All Episodes - With Great People: High-Performance Teams
With Great People is the podcast for high-performance teams. We interview the best team leaders in the world. They share tips for listeners to reproduce their success. Topics include the Core Protocols, Agile software development, Open Space Technology, team emotional intelligence, psychological safety, and more.Subscribe today and hear workshops, class segments, and interviews about awesome teams.
View Podcast Details40 Episodes
Tito Jackson: How Adding More Cowbell Can Be the Prescription for Your Team's Fever
In this episode, Richard interviews Tito Jackson. Tito is an entrepreneur, founder of Apex Noire, and a former City Councilor of the City of Boston. He tells us how to inspire cultural dedication to goals within your team and gives us a taste of his secret management sauce - Cowbell Fridays. When you finish listening to the episode, find Tito on Instagram or Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-92-tito-jackson/.
Dr. Dave Cornelius: How Having Fun and Building Trust Makes Teams Resilient and Successful
In this episode, Richard interviews Dr. Dave Cornelius. Dr. Dave is a lean and agile catalyst leading and empowering others to achieve their best. He is the author of several books, including Belonging and Healing: Creating awesomeness for yourself and others and Deliver Value: Happy contributing people, Satisfied customers, and Thriving business. Dr. Dave is a founder of the 5 Saturdays Agile education outreach program that enables high school students to experience technology and business careers through an interactive summer workshop. He tells us how building trust among your team members will build trust among your clients and customers. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Dr. Dave Cornelius on his website at https://davecornelius.us. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-91-dr-dave-cornelius/.
Jessica Kerr: How Some Shared Fun Time Increases Your Team's Productivity
In this episode, Richard interviews Jessica Kerr. Jessica is a software developer, popular public speaker, and a symmathecist. She tells us about symmathesy and observability and how they make our world develop faster and more harmoniously. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Jessica on Twitter, visit her website at https://jessitron.com, or chat with her during her office hours at https://www.honeycomb.io/devrel/observability-office-hours/. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-90-jessica-kerr/.
Sally Elatta: Here Are 5 Factors That Will Guarantee Your Team's High Performance
In this episode, Richard interviews Sally Elatta, CEO and founder of AgilityHealth. Sally tells us how leadership is just another way of serving a team and how leading from a place of love keeps the team engaged and focused. She also shares with us the top 5 predictors of a team's high performance. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Sally on LinkedIn and visit agilityhealthradar.com. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-89-sally-elatta/.
Andrea Ippolito: How to Bind Your Team With Friendship and Trust
In this episode, Richard interviews Andrea Ippolito, CEO and Founder of SimplyFed. SimplyFed is an organization supporting families in feeding their babies. Andrea was a part of and led many teams, including as the Director of the Department of Veteran's Affairs Innovators Network and as a Presidential Innovation Fellow at the White House. She tells us how the sense of shared vision and friendship among team members brings the ability to communicate freely, even disagreements, and push the team forward faster and better. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Andrea on Twitter and visit SimplyFed's website.
Lisette Sutherland: How to Build Strong Personal Connections in a Remote Team
In this episode, Richard interviews Lisette Sutherland. Lisette is an author and keynote speaker, helping people work remotely successfully. She's also the founder of the online community Virtual Team Talk, the host of the Collaboration Superpowers podcast, and the founder and director of the Collaboration Superpowers consulting firm. Lisette tells us about the importance of personal connections in the workplace and how to foster them in remote teams. When you finish listening to the episode, check out Lisette's website, visit collaborationsuperpowers.com, and give a listen to her podcast. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at https...
Claire DeMarco: How To Bring Your Team To Perfection With the Core Protocols
In this episode, Richard interviews Claire DeMarco. Claire is the Director of Information Discovery Services at the Harvard Library. She led multiple high-performance teams, including the one that made Harvard University Libraries available to virtually anyone in the world. She tells us how the Core Protocols helped her teams to achieve successes and what to expect when these successes get noticed. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Claire on Twitter, and check out her writings at medium.com. You can read the transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-86-claire-demarco/.
