Diana Larsen is a pioneering figure in the Agile movement who has been shaping how teams learn and work together since the late 1990s. Co-author of the foundational Agile Retrospectives (with Esther Derby) and Liftoff (with Ainsley Nies), Diana brings decades of experience helping organizations build learning cultures. Her recent work with Lead Without Blame (co-authored with Tricia Broderick) extends her focus on leadership that supports team autonomy and psychological safety.
Episode Description
What does it mean to build a learning organization? Why does that matter now more than ever?
In this conversation, Diana Larsen traces her journey from the earliest days of what would become the Agile movement to her current work with leaders navigating today’s complex, constantly shifting landscape.
Diana shares hard-won insights on why retrospectives so often fail to deliver value (and what actually makes them work), how team chartering accelerates performance, and why the human side of software development keeps getting short-changed in favor of shiny new tools. Along the way, she introduces FAST (Fluid Adaptive Scaling Technology)—an emerging approach that synthesizes open space principles, self-selection, and dynamic reteaming into something genuinely different from the heavyweight scaling frameworks that dominate the conversation.
Struggling to make your retros meaningful? Wondering how to support teams without a dedicated Scrum Master? Or just curious what someone who’s been in this game for 25+ years sees on the horizon?
This episode offers both practical wisdom and the long view that only comes from sticking around long enough to see the patterns.
Links & Resources
Guest Links
Team Liftoffs — Neil Taylor’s continuation of the liftoff/chartering work
Books by Diana Larsen
Agile Retrospectives: A Practical Guide for Catalyzing Team Learning and Improvement (2nd Edition) by Esther Derby, Diana Larsen & David Horowitz
Liftoff: Start and Sustain Successful Agile Teams (2nd Edition) by Diana Larsen & Ainsley Nies
Lead Without Blame: Building Resilient Learning Teams by Diana Larsen & Tricia Broderick
Books & Articles Mentioned
The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and the Future of Work by Scott Berkun — on distributed work at Automattic/WordPress
Agile Software Development with Distributed Teams by Jutta Eckstein (2010) — early work on remote/diffuse teams
The Human Side of Enterprise by Douglas McGregor — the Theory X/Theory Y framework
Tools, Frameworks & Concepts
Self-Determination Theory — an academic framework on autonomy-supportive leadership
Open Space Technology — the meeting format that inspired elements of FAST
Dynamic Reteaming — the practice of teams reforming based on work needs
FAST Agile — Fluid Adaptive Scaling Technology, developed by Quinton (Ron) Quartel
Shout Outs
Esther Derby — co-author of Agile Retrospectives
Norm Kerth — retrospectives pioneer, connected to the retrospective facilitator gatherings
David Horowitz — co-author on the 2nd edition of Agile Retrospectives, CEO of Retrium
Ainsley Nies — co-author of Liftoff
Tricia Broderick — co-author of Lead Without Blame, founder of Ignite Insight + Innovation
Neil Taylor — carrying forward the Team Liftoffs work (teamliftoffs.com)
Quinton (Ron) Quartel — creator of the FAST framework
Scott Berkun — author of The Year Without Pants
Jutta Eckstein — author of an early distributed teams book
Douglas McGregor — management theorist (Theory X/Theory Y)
Matt Plavcan — Introduced Dave to Diana, making this podcast possible
Agile Open Northwest — open space conference (Portland/Seattle)
Topics Discussed
The Evolution of Agile (and Why It Keeps “Dying”)
Diana offers a compelling lens on the recurring declarations that “Agile is dead”—connecting them to the diffusion of innovation curve. Each time Agile crosses from one adopter group to the next (pioneers to early adopters to majority), the previous group declares it dead because it’s necessarily changing to accommodate new contexts.
Key points:
Diana entered through XP in 1997, bringing experience with cross-functional, self-organizing teams from high-tech manufacturing
Every wave of “Agile is dead” corresponds to a diffusion curve transition
The community’s strength has been its ability to learn its way through major shifts—from co-location to remote, from desktop to mobile, and now to AI
Why Retrospectives Fail (And What Actually Works)
The retrospective framework from Agile Retrospectives isn’t just a meeting format—it mirrors how the human brain naturally processes decisions. When teams skip steps or reduce retros to “what went well/what didn’t” lists, they lose the collaborative thinking that drives real improvement.
Key points:
The framework follows natural human cognition: attention → perception → implications → decision
“When your retrospectives go well, every other meeting in your organization goes well”
Retros that don’t affect the next iteration’s plan aren’t working—they’re building process resentment
The goal isn’t catharsis; it’s collaborative decision-making that creates buy-in along the way
Team Chartering and Liftoffs
Taking time at the beginning to establish shared purpose, working agreements, and context dramatically accelerates team performance. Diana’s work with Neil Taylor is bringing this practice into the remote-first era.
Key points:
Three essential elements: purpose/vision, who’s doing the work and how, and contextual environment
The charter is “always a draft”—available for adjustment but providing a reference point
For remote teams, co-located liftoffs create lasting human connection that sustains virtual collaboration
Team chartering and retrospectives work together as a system—retro insights can update the charter
The Disappearing Agile Roles Problem
As organizations shed Scrum Masters and Agile coaches, they often expect managers to absorb these responsibilities without developing the skills or capacity to do so well.
Key points:
Many organizations hired managers for paperwork and HR compliance, not team nurturing
Lead Without Blame addresses what leaders can do to create conditions for performance without becoming full-time coaches
The human problems in organizations won’t be solved by new tools—they require developing new capabilities in people
Leaders’ plates are overflowing; burnout is the predictable result
FAST: A Different Approach to Scaling
Fluid Adaptive Scaling Technology combines open space, self-selection, dynamic reteaming, and XP-style small slices of work into an alternative to heavyweight scaling frameworks.
Key points:
Created by Quinton (Ron) Quartel after observing open space conferences and asking, “What if we applied this to software development?”
Teams form around work on a short cadence (2-3 days to a week), demonstrate progress, then reform based on what’s needed next
Eliminates the “60% on this project, 30% on that” cognitive overhead while maintaining flexibility
Allows quick response to changing product direction without waiting for quarterly planning cycles
The Autonomy-Supportive Leader
Diana traces a through-line from Douglas McGregor’s 1952 Theory X / Theory Y work through self-determination theory to today’s challenges. Really good leadership has looked similar for decades—we just keep defaulting back to control.
Key points:
Theory Y assumes people want to do good work and will if barriers are removed; Theory X assumes they need to be pressured
Self-determination theory provides academic grounding for autonomy-supportive leadership
Diana’s current work: meeting with leadership groups to share new ideas and help reframe challenges
Focus on environments, team dynamics, and leadership as the three elements that optimize organizational capability
Thanks for listening!
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