"So on any given day, I'm just managing those planes and flight patterns and trying to make sense and create that sequencing of road maps. Or at least highlight, hey, you're not going to achieve that, because this strategy over here in this portfolio isn't even thinking that way” - Christine Babowicz

When we decided to start inviting guests to join us, we were passionate about finding people with real lived experience to share their hard-won insights and wisdom. We were very grateful when Christine Babowicz agreed to join us as our second guest, and she certainly brought plenty of wisdom.

Christine currently serves as Head of Global Execution Excellence at MetLife. She joined MetLife almost nine years ago after spending time at Intel and Adesa. Initially serving in a PMO capacity, she became involved in the launch of MetLife’s Global Lean-Agile CoE 6 years ago. It quickly became a pull-based global agility and ways of working transformation.

Her role has recently expanded into partnering with Enterprise Strategy and 16 portfolios across MetLife to bring their AI strategy to life, focused on creating differentiated experiences for their associates and customers.

Over the years, she's spoken at various Agile Conferences and SAFe Summits, and her topics show her passion for leadership empathy during times of change. She was also a founding member of Raleigh-Durham Women in Agile. Recently, her leadership style and transformation efforts have earned her the Triangle’s Business Journal 40under40 award.

Our conversation takes us through her journey as a change leader over the past six years. Christine shares the challenges of forming an Agile PMO amidst established practices and how her background in lean thinking shaped her approach. We discuss the importance of translating between old and new methodologies, building empathy and trust with stakeholders, and focusing on the problems portfolio leaders face rather than the solutions the textbook provides. She also shares the value of grounding conversations across portfolio boundaries in the organizational mission and a deep understanding of business processes.

As a leader, she highlights the privilege of these transformative roles and the importance of staying humble and prepared when navigating such complex landscapes.

In this episode, we cover:

• (00:00) Introduction
• (05:44) What was it like forming an agile PMO in the middle of a very project-centric world?
• (11:01) How do you navigate the translation between the old and new worlds?
• (15:21) What triggered your transition to portfolio?
• (21:03) With 16 portfolios, how did you pick where to start?
• (24:50) What was your first step once you found your leverage point?
• (30:08) What’s critical for a coach trying to connect with portfolio-level leadership?
• (35:27) What secrets have you found to enabling change across portfolio boundaries?
• (39:56) As a change leader, how do you make it safe for your team to tackle challenging conversations?
• (47:28) Have you found recurring patterns that enable scaling of your change efforts?
• (52:46) How do you help leaders balance aspiration and obligation?
• (59:52) What parting wisdom would you share?

Cast:

Christine Babowicz

Eric Willeke

Mark Richards

“The right collective organization tends to have fewer blind spots, because, by definition, a team is a transactional memory system of sufficient predictive power that we can know how to work together” - Luke Hohmann

When we decided to start inviting interesting guests to join our portfolio conversations, Luke Hohmann was an obvious first choice.

Luke is a four time author, three time founder, SAFe® Fellow, keynote speaker, and internationally recognized expert in Agile Software Development. His passion is sustainably profitable businesses, because it is only through sustainable profits that a business can thrive.

As Chief Innovation Officer of Applied Frameworks he works with executives to fulfill their mission of helping our customers create sustainably profitable businesses. His most recent book, Software Profit Streams™: Designing Sustainably Profitable Businesses , is co-authored with Jason Tanner and shares key insights from their experience helping businesses succeed.

He co-founded Every Voice Engaged, a nonpartisan 501c3 nonprofit that helps citizens, governments, and nonprofits collaboratively solve unsolvable problems. He founded Conteneo, creator of Weave, the Strategy Engine, and Knowsy, later acquired by Scaled Agile Inc.

Our conversation blends deep insights with practical advice. Luke shares stories from his extensive experience, discussing how to start a Lean Portfolio Management journey by understanding and improving existing practices rather than introducing entirely new ones. He emphasizes the importance of having the right people at the portfolio table, including often-overlooked roles like finance and HR, to ensure a balanced and holistic approach.

Luke also delves into the cognitive challenges leaders face in balancing long-term strategy with immediate operational demands, offering strategies to navigate these complexities. He highlights the significance of recognizing when something should no longer be a portfolio concern, advocating for a focus on reducing unnecessary burdens to maintain agility. Throughout, Luke interweaves his Profit Stream™ thinking, showing how profitability can be integrated into portfolio management, especially in traditional settings. He concludes with a compelling argument for why embracing these practices leads to a more sustainable and successful organization.

In this episode, we cover:

• (00:00) Introduction
• (06:00) Where do you begin your Lean Portfolio Management journey?
• (14:25) What are some common mistakes you see people make?
• (18:57) Who are the right people to have at the Portfolio table?
• (35:56) How do Portfolio Leaders manage the cognitive load of balancing tomorrow’s strategic focus with today’s operational demands?
• (40:17) How do you determine what should and should not be a Portfolio concern?
• (47:43) How do you introduce your Profit Stream thinking into more traditional Portfolios?
• (56:19) What is your parting wisdom on why someone should embark on this journey?

Cast:

Luke Hohmann

Eric Willeke

Mark Richards

"The journey to get there isn’t easy. The outcomes, when it works, are pretty amazing and unbelievable, but you’ll find a whole new set of problems you never imagined could go wrong"

Eric Willeke

With the initial arc complete, this episode adopts a new perspective triggered by our conversations at the SAFe Summit in Berlin. We step into the shoes of portfolio members, embarking on a lean journey. The conversation begins by exploring how their first steps into lean portfolio management will look different from your first steps into agility. As the episode unfolds, we delve into the changes you might anticipate, from shifting boundaries and constraints to evolving events and workflow. We also explore how the relationship with senior stakeholders will transform, requiring greater ownership, self-discipline, and proactivity. The conversation highlights the importance of patience and empathy for yourself and those leading the portfolio as everyone navigates this uncharted territory. As with any significant change, there will be moments of discomfort and uncertainty, but the potential for growth and increased collaboration is immense.

In this episode, we cover:

• (00:00) Introduction
• (03:12) What are some differences between beginning the portfolio journey and beginning the team or team-of-teams journey?
• (11:10) What are some of the first changes you might expect as the portfolio you’re a part of starts its lean journey?
• (16:11) How might your constraints change
• (23:29) What sort of changes might you see in portfolio events?
• (29:12) What about the flow of work?
• (34:05) How should your connection to senior stakeholders change?
• (37:35) What shift might you experience in the expectations between you and your portfolio?
• (44:29) Which growth challenges might you encounter as a leader?
• (46:34) What should start to disappear?
• (55:45) How does the dynamic change when the portfolio is no longer the police?
• (1:02:33) What if it looks like they’re making mistakes?

Cast:

Eric Willeke

Mark Richards