Author: Dave

There are moments in my professional life where I’ve realized I need to take a step back from a project I am working on. This is not an indication of defeat or a sign that I have reached an impasse. In contrast, it’s a strategic decision to let the project rest for a moment, to allow a temporary hiatus. This retreat could last a day, or it might stretch for a month or even a year. The duration is not what’s critical here. What matters is the willingness to shift my focus away, just for a while.

The benefit of this ‘benching’ tactic is that it presents an opportunity for me to later revisit the project with a renewed perspective, a fresh mindset. It’s amazing how a bit of distance can dissolve mental blocks and spur original ideas. Mundane moments such as a workout session at the gym or a long, warm shower become transformative periods where I can subconsciously or consciously brainstorm alternative approaches to the project.

Moreover, it’s not unusual to realize during these intervals that I’m missing a few critical building blocks to complete the project satisfactorily. The advantage of stepping back is that it gives me the breathing room I need to acquire the knowledge I lack or find the missing link that was previously elusive. This investigation period could range from taking a quick online course to going through a stack of relevant texts or consulting with industry experts.

At times, the missing piece might be something trivial – a simple solution that I’ve overlooked. However, there are occurrences where it turns out to be a substantial, fundamental piece of knowledge that I didn’t even realize was essential initially. This realization can be both humbling and enlightening, reminding me of the vast universe of knowledge that exists and the joys of being self-taught.

A self-paced learning journey is indeed a rigorous adventure, full of stumbling blocks and triumphant discoveries. It tests the limits of my patience, resilience, and determination. But it also breathes life into my professional endeavors, infusing each project with a unique sense of ownership and pride. By allowing myself the flexibility to take a step back when needed, I’ve found that I am able to return to each ‘benched’ project with a fresher perspective, renewed enthusiasm, and often a more effective approach to solving complex problems.

Stop treating it like one.

A perfect standup:

• What are you currently working on or about to start.
• What intermittencies do you have with other people/projects
• What Blockers or Impediments are you up against.

That’s it. Short, Sharp, Snappy.
The standup is there for your team to work together, not for you to stay in control of everything that is happening. There are better ways to do this.

Your team members have lives

Between the school runs, the doctors appointments, bad traffic or the dog eating your homework, people have lives outside of work. holding your standup at 8:30am is guaranteed to have absentees every other day and you begin to lose the benefits of your daily standup in the first place.

When to hold your standups?

Your only answer of when to hold a standup is to gain full agreement from every member of the team. suggest reasons why we don’t hold them first thing in the morning. then get everyone to agree.
I recommend suggesting times between 10am and 2pm.
Quarter to x is a great time for a standup, people have meetings staring on the hour and makes sure the standups are short, sharp and snappy. Give it a go, and don’t be scared to change time if it is not working for your team.

Holding remote Standups.

I heard a fantastic solution to a fun problem. half of your team is working from home and having differing levels of engagement create challenges of their own.
Enter a simple rule. If one person is calling in remote to the standup, Then everyone is calling in remotely.
This puts everyone on a level playing field and gets the same level of engagement from everyone.

Amazing solution I cannot wait to trial this one out.

When to take things ‘Offline’

A great standup will bring to light issues and challenges that the team need to handle. you need to facilitate this out of the team members, and give them a little time to discuss back and forth the highlights of the issue.
Once highlighted it is time to interrupt, letting them know to take the discussion offline. The great teams I have worked with are great at this and often stop the conversation themselves, keeping the whole standup in flow.

If you find your standups taking longer than 15 minutes, you are probably letting these discussions run away. big waste of time for all other members. Rein it in.

If you need a status update

Perhaps you don’t have an open and transparent workplace/team? Or perhaps your team members are very autonomous, whatever works for you, your team and your organisation. I would suggest working through other methods of getting the status update you require. A short meeting/update in a one on one capacity can often be the best method. this also gives everyone a great opportunity to cover off many other issues at hand, perhaps a disruptive issue or some large blockers or maybe the team member wants to ask for some help or upcoming time off. Standup is not the time for any of this nor is it conducive to people opening up to issues in front of the whole team.