Breaking into Product Management: Sid Sachdeva’s Journey from Engineering to Agile Leadership

In this episode of The Agile Coach Podcast, we sit down with Darian Riley, a former Division I basketball coach turned agile leader, who shares his inspiring journey from the sports world to guiding teams in major organizations. Darian opens up about how his coaching background naturally translated into agile leadership, emphasizing servant leadership, team building, and fostering high-performing, self-organizing teams.They dive deep into topics like transitioning careers, empowering teams to deliver business value without feeling overwhelmed, and navigating the challenges of scaling agile practices across organizations. Darian also shares his insights on leveraging AI in agile workflows and how Scrum Masters can evolve their roles to contribute to product strategy and organizational innovation.Key Takeaways:Darian’s Transition from Coaching Basketball to Agile Leadership: How coaching skills like mentoring and team building naturally transferred to agile practices.Empowering Teams: Strategies for helping teams focus on business value while avoiding overwhelm.Upskilling Through Pair Programming: How senior team members can mentor others effectively.AI in Agile: Practical ways to integrate AI into agile workflows for efficiency and collaboration.Scrum Master Evolution: Moving beyond facilitation to contribute to product strategy and innovation.Creating Wins: Small shifts like transitioning from Scrum to Kanban for better team alignment.Advice for New Agile Leaders: Building relationships through one-on-ones and understanding the technical and human sides of teamwork. Connect with Darian:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darian-riley-b1915349/ Timestamps:00:00 - Introduction to Darian & his background02:00 - Transitioning from coaching basketball to agile leadership05:00 - Empowering teams to focus on business value without overwhelm10:00 - Pair programming and strategies for upskilling teams15:00 - Coaching teams on ownership and continuous improvement20:00 - Leveraging AI in agile workflows for efficiency25:00 - Aligning with leadership goals as a Scrum Master30:00 - Evolving the Scrum Master role to influence product strategy40:00 - Creating wins through small shifts in team practices50:00 - Final thoughts & Darian’s reflections on his career journey If you enjoyed this episode, please rate, review, and share it with your network!

Sid’s transition from aerospace engineering to product management and the pivotal moments that shaped his career.The challenges international students face in the job market and Sid’s strategies for overcoming them.The importance of networking, soft skills, and executive presence in breaking into product roles.How Sid learned to work with software engineers, stakeholders, and executives without a technical coding background.Key takeaways on job hunting, interview prep, and making an impact in the corporate world. Key Quotes from Sid Sachdeva:“Being proactive is key. You have to start six months before everyone else to get ahead.”“It’s not about how much you know—it’s about how you show up, engage, and collaborate.”“Networking is a numbers game—keep applying, keep connecting, and don’t take rejections personally.”“Product management is like being a mini-CEO—you have to balance engineering, design, and business.”

In this episode, we talk about the steps to getting hired as a Scrum Master or Agile Coach. Adam shares his personal story and gives easy-to-follow advice on how to do well in job interviews.Main Topics Covered:1. How to Get Started in Agile Roles: Adam shares how he went from working in finance to becoming a Scrum Master and later an Agile Coach. He explains how he discovered Agile and why it made sense to him.2. Tips for Scrum Master Interviews: Adam talks about the different stages of job interviews:First Interview: How to tell your story and connect with the recruiter.Second Interview: How to prepare for more detailed conversations.Third Interview: How to understand the team and company culture.3. Personal Growth as a Way to Stand Out: Adam explains how working on personal growth, like reading self-improvement books, can help you stand out in interviews. He encourages people to talk about their personal growth in job interviews to show they are always learning.4. Coaching During Interviews: Adam shares how you can add value during interviews by coaching the interviewer. He gives examples of how he explained Agile ideas to interviewers who didn’t fully understand them.5. Do You Need a College Degree to Be a Scrum Master? Adam answers the common question about whether a college degree is needed to work in Agile. His answer? No, you don’t need a degree. What matters more is your mindset and willingness to learn.Practical Interview Tips:Share Your Agile Story: Talk about how you got into Agile and what you’ve learned.Be Yourself: Show that you’re open to learning and can fit into the company’s culture.Focus on Personal Growth: Mention books or courses that helped you grow as a person.Ask Good Questions: Use the interview to learn more about the company and role.Book Recommendations:How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale CarnegieThe 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen CoveyLeadership Gold by John MaxwellKey Quotes from the Episode:“If you talk about personal growth in your interviews, you will stand out from other candidates.” – Adam Miner“You don’t need a degree to succeed in Agile. It’s more about your mindset and learning.” – Adam Miner

