Who is Karen Greaves?

Karen was proposed by Aslam Khan.

Here is what Sam has to say about Karen:

Karen is my business partner and best friend. Neither of us thought that working together would turn out the way it has. Somehow we manage to bring out the best in each other. I don’t think I would be brave enough to do my day job without Karen. She supports me and constantly challenges me to be more and grow more. We share many thoughts, traits and even middle names ;)

What is something people usually don’t know about you but has influenced you in who you are?

One of the most influential things in my life was burning out twice. I am a workaholic and an overachiever, and in the software industry that can often lead to insane hours and stress. It took me 2 attempts and about 5 years to really change who I am, and accept that more than about 35 hours a week leads to crap work, even if you don’t think so at the time.

What would have become of you, if you were not doing the job you do today?

Although I started off studying Astrophysics, I think nowadays I would be an accountant :) People think I’m kidding when I say this, but I love numbers, accounts, budgets, ledgers, investments and anything to do with that. Sam calls me the Financial Director for our company because I love dealing with all that stuff.

What is your biggest challenge and why is it a good thing for you?

Keeping quiet :) I love to talk, and I’m a natural extrovert. However being a good facilitator and coach requires both being comfortable with silence and giving people space to talk. It’s a constant struggle for me not to talk, but every time I do, I learn very valuable things and connect better with people.

What drives you?

When I hear about the impact I had on other people’s lives for the better. e.g. they have stopped working overtime, or started to appreciate others more, that’s confirmation for me of why I do what I do.

What is your biggest achievement?

Following my heart and starting Growing Agile with Sam. It has been a fantastic ride so far, and it’s only just beginning. I think everyone should work for themselves, it’s an amazing discovery about what really motivates you, and what you enjoy doing.

Is there a piece of music that has a special meaning for you?

Not really. I think I’m musically challenged :) I am pretty much tone deaf, and most of the time if music is playing I tune it out. I am one of those people who drives my car without music playing, without even noticing it.

What is the last book you have read?

Lean Thinking by Womack and Jones. It was also one of the best books I have read, kinda life changing and now I think about lean all the time. I see so much waste around us, and we are definitely conditioned into batch and queue thinking, it’s hard to break that.

What question do you think we should also ask and what is the answer?

What are you currently playing (on xbox)?

Just bought Bioshock Infinite, hope to start this weekend!

Whom do you think we should ask next in South Africa?

Otto Behrens and Walther Behrens. I first met them in 2001 when I was working as a developer. They were at Equinox and were the first people I met doing eXtreme Programming. Earlier this year our paths crossed again. They are now at FINworks and still doing agile really well.

Whom do you think we should ask next, not in South Africa?

The two people who have had the biggest impact on me from an agile point of view:
Boris Gloger who made me realize that Scrum was a lot more than the mechanics I perceived it to be and started me on the journey of being an agile coach.
Lyssa Adkins (although I think she’s been featured). She fundamentally changed my view of coaching and management, which has made me a much happier person and a better coach.

How would you define your relation to the South African Agile community?

Starting to let go! I got very involved in the Scrum User Group (SUGSA) the first year it started after my husband roped me in. After that I was on the committee for 4 years, and made it my own. I’m terrible at delegating and so I took on a lot of the work myself. But with help from the rest of the committee I finally let go. This year I left the committee and am excited to see it blossoming on it’s own. Now I see my role as connecting others to the community and starting other community events like Lean Coffee and Agile Breakfast. I have learned so much from the global agile community, and helping create a local community is my way of giving back. I’m proud the South African community is so vibrant and active.

Cape Town, April 2013

“Divorced :) Lol - it was an amicable divorce, and South Africa got full custody of the children :) I moved to New Zealand in 2018 and as a result don’t really have anything to do with the South African agile community anymore. What was interesting when I first moved here was how noticeably different the South African agile community (at least at the time I left) was to the New Zealand community. The SA one is MUCH larger, and more closely knit. If a company was looking to hire a Scrum Master there were 10 people I could easily and confidently recommend. And when I was recruiting Scrum Masters myself I would have recognised most of the applicants from agile meetup or conferences. In New Zealand I found while there is a small community that is like this, most people who work in agile teams, don’t really participate in the community. Mostly Scrum Master is not even a role title here, it’s a part time job someone on the team or a project manager fills. Interestingly Product Owner is a more common role title here than in South Africa, and the Product Management community seems larger than the agile community. In terms of the agile I’ve seen in companies I actually think South Africa is much further ahead than New Zealand in it’s agile adoption journey and I think the strong community is a big part of that. I do miss the community and I especially loved how each year there was a new wave of people who had discovered agile and were looking for growing themselves and learning and how they found their way to the community.”

New Zealand, October 2020

How to connect with Karen

Twitter: @karen_greaves

Linked In: za.linkedin.com/in/karengreaves