"Inclusive Design: How to build a high-performing Agile team" w/ Meenakshi Iyer

Agenda:

6:00 - 6:30: Manhattan Pizza and Networking
6:30 - 8:00: Presentation/Workshop
8:00 - 8:30: More Networking

Title:

"Inclusive Design: How to build a high-performing Agile team" with Meenakshi Iyer, Founder and Principal of NorthStar Solutions and Services

Abstract:

Teams at the workplace are first and foremost human social groups. So, isn't it but natural for our national/ethnic cultures, upbringing, and life experiences to influence our actions and behaviors (and values) at the workplace? But, how often do we think about this while working – especially with globally distributed teams? Do we realize how own biases can shape our understanding of others? How might we adopt the principles of inclusive design to build high-performing Agile teams?

In this session, we’ll learn about how the human aspects of teams/workplace such as national cultures, native language, gender norms/stereotypes etc. influence workplace behavior; and how our improved understanding of these behaviors coupled with application of inclusive design principles, can help us build high-performing teams.

Learning Outcomes:

• Develop appreciation of the impact of socio-cultural and gender norms/stereotypes in the workplace
• Become aware of key differences between Eastern and Western cultures and their impact at the workplace
• Understand how our own biases can help/hinder our team interactions
• Acquire basic understanding of inclusive design and how it can be applied to creating practices for building/strengthening Agile teams
• Get practical tips on applying principles of inclusive design to improve effectiveness of Agile teams

Speaker:
Meenakshi Iyer is the Founder and Principal of NorthStar Solutions and Services (northstaratwork.com), an inclusive work design and organizational agility consultancy based in Ashburn, VA.

A servant leader with a 20+ year-interdisciplinary career in international healthcare, HR, Training, IT and business process transformation, Meenakshi is a champion of cross-cultural and cross-functional leadership. She has led many successful IT and non-IT organizational transformation initiatives, both in the US and in India, and her Agile experience is in B2B product development and implementation. In addition to Agile and Lean methods, she excels in the application of Design Thinking principles in organizational and agile transformations.

She has successfully collaborated with several global, multicultural/virtual teams in India, Greece and the US; she is fluent in four languages, and has lived and worked in 10+ cities in India and the US.

Educational Credits Available:
1.00 PDU for PMI Certifications
1.00 SEU For Scrum Alliance Certifications

Sponsor:
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REI Systems is one of The Washington Post's top workplaces in the DC area (https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/business/top-workplaces/), and also hiring (https://www.reisystems.com/Careers)!