6 things I’ve learnt in 6 months at RNID
Reflections on agile, moving to the charity sector and making the most of remote, asynchronous work.
In March this year I left a job I loved on the NHS website and took the plunge into the charity sector, joining RNID as the charity’s first ever Agile Delivery Manager. I recently took a few moments to reflect on my first 6 months at RNID, and 6 things I’ve learnt.
1. T-shaped people
I’ve learnt the value of having truly t-shaped people with both broad and deep expertise in your teams. Charities by their nature are not blessed with plentiful resources. People leave or get sick and being able to use the full breadth of the skills within the team to help fill gaps is essential. I would always advocate for having the deep expertise of a full multi-disciplinary team, but having some flexibility and broader skills within your team enable you to maintain delivery even under trickier circumstances.
2. Community is key
I’ve learnt how important having a community around you is, and how to put in place support networks in new surroundings. In my previous role in the NHS, I was really lucky to have a huge team of fellow delivery managers around me, for catching up on all things agile, bouncing ideas off each other and sharing problems. I’ve really missed this as I’m now the only delivery manager at RNID. Instead, I’ve begun building different types of community that give me what I’ve missed. Despite my somewhat sporadic attendance, I’ve really valued the Charity Agile Leaders Club as a network to reach out to, as well as slowly building up connections with other delivery managers in the charity sector. I’ve also found colleagues at RNID operating under different job titles but with shared interest in agile and delivery management, and have really valued their input to my role.
3. Agile doesn’t have to be daunting or prescriptive
RNID has made a commitment to work in an agile way — realising the benefits of agile like risk mitigation, and how it can work together with user-centred design. However, this is a new concept for lots of people across the charity. I’ve learnt how it’s possible to strip away the agile jargon and avoid the prescriptive frameworks, to help people feel more confident about working in an agile way. We have hugely varied programmes of work and capabilities, and I’m enjoying helping them find the different aspects of agile that work for them.
4. Embrace the pace of a smaller organisation
It has been so refreshing to join a smaller organisation and be able to work at a faster pace. There are still blockers that arise, but fewer hoops to jump through and you can get action more quickly. My highlights include purchase orders being approved within minutes, faster decision-making and being able to gather the right people together to collaborate far more easily. Waiting 3 weeks for the first available diary slot is a thing of the past, whilst asynchronous work with occasional meetings is the way forward.
5. Remote and asynchronous — it works
I’ve learnt so much from my new colleagues at RNID about remote and asynchronous working. It requires a shift in mindset but I’ve really enjoyed learning how to make it effective. One of the most valuable things I’ve learnt is to make sure you set up an activity with much clearer written instructions and expectations, because you won’t be seeing your colleagues to explain what you’re planning to do.
This image is a screenshot of some instructions I added to an optional activity in a recent asynchronous retrospective using Miro. I also made sure to give clear dates to complete the other activities, and which were essential or optional. This enables colleagues to take part at a time that suits them, and have a clear understanding of what they do and don’t need to do.
You can also make the most of the tools you have. I’ve seen really effective collaboration via simple comments on Word documents, as well as adding emojis to Miro, to replicate the discussion and non-verbal communication you might have in a face-to-face retro. Whilst I am loving learning how to work well in a remote and asynchronous environment, it’s also really nice to meet people in real life! I met some colleagues in London over the summer which was great, and I’m looking forward to my first in-person staff summit in November.
6. Don’t get stuck in an (agile) rut
I’ve learnt how much my colleagues value a fresh perspective and different ideas. This is something I knew was important in my last role but it’s really clear here at RNID too. One of the most frequent pieces of feedback I’ve had so far is that it’s refreshing do things differently. I always try out different formats for retrospectives (and often don’t use a traditional board!) and other meetings.
This image is a screenshot of a PowerPoint slide I use to introduce one of my favourite non-traditional retrospective formats, the scavenger hunt retrospective. The slide has a gif, titled ‘I’m going on an adventure’. This one probably deserves a whole blog post of its own!
I’ve really enjoyed taking some time to reflect on what I’ve learnt in my first 6 months at RNID, and hope that others might get some value from reading too. Looking forward to seeing what the next 6 months might bring.
