I have had some really interesting experiences lately with managers. I have realized that they underestimate their power. For example, I taught a 15 person group in California a while ago. They started out interested in learning more about Scrum. Their manager then showed up two hours late to the training, threw open the laptop and yelled at me (while still reading email), "Who are you, how much experience do you have, and WHY are you here? [rolling her eyes]" That was my introduction. Lovely way to start the day.

From that point on, team members were clearly just as disrespectful. All the laptops opened up at one point or another. People were late, stepping in and out of our training. This made things really difficult because the course is so hands-on! From time to time, I observed disrespectful giggles and passing of notes. I'm surprised I didn't have a 'kick me' sign on my rear by the time I left that day. I went back to the hotel feeling defeated, exhausted, and not really looking forward to the second day.

The second day started just like the first day ended. It was so bad that the VP had to make an announcement that no laptops would be allowed in the room and that people needed to be on time. I had already made these announcements several times, but it was clear that the group had no respect for me and this was allowable because, well, their manager didn't respect either.  All in all the absolute worst training experience ever.

I see this in other scenarios as well. Just today I was observing a planning meeting in which a manager was involved. There were several Pune team members on the open conference call as they were an extended part of the team. When the team would play planning poker, the manager would strongly announce "We have a unanimous 5 over here in the US!". I started to realize that the Pune team would have "unanimous" points after awhile, too. This manager did not realize that his use of the word "unanimous" could have been pressuring the Pune team to pick a number. Picking a number is not the purpose of planning poker (well, ultimately it is) but the discussion had by observing differences in numbers is what is really important. Again, another manager influencing a team and not even realizing it.

Managers, be careful of the messages you give to your team members. Non-verbal cues are just as strong, if not stronger, than the words you say. Words are very important too. When trying to build a team that is self-managing and self-directed, remember that you serve as primary role model. Remember this and take responsibility for your actions so that they can take responsibility for their learning.