Patricia Kong: How to Get From an Average to a Great Team With Emotional Intelligence
In this episode, Patricia Kong comes back to the show and turns the tables on Richard, asking him questions. Patricia Patricia leads Enterprise and Leadership Solutions at scrum.org. She is a public speaker, coach, a co-author of The Nexus Framework for Scaling Scrum, and a co-developer of the Evidence-Based Management Framework. Patricia recently invited Richard to scrum.org to present a webinar on core protocols for psychological safety and emotional intelligence. During this interactive session, some important questions remained open, so Patricia came to get her answers! When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Patricia on LinkedIn, and v...
Brian Lucas: How to Define Your Team as a Powerful and Long-Lasting Brand
In this episode, Richard interviews Brian Lucas. Brian is an Assistant Professor at Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is best known for his research on creativity and morality in the workplace and everyday life. Brian tells us how igniting energy and passion in your team brings the spark of creativity and endurance. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Brian on Twitter, visit his website, and check out his research. You can read the transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-84-brian-lucas/.
Luke Hohmann: How Being Happy with Who You Are Makes You Feel Wonder for Who You Can Be
In this episode, Richard interviews Luke Hohmann. Luke is the founder and CEO of FirstRoot, the company on the mission to create the next generation of impact investors. He is also an inspiring public speaker and the creator of Innovation Games. Luke tells us how to recognize whether a team is a team we want to stick with and how self-appreciation can help us on this quest. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Luke on LinkedIn and visit www.firstroot.co. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-83-luke-hohmann/.
James Grenning: How to Make Your Team an Iterative Engineering Machine Safely
In this episode, Richard interviews James Grenning. James is the founder of Wingman Software, where he coaches and consults around the world. James is also the author of the book Test-Driven Development for Embedded C and the co-author of the Agile Manifesto. James tells us how to encourage our teammates to experiment and iterate and why experimentation and iteration are essential. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with James on Twitter, visit his website at www.wingman-sw.com, and check out his book. You can read the full transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-82-james-grenning/.
Catherine Louis: How to Make Your Current Team Your Best Team
Catherine Louis: How to Make Your Current Team Your Best Team by Richard Kasperowski
Michael Spayd: How Destiny Brings the Best Teams Together
In this episode, Richard interviews Michael Spayd, a co-founder of The Collective Edge, Agile Coaching Institute, and the co-author of Agile Transformation: Using the Integral Agile Transformation Framework (tm) to Think and Lead Differently. Michael is best known as the originator of the Integral Agile Transformation Framework (tm). He tells us why being in a good team might feel like a fulfillment of your destiny and how does this destiny find you. When you finish listening to this episode, follow Michael on LinkedIn, visit The Collective Edge website at https://www.the-collective-edge.com, and read Agile Transformation: Using the Integral...
Kate O'Brien: How "Rushing to Health" Actually Makes Your Team Perform Worse
It is a part of human behavior to resist change, especially when things seem to go well. So, how do we secure "buy-in" among the stakeholders for the new ideas? In this episode, Richard interviews Kate O'Brien, Senior Human Resources Director at Remix Therapeutics and an expert on people analytics. She tells us how the teams assume ownership over their work, outcomes, and, yes, changes that affect their work. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Kate on LinkedIn. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at: https://kasperowski.com/podcast-79-kate-obrien/.
Arie van Bennekum: How Saying "Yes" Can Take You Anywhere You Want
In this episode, Richard interviews Arie van Bennekum. Arie is a co-author of the Agile Manifesto and an Agile thought leader at Wemanity Group. Arie tells us how accepting new challenges, even when doubting ourselves, opens new opportunities and truly makes us the architects of our own life. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Arie on LinkedIn and visit his website at https://arievanbennekum.com. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-78-arie-van-bennekum/.
