It’s that time of year where we may have a chance for extra socializing and pleasant distractions from the short, dark (at least in this hemisphere) days. Here’s a bit of holiday cheer from me, my husband Bob Downing, our dogs Tango and Bruno, and our donkeys Ernest and Chester.

Happy Holidays!

I’m currently reading some draft chapters of Jurgen Appelo’s upcoming book. His work is affirming my belief that successful software projects are the result of getting good people and letting them do their best work. There are so many aspects to this – reading Jurgen’s work, I am starting to understand that people are the most complex component of any project! Everything hinges on our ability to innovate, to be creative. So, we must be a community of thinkers.

One item in this list urges us to embrace newcomers. I was welcomed into the agile community 9+ years ago. I work hard to pay that nurturing forward, so that others may experience gaining knowledge that in turn drives their creativity. And besides all that – why not always be nice to each other? I feel another blog post coming on.

A Community of Thinkers

I am a member of a community of thinkers.

I believe that communities exist as homes for professionals to learn, teach, and reflect on their work.

I challenge each community in the software industry to:

• reflect and honor the practitioners who make its existence possible;
• provide an excellent experience for its members;
• support the excellent experience its members provide for their clients and colleagues in all aspects of their professional interactions;
• exemplify, as a body, the professional and humane behavior of its members;
• engage and collaborate within and across communities through respectful exploration of diverse and divergent insights;
• embrace newcomers to the community openly and to celebrate ongoing journeys; and
• thrive on the sustained health of the community and its members through continual reflection and improvement.

I believe that leaders in each community have a responsibility to exhibit these behaviors, and that people who exhibit these behaviors will become leaders.

I am a member of a community of thinkers. If I should happen to be a catalyst more than others, I consider that a tribute to those who have inspired me.

”A Community of Thinkers” by Liz Keogh, Jean Tabaka and Eric Willeke is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License. Please attribute to the distributor of your copy or derivative.