Walking into The Westin Arlington felt different this time. Without my uniform, I couldn’t rely on the instant recognition it usually brought. Today, dressed in business attire, I was just another face in the crowd. Standing out would need to come from my words and ideas alone.
I had received an invitation to speak at Atlassian’s Team on Tour: Government event on a panel about “Powering productive agency-wide teamwork for mission success.” Though the invitation came through our use of Jira and my IT division lead’s recommendation, I was thrilled about the opportunity to share my passion for workflow improvement and expand my professional network.
The path to participation wasn’t smooth – government regulations around travel and speaking engagements shifted multiple times. It seemed I couldn’t attend. So, I reached out to the organizers with a choice. I suggested speaking as the founder of WFLD and included a link to my website.
Their response came swiftly – I was back on the agenda.
Below are the panel questions, my prepared responses, and thoughts since. Enjoy!
Q: How do you approach business and tech team cross-collaboration in your agency? Why is it important and what strategies do you use?
A: Building on Eli Goldratt and Cal Newport’s principles of separating work coordination from execution, I led a transformation across 14 industrial shops and two aviation product lines. By limiting work-in-progress, we significantly improved turnaround times and delivery performance, despite early resistance from the team. This approach, as Tim Keller observes, helped handle concerns about overproduction. Later, when optimizing knowledge workflows at the government C-suite level, we faced a different challenge: convincing leadership to embrace change and overcome their hesitation about potential underproduction.
As the first panelist to speak, I quickly realized my background set me apart. Unlike the other panelists who had careers in IT, my skill came from physical production control. This unique perspective brought a fresh dimension to the discussion.
Q: What methods do you employ for breaking down siloes and encouraging collaboration and efficiency?
A: Breaking down silos requires both clear reporting and effective communication. While our team members excel individually, they often miss how their work impacts the broader organization. Drawing from Theory of Constraints approach, I rely upon four critical principles: priority synchronization, optimal resource allocation, finished work preparation (“full kitting”), and rapid problem resolution. Though these principles are widely recognized, implementing them sparks productive discussions. The key to success lies in continuous improvement – observing system dynamics, actively listening to team feedback, and developing targeted solutions that tackle real needs.
My response built upon another panelist’s comments, with the moderator steering the discussion toward the importance of team feedback. I shared how I would eat lunch in employee break rooms during our 2014 implementation to hear questions and concerns firsthand. This experience highlighted a key distinction: while other panelists primarily worked with office teams, my experience centered on industrial workers and union employees.
Q: How do you approach long-term project management for multi-year initiatives? What methods do you use for greater visibility and goal-tracking?
A: I focus on centralizing all tasks and outcomes in an accessible repository. While Kanban boards are my preferred tool, I respect that teams have different needs: supply teams effectively use two-bin systems, production managers thrive with Gantt charts, executives get results with physical routing folders, and shop supervisors efficiently manage with Excel. The key is ensuring each visual system supports our organizational goals.
My current role marks my first experience developing long-term vision rather than executing pre-defined plans. While the other panelists brought extensive executive experience to this topic – including CTOs and HR officers with multi-year strategic planning skill – I mainly listened. I briefly highlighted the importance of adapting project management visualizations to meet teams where they are.
Q: What kind of digital transformations has your organization undergone (or undergoing now) to support better collaboration and efficiency?
A: We’ve transformed our approach from solution management to ability management. While I now juggle four different project management tools, our focus is on strategic consolidation. We’re asking three critical questions: What’s the smallest number of tools needed to serve most users effectively? How can we streamline customization requirements? And how do we make sure that updating individual components of our system—the tools we use to gather information, analyze it, and take action—maintains overall system stability?
This response draws from my experience on both a strategic study team at headquarters and an integrated planning team focused on improving operational data domain governance. Through these roles, I gained deep insights into the complexities of IT management – particularly the challenges of balancing system integrations with diverse user needs. Senior leadership expectations often added another layer of complexity to our planning and implementation efforts. Also, Notion AI made my response significantly more coherent than the first draft!
Q: How does your organization approach agility or agile software development?
A: Over the years, I’ve watched agile practices evolve from software development into broader project management applications. Recently, I encountered a challenge where operations and security teams were often interrupting development work with urgent requests. This disruption pattern had spread across five user communities, creating inefficiencies. We implemented a solution by establishing clear system-wide priorities, restructuring Jira workflows, integrating change requesters into development sprints, and implementing visual management tools. The results have been promising – our backlog is shrinking and release schedules are becoming more predictable.
This response showcased how different project management approaches can align effectively. While I lack formal agile training and rely more on Theory of Constraints principles, I found common ground in our shared goal: prioritizing and completing the most important work first. Though implementation details often create challenges, connecting theory to practical examples resonated well with the audience. By highlighting our IT team’s successes and using industry-relevant terminology, I made valuable connections – resulting in three new LinkedIn contacts within 24 hours, two of whom expressed interest in further discussion.
Patience and Humility 
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