Psych Safety and Team EI: The Antidote to the Five Dysfunctions of a Team
In this episode, Richard talks about the importance of trust among the team members and how psychological safety increases performance. You can read more about it here: https://kasperowski.com/the-five-dysfunctions/.
Vanessa Druskat: How to Cross Rope Bridges by Relying on Your Teammates' Skillsets
In this episode, Richard interviews Vanessa Druskat. Vanessa's research on organizational behavior and team emotional intelligence profoundly influenced Richard's work with teams. She tells us how relying on a specific skill set of each individual within your team leads to superior results and more cohesive and lasting relationships. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Vanessa on LinkedIn and learn more about her research at the University of New Hampshire website. You can read the full transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-76-vanessa-druskat/.
Mary And Tom Poppendieck How A Focused Leader Ensures Their Team's Success
This episode is a continuation of Richard's interview with Mary and Tom Poppendieck. As the official part of the interview finished, they continued chatting and sharing some great ideas. Luckily, the record button was still on, so we can share this fantastic "unofficial" part of the conversation with you. You can read the transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com//podcast-75-mary-and-tom-poppendieck
Mary and Tom Poppendieck: Keeping Your Team Together During the Great Resignation
In this episode, Richard interviews Mary and Tom Poppendieck. Richard's Agile heroes, the Poppendiecks have written highly influential works on lean software development, including Lean Software Development: An Agile Toolkit, The Lean Mindset, and Leading the Lean Software Development: Results are Not the Point. Richard tackles with them one of the burning problems of today's business world: how to retain an increasingly independent workforce? When you finish listening to this episode, visit their website at: http://www.poppendieck.com. You can read the transcript of the full episode at http://kasperowski.com/podcast-74-mary-and-tom-poppendieck.
Woody Zuill: The Best Leader Is the One Who Leads Without Authority
In this episode, Richard interviews Woody Zuill, an Agile coach well known for popularizing mob programming and the No Estimates movement. In this first part of the interview with Woody, he tells us how kindness, consideration, and respect can transform any team into a fulfilling working experience. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Woody on LinkedIn and Twitter, visit his website at www.woodyzuill.com, and check out his upcoming book No Estimates - How to Deliver Software Without Guesswork. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-73-woody-zuill/.
Woody Zuill: Knowing When to Stop a Conversation Is Knowing When to Listen
In this episode, Richard interviews Woody Zuill, an Agile coach well known for popularizing mob programming and the No Estimates movement. In this first part of the interview with Woody, he tells us how kindness, consideration, and respect can transform any team into a fulfilling working experience. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Woody on LinkedIn and Twitter, visit his website at www.woodyzuill.com, and check out his upcoming book No Estimates - How to Deliver Software Without Guesswork. You can read the transcript of the entire episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-72-woody-zuill/.
Adam Weisbart: Make Things Simple and Your Team Will Move Faster
In this episode, Richard interviews Adam Weisbart, principal at Weisbart Consulting, certified scrum trainer, and agile coach. Adam was also an initiator of Agile Virtual Summit, which grew into a community at https://agilemastery.com. Adam tells us how to eliminate friction, simplify your team's workflow, and get the job done faster and more reliably. When you finish listening to the episode, visit Adam's website at https://weisbart.com/richard, where he left some sweet surprises for you. You can read the transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-71-adam-weisbart/
Steven Wolff: How Understanding and Caring Eliminates Tension and Angst
In this episode, Richard interviews Steven Wolff. Steve is a Team Emotional Intelligence expert whose research greatly influenced Richard's work with teams. Steven tells us how to transform angst and tension into excitement - a driving force of any successful team. When you finish listening to the episode, visit Steve's website at https://stevenwolff.com, where you will be able to connect with him and explore his work. You can read a full transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-70-steven-wolff/.
Could You Win a Nobel Prize for Slacking Off?
In this episode, Richard talks about slacking off and why is it so important. You can read the entire essay at https://kasperowski.com/could-you-win-a-…for-slacking-off/.
