Lean Coffee Connection

I’ve been enjoying Lean Coffee’s so much more since it switched to a virtual format. I get to connect with people around the world, not just my city. I can join in minutes, rather than driving an hour (or more) in traffic. I’m always on time or early, rather than being late due to morning drop offs, driving across town and traffic. I get to communicate verbally and by text on the chat, rather than just verbally. This has been most useful as its easier for me to type than speak.

Last week I joined the SUGSA Johannesburg Lean Coffee. There were over 20 people on the call, it was brilliantly facilitated by Su. We used Zoom to connect and www.funretro.io for the board. We chatted about many different things, especially around working from home, the impact on our teams and families. One of the attendees shared the IBM Work From Home Pledge, it’s a really awesome self care reminder:

• I pledge to be Family Sensitive
• I pledge to support Flexibility for Personal needs
• I pledge to support “Not Camera Ready” times
• I pledge to Be Kind
• I pledge to Set Boundaries and Prevent Video Fatigue
• I pledge to Take Care of Myself
• I pledge to Frequently Check In on people
• I pledge to Be Connected

It was a lovely session and so great to see so many people and get diverse perspectives and new ideas on each topic. It was an awesome learning experience and the 90 minutes just fly by. These sessions are great to test an idea and get feedback and suggestions from others. Its even more useful connecting this way while we’re home and lacking the connection of being together in a physical location.

We, at Growing Agile, started hosting regular Lean Coffee sessions recently and it’s been amazing. It takes place every 2nd Wednesday at 8:00 South African time (GMT +2). Send us a mail if you would like to join.