The Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) now incorporates the JLS approach to Transforming People Development as an extended competency, and it can be accessed through SAFe Studio.
The People Developer
The People Developer is a dynamic and influential leader who acts as a talent enabler, employee advocate, culture champion, and strategic partner for agile people, teams, and the Agile Release Train (ART). This crucial role is responsible for fostering a thriving and collaborative work environment that empowers individuals and teams to achieve their full potential while delivering high-quality products and services.
The People Developer serves as the people authority on the ART, providing guidance, support, and expertise on all people-related matters.
- Focus: Responsible for all people-related matters of a designated group of individuals (formerly known as direct reports, today labeled as talents, employees, associates, growth seekers, or circle members). The primary focus is building a strong people runway by fostering individual growth through coaching, mentoring, training, and skill development.
- Scope: Works with a dedicated group of about 25-30 individuals while collaborating with other agile leaders (RTE, PM, Systems Architect), Scrum masters and agile coaches, fellow people developers, the Lean-Agile Center of Excellence (LACE), and Human Resources (HR)/People & Culture (P&C).
- Approach: Utilizes a facilitative and consultative approach, empowering individuals to take ownership of their learning and growth while collaborating with others to build and sustain a strong people runway. They act as talent enablers, employee advocates, change agents, P&C collaborators, and strategic partners.
- Key Responsibilities:
- Engage in Talent Enablement (Agile Talent Management)
- Cultivate Performance Acceleration (Agile Performance Management)
- Develop and sustain a strong People Runway
- Conduct strategic Workforce Management and manage people matters
- Act as People Advocate and Culture Champion
- Collaborate on redesigning HR practices and tools
- Drive Change Enablement (Agile Change Management)
People Management in SAFe©
Transforming the people management function will profoundly benefit your people, significantly impact your value streams, and ultimately enhance your Scaled Agile transformation.
The Backstory
While people development has always been a managerial responsibility, the emergence of the People Developer role in Agile organizations marks a significant shift in how we approach this crucial aspect of business.
In traditional organizations, the task of people development falls to the manager – the very same person who is also responsible for directing and overseeing operations.
This situation leads to a host of challenges. For one, Ensuring value delivery requires very different skills and personalities to advocate for people. More importantly, the person in charge of employee development is constantly put into a position to balance people’s topics with whatever else is happening.
When faced with the decision between a people topic and a client deliverable, the people topic will almost always take a backseat. It may be seen as important but is never quite urgent enough.
Even as companies transitioned to an Agile and shared leadership, people management was left to a group of people whose responsibilities go well beyond employee development. Yet, we need someone with a clear mandate: Someone taking on a dedicated role as a people champion.
That someone is the People Developer.
The People Developer role starts with helping individuals reach their potential faster than they could on their own. People Developers enable the ART to reach its full potential by focusing on people. However, their responsibilities go well beyond individual development and creating a learning culture.
The People Developer role encompasses a wide range of responsibilities.
They are not only responsible for individual development and fostering a learning culture but also for managing workforce dynamics, advising on workforce strategies, and handling all HR-related topics.
I do not see myself as a people manager but as a people developer. I am a mentor and provide consistent yet personalized guidance. I am not the one who makes all the decisions and has all the answers. Instead, I want to enable and empower my people to solve problems and make decisions. It will make the organization much faster. Accelerating people’s individual growth will undoubtedly accelerate the whole company.
Excerpt from an interview with a People Developer
Extent and Impact of the People Developer Role
The role of the People Developer encompasses a wide range of responsibilities. The role is engaged in operational and tactical work on an employee level like engaging in learning & growth dialogues, opening up exploratory assignments for people, and managing staffing and compensation. At the same time, People Developers are involved in strategic work on an (Solution) ART level like anticipating future capability based on roadmaps and strategic initiatives, collaborating with others to redesigning HR processes, and engaging in talent pool mapping and adaptive workforce planning.