Landing your dream job straight out of school sounds great, but there's a big hurdle to cross first: the interview. It's not just a quiz about what you know; it's more about how you're ready to grow and handle challenges. Confidence plays a big role here, but let's face it, interviews can be nerve-wracking. The key is to build up your interview confidence like you would a muscle, with the right approach and mindset. In this episode, we get into the nitty-gritty of job interviews with Neha, who's been through the wringer and come out on top. She's now a product manager and has some great insights on how to handle interviews, from the first handshake to the final questions. Neha's journey is pretty inspiring—starting off in business analytics, moving into the health tech industry, and now making waves at a company called Tree, where she's shaking up the influencer marketing world.

In this episode of The Agile Coach, host Vivek is joined back again with Adam Miner, an experienced Agile Coach with a background as a Scrum Master, to share his journey of breaking into his first Scrum Master role and transitioning into an Agile Coach role. He emphasizes the importance of personal growth and development outside of the nine-to-five job to set oneself apart in interviews. Adam also highlights the significance of understanding the company culture and team dynamics during the interview process. He advises candidates to focus on showcasing their unique experiences and perspectives to stand out from other candidates.HIGHLIGHT QUOTES"If you can speak to personal growth outside of your nine-to-five in leadership, communications, discipline, success habits, you will probably set yourself apart from eight or nine out of ten other candidates in the process.""It's very much about what you are saying that another candidate is not saying.""You do not need a degree to succeed in corporate or agile. You don't have to have a technical background."Get to know Adam and what she’s up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-miner-77793129/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:Vivek’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/

In this episode of The Agile Coach, host Vivek is joined back again by Adam Miner, an experienced Agile Coach with a background as a Scrum Master. He has worked in various roles in the Agile space, including coaching and mentoring teams in Agile practices. Adam has a deep understanding of the Agile mindset and values and is skilled in facilitating change and driving organizational agility.Adam shares his experience transitioning from a Scrum Master role to an Agile Coach role. He emphasizes the importance of developing the skill of influencing people through organic trust and respect. Adam believes that the ability to influence is crucial for both Scrum Masters and Agile Coaches. He also highlights the value of understanding the Agile mindset and principles, rather than focusing solely on specific frameworks or certifications. Adam discusses the challenges of working with leadership and management teams, particularly in overcoming resistance to change. He emphasizes the need for Agile Coaches to balance their knowledge of Agile practices with strong interpersonal and leadership skills. Adam encourages new Agilists to be opportunistic and step out of their comfort zones to gain experience. He also advises seeking guidance from experienced professionals in the desired role.HIGHLIGHT QUOTES"The most effective skill in an Agile environment is the ability to influence people through organic trust and respect.""If you understand the mindset of agility and take the values and principles to heart, you can apply them to any process or situation.""It's difficult to convince leadership that changing the way they think is necessary to achieve different results.""The best coaches have a delicate balance of training and coaching, combining Agile knowledge with strong interpersonal skills.""The goal for any coach should be to scale Agile leadership and create self-organizing teams."Get to know Adam and what he’s up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-miner-77793129/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:Vivek’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek is joined by Abbie DeMartino, a development manager at Meijer, to share her journey from a sports coaching background to becoming a scrum master and eventually a development manager. She discusses the transferable skills she gained from her previous roles and how she applied them in the tech world. Abbie emphasizes the importance of being competitive, continuously learning, and building relationships with team members. She also provides insights into the challenges and rewards of her current role, including the need to keep up with ever-changing technology and the satisfaction of driving change and coaching others.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESWhat is it like being a scrum master and product owner - Abbie: “I think the scrum master and the product owner roles are tough. Like they're, it's a unique personality that you need. You need someone who's driven. You need someone who can handle conflict. You need someone who's able to have difficult conversations”Scrum Master vs. Leadership Role - Abbie: “As a scrum master, I always felt like I could see pain points at the team level and I didn't have any power to do anything about it per se. Now being in a leadership role, I think I can drive change here. What's impacted my team? And I don't know what other word to say besides authority, but I don't mean authority but the ability to implement some of that change has been really exciting and just seeing wins in my team, right? So they're getting out a big body of work to production that they've spent, you know, multiple sprints on and to see it through and celebrate that with them.”Get to know Abbie and what she’s up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbie-gortsema123/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:Vivek’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek is joined by Laurin Lukas Stahl, Head of Product at Trality, to discuss the world of product management, exploring its definition, differences from project management, and its essential role in the product development process. Laurin, a guest on the show, shares valuable insights into the skills, mindset, and structured thinking needed to become an effective product manager. The conversation also touches on the potential of AI tools like Chat GPT in assisting product managers with tasks such as generating frameworks, facilitating communication, and accelerating product development. Vivek and Laurin emphasize the importance of continuous learning and provide resources for further exploration. HIGHLIGHT QUOTESProduct Management: Delivering Products and Building Solutions - Laurin Lukas Stahl: “Product management is the idea that there is a central person within a product squad embedded in the overall idea of what the product needs, whose responsibility is finally to deliver the product, to shepherd it throughout each and every stage.”Product vs. Project Management: Understanding the Difference - Laurin Lukas Stahl: “The main difference is that projects have defined scopes or timelines, whereas products aim to continuously deliver value to users and strive for improvement.”Structured Thinking: Unlocking Effective Product Management - Laurin Lukas Stahl: “Structured thinking involves approaching problems with a clear process, using frameworks specific to the problem at hand, and communicating ideas effectively.” Get to know Laurin and what he’s up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurin-stahl/Connect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:VIvek’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivekkhattri/Pabitra’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pabitrakhanal/The Agile Coach LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc/Agile Coach Website: https://theagilecoach.com/If you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at our website https://theagilecoach.com/

