Some folks call me a Visionary Pragmatist, others call me one of the Retrospective Goddesses. I like to think of myself as helping to build capability and capacity with teams, leaders, and organizations.

I prefer to collaborate. And I'm co-author of three books.

* Lead without Blame: Building Resilient Learning Teams

* Liftoff 2nd ed.: Start and Sustain Successful Agile Teams

*Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great

*Five Rules for Accelerated Learning

*Agile Fluency® Model co-originator

*The Art of Agile Development, second edition, contributor

Drawing on 30+ years of experience working with technical professionals and leaders, people tell me that I find possibilities where others perceive obstacles. I take a pragmatic approach to promoting workplaces where innovation, inspiration, and imagination flourish.

Here's some official stuff:

As a founding member and director of the Agile Fluency Project http://agilefluency.org , Diana Larsen delivers ways to chart a course for teams, create alignment with management, and secure organizational support for continuous learning and improvement. As president and owner of Eos House Consulting, Inc. dba as dianalarsen.com, she leads a practice area for Agile software development, team enablement, and coaching/consulting for Agile transitions. Diana contributes to the growth of workplaces where people say, “I love my work; this is the best job ever!”

Diana Larsen also delivers inspiring conference keynote talks and facilitates productive Open Space Technology events. As a volunteer, she has contributed as a leader with Agile Alliance, Organization Design Forum, Agile Open Northwest, and more.

Esther Derby draws on four decades of experience leading, observing, and living through organizational change. Esther started her career as a programmer, and quickly realized that while her job description referred to computers, her real work involved changing the way people worked, and supporting them though that process. In 1997, she founded esther derby associates, inc., and works with a broad array of clients from Fortune 500 companies to start ups. Her approach blends attention to humans and deep knowledge of complex adaptive systems.

In addition to consulting, Esther has an extensive background in designing and leading experiential learning. She teaches workshops both on-line and in-person around the world. Her workshops support leaders to explore how they can adapt the environment to amplify empowerment, engage in joint problem-solving, and evolve their systems towards better results.

Esther is co-author of Behind Closed Doors: Secrets of Great Management (2005), a guide for people as they make the transition from technical work to management work, and Agile Retrospectives: Making Good Teams Great (2006), a process for teams to inspect, adapt, and improve the way they work. She has also published hundreds of articles, many of which are available on her website, www.estherderby.com.

Esther lives in northern Minnesota, near the shores of Lake Superior. She enjoys cooking from her northern garden, making garments with pockets, quilting, and baking bread.

Esther has an MA in Organizational Leadership and a certificate in Human System Dynamics.

Have a listen to my podcast on nurturing change in your organization. https://changebyattraction.simplecast.com/