Seb Rose: The Secret of a Good Team is a Shared Goal and What Else?
In this episode, Richard interviews Seb Rose. Seb is a Continuous Improvement Lead at SmartBear, a co-author of the BDD books Discovery and Formulation, and a regular guest lecturer on behavior-driven development in Richard's course at Harvard. Seb tells us how to make a highly effective team even if the team members at your disposal are not as seasoned professionals as you would hope. When you finish listening to this episode, connect with Seb on Twitter (@sebrose) and read his books Discovery and Formulation. Read the full transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-68-seb-rose/
Jeff Sutherland: Know How to Overcome Your Team's Limits and Become a Leading Force
In this episode, Richard interviews Jeff Sutherland, a co-creator of the Scrum, founder of Scrum Inc., inventor of Scrum@Scale, and a signatory of the Agile Manifesto. He is also the author of the international bestselling book Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time. Jeff shares with us his personal experiences which made him one of the leaders of the IT industry and beyond. Read the full transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-67-jeff-sutherland/.
Maria Matarelli: You Must Empower Your Team if You Want Them Motivated
In this episode, Richard interviews Maria Matarelli. Maria is a co-founder of Personal Agility Institute, a co-founder of Agile Marketing Academy, an agile coach, and a well-known DJ! She tells us about applying agile principles outside of the IT industry, and even outside of a business context. If you want to learn more from Maria, it is pretty easy to connect with her. Go to http://findmaria.com where you'll find her contact details across all relevant social media. Read the full transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/episode-66-maria-matarelli/
Emily Bache: You Need Practice to Achieve Greater Harmony in Your Team
In this episode, Richard interviews Emily Bache. Emily is the author of The Coding Dojo Handbook and Technical Agile Coaching with the Samman Method. She is well known in the software development community for her work on the Gilded Rose Refactoring Kata and her technical agile coaching. She tells us about her secrets of achieving harmony in teams of any size. After you finish listening to the episode, connect with Emily on Twitter (@emilybache), read her new book, and visit her website at https://www.sammancoaching.org. You can read full transcript at https://kasperowski.com/episode-65-emily-bache.
Jorgen Hesselberg: Spread the Luck Surface and Increase Your Chance for Success
In this episode, Richard interviews Jorgen Hesselberg, a co-founder of Comparative Agility and the author of Unlocking Agility: An Insiders’ Guide to Agile Enterprise Transformation. He tells us how luck is not necessarily a product of coincidence and how your team can truly become an architect of its own luck. Read the transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-64-jorgen-hesselberg/
Lynn Langit: Make Every Team You Are in the Best Team of Your Life
In this episode, Richard interviews Lynn Langit, a cloud architect specialized in big data, a technical educator, and an angel investor. Lynn also used to be the Director of teachingkidsprogramming.org, a not-for-profit online platform for early coding education. She is also a contract instructor at LinkedIn Learning where she has more than 20 courses on cloud topics. Lynn shares with us the secrets of making every team you work with the best team of your life. You can read the full transcript of the episode at https://kasperowski.com/podcast-63-lynn-langit/
Matthew McCarthy: Why Being at Peace with Yourself Makes You A Better Team Player
In this episode, Richard interviews Matthew McCarthy. Matthew is best known to the world as the CEO of Ben & Jerry's, where he leads an iconic and innovative global brand that continually breaks the rules on how business can be a force for good in the world. He steers and serves a team of passionate ice cream aficionados and aspiring activists, and is responsible for Ben & Jerry’s long-standing 3-part mission of delivering economic product and social mission impact in the communities and countries where the company operates. He tells us about the importance of staying true to yourself, and how be...
Richard Sheridan: Dig-Out Your Basic Kindergarten Skills to Become a Better Team Player
In this episode, Richard interviews Richard Sheridan. Richard is the CEO, Co-founder, and Chief Storyteller of Menlo Innovations, a software design and development firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He is also the author of two books on creating an intentionally joyful culture: Joy, Inc. - How We Built a Workplace People Love, and Chief Joy Officer - How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear. Richard gives us a glimpse into two of his favorite teams to tell us a story of joy, empathy, and compassion that fills his days and drives his work. When you finish listening to...