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek is joined by Jonaed Iqbal, the CEO and Founder of NoDegree.com. Jonaed talks about social media, branding, and helping people pursue roles even without a college degree.He walks us through the No Degree platform and how he creates content and interacts with people without degrees and helping them take the roles that best fit them. He shares key insights on constant learning especially when you don't have the "advantage" of having a degree.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESYou can learn so much by being proactive - Jonaed: "You've got a degree? Ten years later and new technology comes out, what are you going to do? Lean in on your degree? No, you have to get involved. Things are always changing so immerse yourself."Understand the role of recruiters - Jonaed: "The recruiter's job is not to help you out, their job is to help their clients fill roles. If you are their target market and they have a job for you, they'll be helpful. If not they will not be. This is a misconception people have because, the fact is, they're busy and they have their quota so you have to make it easy for them."Get to know Jonaed and what he’s up to:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonaed/Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoDegreeDotComConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc

In this episode of The Agile Coach, Vivek is joined by Priyanka Gyawali, the Chief Technology Officer at Belong Technology. Priyanka digs into her journey in tech from software engineer to CTO and the immense value of upskilling to get there.She shares her thoughts on what makes a good product owner/manager and the changes ChatGPT is ushering in the way we process work for the better. For agile, Priyanka also champions giving people space to be creative to bring their ideas to reality.HIGHLIGHT QUOTESChanging and overlapping roles after going agile - Priyanka: "Things have changed like the number of roles in a project have changed. Previously it was the developer doing the designing as well, doing the QA, doing the BA, and then there was like a product owner. But like over time when things are more agile now, we have several roles, like people wear different hats, especially in my experience in the startup world."Leaders should take the lead on implementing innovation - Priyanka: "Someone being a leader, they might not think about the things that are in the market, but then a developer who has hands-on experience and who might have already done that in another project, we can utilize their skill on that. So I guess it's about giving space to people in the team."Get to know Priyanka and what she’s up to:LinkedInConnect with Vivek and Pabitra to find out more about what they're up to:About VivekAbout PabitraAbout The Agile CoachAgile Coach WebsiteIf you enjoy The Agile Coach and are interested in learning more, you can check us out at the link below:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-agile-coach-llc