Who is Pavel Dabrytski?
This is what Cara has to say about Pavel.
Pavel has been a passionate contributor to the agile community for the last few years. The only agilist in ZA who can coach in Russian, you’ll find him promoting LeanCoffee, free hugs and vodka shots!
What is something people usually don’t know about you but has influenced you in who you are?
Whilst people often guess that I am not from South Africa, not many of them know where I am from. I was born in a country called Belarus, located in Eastern Europe. Even though the country is bordering Russia, it is an independent state with its own language, economy and culture.
This particular culture has formed my personality. Over the past few years of living in South Africa, I have had to adjust my behaviour in order to bridge the cultural gap. Here is an example. Imagine that you went to the shop to buy some milk and you are standing at the till in front of a shop attendant. If you are in Belarus, you would just say “Give me milk”! Compared to South Africa where you will say something like “Excuse me! I am really sorry to bother you! Could I please have a carton of milk? Thank you very much! Hope you have an absolutely lovely day! Really sorry for the inconvenience I caused!”
I am exaggerating, of course, however, my straightforwardness (along with many other things) comes with my cultural background.
What would have become of you, if you were not doing the job you do today?
I am absolutely happy the way I shaped up over these years and I am enjoying the complex journey I am on.
One profession I would probably swap it for, would be a surgeon. I believe being a surgeon is one of the most complex, respected and demanding jobs in the current world. Would I be good at it? Hell, I don’t know.
What is your biggest challenge and why is it a good thing for you?
My biggest challenge is that I get bored quickly. I can’t do repetitive jobs. I am bored and depressed if I am required to the similar activities on regular basis. I rarely re-play computer games, re-watch movies or re-read books.
This has been a good thing for me as it has helped my personal growth and forced me to constantly look for new things.
What drives you?
Curiosity! I am constantly wondering what waits for me around the corner: new people, new adventures, new opportunities.
It is hard for me to stay in one place or do the same things for too long. I left home to work in another country at the age of 21. I have never regretted that.
What is your biggest achievement?
I hope it is still to come.
In 2014, I believe my biggest achievement was to train 33 Scrum classes, with over 550 delegates in total. While the first ones are always hard and one can never get them perfect, I believe I am getting better at training other people. Now I try focusing on inspiring and motivating people to carry out the changes, rather than just teaching them concepts, techniques or tools.
Is there a piece of music that has a special meaning for you?
There is no particular song in mind.
When I find a song I really like, I listen to it all the time for a couple of weeks until I get over it. The songs build associations to specific time periods in my life. Sometimes when I find an old song I used to like, it brings back memories.
Black Eyed Peas ‘Monkey Business’ was my 4th year university, Lady Gaga ‘Poker Face’ is from the time I first came to South Africa and I listed to Lana Del Rey while running on the beach in Cape Town.
I believe one day I will build a playlist which will help me to relive my life.
What is the last book you have read?
The last book I read was from the Maze Runner series. I originally went to watch the movie and realised it was the first in a trilogy. I couldn’t wait for a couple of years for the next movies to be released – so I read the books.
An Agile book I recently purchased and which is on my list to read is ‘Fifty Quick Ideas To Improve Your User Stories’ by Gojko Adzic, David Evans and Nikola Korac.
What question do you think we should also ask and what is the answer?
One interesting question to ask is “what was your first impression of Agile?”
I remember the time I had the first conversation about Scrum framework. I could immediately think of tens of ways people can trick or cheat the method. In my mind it couldn’t possibly work more effectively than the old controlled way. I couldn’t be more wrong :)
Whom do you think we should ask next in South Africa?
Biase De Gregorio and Angie Doyle. We worked closely for the past year and I have tremendous respect for their efforts to make our big banks a bit more Agile.
Whom do you think we should ask next, not in South Africa?
Adam Weisbart. I am continuously impressed with Adam’s energy and his ability to generate new ideas all the time.
How would you define your relation to the South African Agile community?
I have been part of the community since 2011, first in Cape Town and now in Johannesburg. Many of the community members have become really good friends. The amount of wine I’ve drank with them can be counted in barrels!
Johannesburg, December 2014
How to connect with Pavel
Twitter: @@PavelDabrytski
Linked In: za.linkedin.com/in/paveldabrytski