Mental Health and Smarter Working
Mental health, organisational culture and good strategic outcomes go hand-in-hand
How do you get stuff done when you already feel done?
For years, I’ve balanced life as an Agile coach with the reality of managing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
I know the exhaustion and even the despair, but I’ve also discovered that the tools, techniques and approaches that aid trauma recovery aren’t just for people facing a mental health crisis. Everyone can benefit.
PTSDelivery is where healing and recovery meets professional Agility. It’s about getting more stuff done without burning out.
Go from barely surviving to sustainably thriving by exploring various practical tactics to get more value out of your work, your team, your organisation, and your life.
PTSD
What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? How can it affect you, your loved ones and your colleagues? How can we make things better for all of us?
Delivery
The road to getting stuff ‘done’ has many signposts. What does ‘Agile’ mean? What is psychological safety? Find out more about some of the smarter approaches here.
About Me
I am one of millions of people who suffer from PTSD. I also happen to be an Agile coach, helping people and organisations on their improvement journey.
Latest Posts
- My favourite bit of coaching kit
It’s so important to me I keep it strapped to my body. It’s my Casio watch, from the F-19 range. Honestly, value for money, this cheap, reliable timepiece is just so easy and intuitive for me to use. And I’m talking specifically about the timer function. It’s faster than a physical timer. It’s less intrusive […]
- A Simple Cadence Map
I hope this is a quick win for some people. It’s basically a rough schedule for anyone who works in Sprints. We have busy lives and not everyone processes information the same way. Even if you are repeating your Sprint cycle schedule again and again, this might help keep you on track with what’s going […]
- An example of successful treatment
A real life example of therapy working - Driving Cars not Building Trains
In his book Extreme Programming Explained, Kent Beck includes a chapter of just two pages that illustrates the importance of using a metaphor to teach concepts and create healthy products. - How I Memorised the Scrum Values
When Ken Schwaber and Jeff Sutherland added the five values of Scrum to the Scrum Guide in the 2016 iteration, it created a new, rich dimension to the framework. Much like the Agile Manifesto, having a set of values as well as more detailed principles gives the reader a sense of direction. In conditions so […]
- The Chatham House Rule
A simple but powerful facilitation technique developed at a unique and fascinating institution… - Writing with (Economist) Style
I’ve said elsewhere that I used to be an intelligence analyst in a risk mitigation company based in their Lloyds of London office (and occasionally in Baghdad, Aberdeen and Dubai). This role was where I first became a Product Owner (for an intelligence portal). A Cool Delivery Framework It was also where I first stumbled […]
- EXTERNAL POST: Goal, Role & Soul – HBR reviews meetings
I could paraphrase the many great points of this article, and I could link so many points back to the role of a facilitator Scrum Master, but I’m just going to let you read the article for yourself. Here is the Harvard Business Review report on meetings and the power of conversations. Be purposeful about […]
- What is Scrum?
The Scrum Framework is a simple and popular Agile approach to organising teams to help them create valuable things in complex environments on an adaptable, regular and collaborative basis. Origins It was first theorised in Japan by business professors Hirotaka Takeuchi and Ikujiro Nonaka in 1986, before being put into practise and codified in the […]
- Laws, Principles and Paradoxes to Back You Up in Discussions (and Debates)
Banish impostor syndrome with this list of concepts, rules, effects and other scientific observations that seem to hold true across society, nature and technology. - Introduce Scrum to your Organisation with a Hackathon
Agile adoptions can be messy, especially in larger organisations with a broad range of people, job roles and experiences (including bad experiences of Agility). A hackathon can offer a fast-paced, engaging and high profile experiment that can help tip the balance towards more dynamic, collaborative ways of working. - Complex vs Complicated: what’s the difference?
An easy-to-remember guide that draws on Latin etymology – and carpets! - The Authority on Large Scale Scrum (LeSS)
The link to the official LeSS website - The Ocean Cure
Content warning: linked article mentions suicidal thoughts For years I’ve known that a swim in the sea can reduce my… Read more: The Ocean Cure - A more optimistic view
A PTSD survivor reflects on trauma, luck, and the importance of support.