this is better this year than it was last year.'
"My view is that agile purity is brittle and not terribly practical on the other hand of course there is always a danger that when you take a small step and you make compromises that that turns out to be a stopping place instead of a step on the journey."
— Halim Dunsky Discussing the balance between idealistic agile practices and practical implementation in real organizations.
"The question is are we doing something else now so that it becomes possible to do a little more later or do we do something else now and just stop there."
— Halim Dunsky Explaining the key distinction between making strategic compromises versus settling for less than ideal practices permanently.
"There's something about the we space that can emerge when people begin to trust each other and become close... I want people to feel like they're in a setting where they can trust each other enough to show a little vulnerability to their difficulties."
— Halim Dunsky Describing the importance of creating a safe, trusting environment for peer learning and growth.
[0:00] can you explain what this program is all [0:02] about and [0:04] what happens over the course of 12 [0:06] months [0:08] sure [0:09] the agile transformation leaders [0:12] network is [0:14] a peer learning community it's a group [0:16] of people who all have various types of [0:19] responsibility for agile transformation [0:21] in their organizations [0:23] and they've all recognized the [0:25] opportunity to learn from each other and [0:27] to learn from outside speakers [0:29] so the group will be getting together [0:31] once a month [0:32] for a couple of hours each time and uh [0:35] we'll take a look at the topics uh [0:38] within the space of agile and within the [0:40] space of organizational change we'll [0:42] look a little bit at leadership [0:44] and uh and so on you come up with these [0:47] topics right [0:49] we're going to [0:50] develop the topics together as a group [0:53] this is not a curriculum that i'm [0:54] planning to deliver but we'll see where [0:56] people want to go okay and can you give [0:59] an example from the last year maybe [1:01] yeah well last year there were sessions [1:03] on the connection framework and on team [1:07] topologies [1:08] there was a session on the [1:10] bvssh better values safer [1:13] sooner happier is that what that stands [1:15] for there will be some guest speakers [1:17] occasionally i will present a program [1:19] sometimes we'll have somebody in the [1:20] group present a program [1:23] and other times we'll just have a round [1:25] table where people will bring their [1:27] current issues and [1:28] provide clinic for each other on that [1:31] we may do a book club once or twice [1:32] during the year as well how do i [1:35] identify or whoever watching this how do [1:38] they identify this program is for me or [1:41] not [1:43] it begins with what level you're [1:44] operating at i would love to be able to [1:47] support people at the individual team [1:49] level but this program is mostly for [1:52] people whose responsibilities are [1:53] broader than that [1:55] so if you are an enterprise coach or if [1:58] you're running a pmo or if you have [2:01] organizational change responsibility [2:03] possibly with a center of excellence [2:05] something of that nature [2:07] where it's it's on you [2:10] to bring change into the organization uh [2:13] in the direction of greater agility that [2:15] makes you a good candidate for this and [2:16] then if you're interested in [2:19] being in a peer situation of that kind i [2:22] would say it's a terrific [2:24] terrific option [2:25] and in my current role [2:28] i'm responsible for [2:30] activation for the consumer application [2:33] so we have seven team [2:35] scrum team working and producing every [2:38] two weeks and [2:40] so we have a scrum master that [2:43] part of my team and we have the [2:45] activation side where we collect all [2:49] everything that is developed go through [2:51] a regression cycle and then we deliver [2:54] so my role is overarching to all teams [2:58] plus uh the delivery [3:00] well that sounds like a good fit to me [3:03] uh if you're uh if you're [3:06] motivated by the idea of [3:08] bringing your questions to a group of [3:10] your peers [3:11] um and where you have enough of a [3:14] perspective that it's not just [3:15] constrained by [3:17] what's going on within a single team and [3:19] it sounds like you meet both of those [3:21] criteria [3:22] and one of the things that i have seen [3:25] there is a gap between the aspiration of [3:28] being agile [3:30] versus the practicality of it and [3:33] acknowledging that the there is [3:35] challenge [3:37] in [3:38] implementation and then being a [3:41] kind of pure agile versus more practical [3:45] approach so do you think in this session [3:48] we [3:50] have [3:51] the people who come here who join [3:54] will be more practical side who are [3:56] facing these real life challenges where [3:59] we are trying to be agile but it's not [4:01] going to happen in one day it's a [4:04] journey and meanwhile they do they okay [4:07] to do things that are not prescribed [4:11] everybody in these groups and by the way [4:14] there are going to be two groups one in [4:16] seattle and one for national membership [4:19] everybody in these groups has practical [4:22] responsibility to bring change and every [4:26] one of them is grappling with questions [4:28] of how do