Mixed Deck — All CAL-1 Topics Flashcards

Which leadership behavior most directly reduces organizational bureaucracy?

Answer: Empowering teams to make decisions at the lowest appropriate level

Pushing decision-making to the lowest appropriate level reduces bureaucratic delay and increases organizational agility.

What is organizational agility?

Answer: The ability of an organization to rapidly adapt to market changes while maintaining stability

Organizational agility is the capacity to sense and respond to environmental changes quickly while maintaining internal stability.

Which Tuckman stage describes a team that has resolved conflicts and is performing optimally?

Answer: Performing

In the Performing stage of Tuckman's model, teams function at a high level with minimal conflict or friction.

What is the primary goal of portfolio management in Agile organizations?

Answer: Prioritizing investments to maximize value delivery aligned with strategy

Agile portfolio management aligns investments with strategic goals to maximize value delivered across the organization.

What is 'business agility' in the CAL-1 context?

Answer: The ability of an entire enterprise to compete and thrive in the digital age

Business agility encompasses the entire enterprise's ability to sense, respond, and thrive amid continuous change.

Which characteristic is most associated with servant leadership?

Answer: Empathy and active listening

Empathy and active listening are hallmark traits of servant leadership, enabling leaders to understand team needs.

What is 'anchoring change in culture' in Kotter's 8-step model?

Answer: Making new behaviors part of the organization's norms and values to sustain change

Kotter's final step involves making new approaches stick by embedding them in organizational culture and norms.

Which facilitation technique is best suited for generating a large number of ideas from a team in a short amount of time?

Answer: Brainstorming or brainwriting

Brainstorming (or the silent variant brainwriting) is designed specifically to rapidly generate a high volume of ideas by suspending judgment during ideation.

In the GROW coaching model used by agile leaders, what does the 'R' stand for?

Answer: Reality

In the GROW model (Goal, Reality, Options, Will/Way Forward), 'Reality' represents the current situation assessment, helping the coachee understand where they are now.

What is 'sensemaking' in the context of Agile leadership?

Answer: The process of creating shared understanding of complex or ambiguous situations

Sensemaking helps leaders and teams collaboratively interpret ambiguous situations to guide effective responses.

Why is diversity important in Agile teams according to CAL-1?

Answer: Diverse perspectives improve problem-solving and innovation

Diverse teams bring varied perspectives and experiences that lead to more creative and effective problem-solving.

What does 'value stream' mean in an Agile organizational context?

Answer: The sequence of activities required to deliver value to a customer

A value stream maps the end-to-end activities needed to deliver a product or service from concept to customer.

Why is middle management critical to successful Agile transformations?

Answer: They bridge strategy and execution and can either accelerate or block Agile adoption

Middle managers translate strategy into action; without their buy-in, Agile transformations typically fail.

How does servant leadership differ from laissez-faire leadership?

Answer: Servant leaders are actively engaged in supporting teams, while laissez-faire leaders are disengaged

Servant leaders are actively engaged in removing impediments and supporting teams, unlike laissez-faire leaders who are disengaged.

What is 'powerful questioning' in the context of agile coaching?

Answer: Asking open-ended questions that evoke reflection, insight, and new possibilities

Powerful questions are open-ended, thought-provoking, and designed to stimulate self-reflection and help coachees discover their own insights.

How often should working software be delivered according to Agile principles?

Answer: Frequently, from a couple of weeks to a couple of months

Agile principles call for frequent delivery of working software, preferring shorter timescales.

What does 'sustainable pace' mean in the context of Agile?

Answer: Teams maintain a constant work pace indefinitely

Sustainable pace means agile teams should be able to maintain their development pace indefinitely without burning out.

What is the primary goal of a 'coaching agreement' established at the start of a coaching engagement?

Answer: To establish mutual expectations, boundaries, and the focus of the coaching relationship

A coaching agreement creates clarity and psychological safety by defining what the relationship will look like, what success means, and how coach and coachee will work together.

What does 'holding the space' mean in agile facilitation?

Answer: Creating and maintaining a psychologically safe container where people feel free to think and speak openly

Holding the space means creating conditions—emotional, relational, and environmental—where participants feel safe to explore ideas, express concerns, and take risks.

Which coaching stance best describes an agile leader who withholds their own opinion to allow the team to self-discover solutions?

Answer: Coach-like leader

A coach-like leader intentionally withholds personal opinions and uses questions to guide individuals toward self-discovered insights and solutions.