Patricia Kong: Know How to Use Evidence to Quickly Improve Your Leadership
n this episode, Richard interviews Patricia Kong. Patricia leads Enterprise and Leadership Solutions at scrum.org. She is a public speaker, coach, a co-author of The Nexus Framework for Scaling Scrum, and a co-developer of the Evidence-Based Management Framework. Patricia reminds us that measuring your team's success is not just a number on the scale. You must be intentional about your team's goals if you want to grasp the level of its improvement. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Patricia on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/patricia-kong-2238232/ and read her book The Nexus Framework for...
Michael de la Maza: Use the Friction to Get Your Team to the Top
In this episode, Richard interviews Michael de la Maza, a well known Agile and Scrum Coach and Consultant from the Bay Area. Michael is a founder of the Heart Healthy Scrum, an Agile and Scrum consultancy firm. He is a co-author of Why Agile Works: The Values Behind the Results and Agile Coaching: Wisdom from Practitioners. Michael challenges the notion that a successful team must always be a harmonious unit filled with friendly and compassionate people. While positive bias, a supportive environment, and empathy are indispensable ingredients for a team's success, frictions inevitably occur. Michael tells us how discipline and...
James Shore: How to Build Super-Cohesive Teams and Work with Joy
In this episode, Richard talks with James Shore. James is an Agile software development teacher, writer, and consultant. He is the co-author of the book The Art of Agile Development, a seminal work in the Agile community. He also co-created with Diana Larsen the Agile Fluency Model, a highly-regarded guide for Agile adoption. James tells us about his first encounter with Extreme Programming, what he learned from that experience, and why he has been on the mission ever since to recreate the joy he felt with this team. When you finish listening to this podcast, make sure to connect with...
Want to Know More About High-Performance Teams?
In this episode, Richard answers the questions from the readers and listeners about high-performace teams, psychological safety, team emotional intelligence, and the Core Protocols. Read the full transcript at https://kasperowski.com/episode-57/.
Natalie Warnert: How to turn conflict into a strength
In this episode, Richard interviews Natalie Warnert, the founder, president, and executive director of Women in Agile, and an Agile Process coach at Volkswagen Financial Services. She tells us about the importance of embracing healthy conflicts in your organization to achieve real compassion and empathy between the team members. She also shares some useful tools for unearthing simmering conflicts and transforming them into a creative force. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Natalie on Twitter https://twitter.com/nataliewarnert at and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliewarnert/, and visit her website at http://nataliewarnert.com/, ...
Ted M. Young: How to have fun through learning
In this episode, Richard interviews Ted M. Young, better known in the software development community as Jitter Ted. Ted is a software industry veteran with decades of experience working with companies like Apple, Google, and eBay. Ted is the principal Java trainer and coding coach at Spiral Learning, where he applies the science of learning to speed up his clients' adoption of new knowledge. He tells us how a passion for learning brings fun and joy to any team. When you finish listening to the episode, connect with Ted on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jitterted?lang and LinkedIn at...
Your Remote Team Actually Can Be Awesome
In this episode, Richard shares his story of 180 degree transformation. You can read more about it at https://kasperowski.com/your-remote-team-actually-can-be-awesome/.
Lisa Crispin: How to transform your workplace into a safe place
In this episode, Richard interviews Lisa Crispin, a quality owner at OutSystems, co-founder of Agile Testing Fellowship Inc, and one of the most influential testing professionals in the software industry. Lisa co-authored several books, including Agile Testing and Testing Extreme Programming, and was a curator of the www.testingindevops.org website. Lisa tells us about the significance of cultivating trust among the team members and how the resulting feeling of safety contributes to the increase of the team's productivity. When you finish listening to the episode, make sure to connect with Lisa on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in...