i [4:29] step from the ideal world [4:32] towards the world where the company [4:35] meets me today [4:37] i personally my view is that [4:40] agile uh [4:42] purity is brittle [4:45] and uh not terribly practical on the [4:47] other hand of course there is always a [4:49] danger that when you take a small step [4:52] and you make compromises that that turns [4:55] out to be a stopping place instead of a [4:58] step on the journey it's something to [5:00] continually watch out for we can't do [5:03] that here we'll have to do something [5:04] else [5:06] well then the question is are we doing [5:08] something else now so that it becomes [5:10] possible to do a little more later or do [5:12] we do something else now and just stop [5:14] there [5:15] that's a risk [5:17] and there are all kinds of forces in [5:19] these organizations that are going to [5:20] make it difficult to really change in [5:23] the direction of an agile mindset so [5:26] i i'm looking for some spirited [5:28] conversation and people will be trying [5:30] things and [5:31] possibly have opinions about what each [5:33] other are doing and i say let's bring [5:36] that and have a rich conversation [5:39] okay thank you [5:41] what next [5:43] well the thing to do is reach out to me [5:45] which you can do possibly you'll provide [5:47] a link on this video or [5:50] people can reach out to me violently [5:51] yeah i will i will add a hyperlink to [5:53] the views and plus [5:55] the one that i used to schedule this [5:58] terrific yeah reach out to me and we'll [6:01] talk about timing and price and so forth [6:03] and make sure this is a good fit any [6:05] additional message that you want to [6:06] share [6:08] i am excited about the possibilities of [6:11] what this group of people will generate [6:14] in their identity as a group [6:17] you know there's something about the we [6:19] space that can emerge when people begin [6:21] to trust each other and become close and [6:24] that's an important part of this to me i [6:26] want people to feel like they're in a [6:28] setting where they can trust [6:31] each other enough to show a little [6:33] vulnerability to [6:35] their difficulties and to really be open [6:37] to listening [6:39] critically but listen to what they're [6:41] hearing [6:42] you was planning for this what was the [6:44] outcome that you're looking [6:47] well i want participants to feel like [6:50] they have spent their time and gotten [6:51] value for it basically what that's going [6:54] to mean is going to differ for each [6:56] person in general i think people [6:59] i would like it if people feel supported [7:02] i would like it if people feel that [7:03] they've tapped into a source of [7:05] creativity and a source of perspectives [7:08] you know [7:09] you don't have to reinvent the wheel [7:11] every time you're trying to solve a [7:12] problem as possible somebody else has [7:14] tackled something like it this will be a [7:16] setting where that kind of knowledge can [7:18] percolate through [7:19] uh [7:20] among among the participants and so my [7:23] hope is that people will feel that they [7:25] have [7:25] come away from each session you know [7:28] with a little bit of feeling of being [7:29] refreshed and some enthusiasm and some [7:32] ideas about what to try and some [7:35] sense about how to consider what's going [7:38] on [7:39] share what we have done as a group [7:41] plus [7:42] what [7:44] other people are doing in their space [7:46] that we can utilize take ourselves to [7:49] the next level that's exactly right so [7:51] you have your specific challenges that [7:54] are in front of you at advent health [7:56] you've got the particular things that [7:57] you're trying to do and you've got the [7:59] particular understanding that you're [8:02] deriving those things from [8:04] and you've got the things that your [8:06] environment has asked you to do and [8:09] you've got the obstacles that exist in [8:11] that environment and out of all of this [8:14] you put together some kind of a sense of [8:16] what are you going to try next and you [8:18] try it and then you look at what [8:20] happened and then you say how well is [8:22] that working [8:23] and when the moment comes that you think [8:26] you know i could [8:28] there are probably other people out [8:29] there i could talk to who might have [8:31] some useful perspectives on this [8:33] that's where this group comes in [8:36] and so if you're able to walk away with [8:38] some ideas or something different to try [8:40] or a different way to think about what [8:42] you're already trying [8:44] a different sense of optimism [8:46] patience uh compassion uh connectedness [8:50] uh curiosity inquiry these things uh [8:53] increase in you they should lead to uh [8:57] more [8:58] satisfying outcomes that you and the [9:01] organization will all be able to look at [9:03] and say yeah this is better better this [9:05] year than it was last year [9:07] so that's the kind of thing that i would [9:08] hope for [9:10] that's awesome that's awesome i am [9:12] excited to join this program and [9:15] i will be bringing [9:17] what i have learned what i have gained [9:20] every um you the audience every month [9:23] and uh i'm [9:25] excited to partner with haleem on this [9:29] well thank you so much and i'm looking [9:31] forward to working with you vinod [9:33] you'll be terrific in the group we'll be [9:35] lucky to have you
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