People Developers work closely with the people under their care to unlock the intrinsic motivation of their learning workers and help them grow; but the role also applies systems thinking, keeping the entire (Solution) ART in mind. These constant balancing acts make the role of People Developer particularly demanding.
Excelling at People Development depends not only on the incumbents’ own qualities, and how they can draw on their experience and expertise, but also on the collaborative power of the group of People Developers, and how they rally together around the change in mindset and practices needed to succeed in this challenging yet rewarding role.
People Developers liaise with a wide range of roles, including:
- Working closely with the Agile Release Train (ART) leadership team (Tactical Square) and fellow People Developers
- Partnering up with the relevant Scrum Masters/Team Coaches
- Collaborating with Agile leaders, coaches, and consultants as well as HR business partners, HR (People & Culture), and other relevant parties.
The main impact of People Developers is based on their abilities to:
- Facilitate the learning and growth of the people under your care
- Ensure the talent pool (workforce) of your ART and wider Value Stream has the right skills, experiences, and characteristics to meet evolving business needs
- Drive the success of your ART and wider Value Stream by championing and enabling people topics
In essence, the role of the People Developer is pivotal in fostering a thriving, adaptable, and high-performing workforce within an Agile framework. It requires a blend of strategic vision and hands-on engagement, demanding continuous learning and collaboration. By effectively navigating these complexities, the role becomes crucial in driving both individual and organizational success, ensuring the talent ecosystem is primed for the challenges and opportunities of the evolving business landscape.
Key Responsibilities
Engaging in Talent Enablement: Facilitate learning and growth opportunities; and challenge, guide, and mentor employees to help them develop their skills, knowledge, and competencies to reach their full potential.
Cultivating Performance Acceleration: Ensure a shift from Performance Management to Performance Acceleration; and form high-performing Agile teams with strong team dynamics and strengths that translate into collaboration, high performance, and impact.
Advancing People & Culture: Anticipate, develop and sustain a robust People Runway; and participate in redesigning HR/People & Culture practices, processes, and tools that are aligned with Agile values, principles, and ways of working.
Leveraging Adaptive Workforce Planning: Build a robust (cross-)unit talent pool with the depth and longevity to meet current and anticipated business needs; and engage in continuous and dynamic evaluation and utilization of talent clusters for a strong talent pool.
Driving Resilience & Change Readiness: Support organizational change initiatives and help build change readiness and resilience through change enablement programs that enable the people under your care to easily navigate dynamic environments.
Essential Qualities
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- Empathy and Emotional Intelligence: They genuinely understand and connect with people’s emotions, motivations, and challenges, creating a safe and supportive environment for growth.
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- Active Listening: They actively listen to understand rather than respond, seeking to uncover underlying needs and aspirations.
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- Powerful Questioning: They ask thought-provoking questions that encourage self-reflection, exploration, and discovery.
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- Observational Skills: They demonstrate proficiency in recognizing and navigating individual and team dynamics.
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- Trustworthiness and Integrity: They build trust through honesty, transparency, and confidentiality, fostering open and honest communication.
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- Adaptability and Flexibility: They tailor their coaching approach to suit each individual’s unique style, preferences, and goals.
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- Positive and Supportive: They create a positive and encouraging atmosphere, motivating, and empowering individuals to believe in themselves.
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- Passion for People Development: They have a genuine enthusiasm for helping others grow and reach their full potential.
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- Natural Coaching Ability: They possess an innate talent for connecting with people, understanding their needs, and guiding them towards solutions.
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- Foresight and Strategic Thinking: They anticipate future talent needs and adjust strategies to ensure a strong people runway.
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- Servant Leaders: They leave their egos at home. Instead, they instill leadership qualities in others, and they make it all about the success of their people.
Recommended Certification
People Developer FAQ
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What is a People Developer?
The People Developer is a dynamic and influential leader who acts as a employee advocate, change agent, and strategic partner for agile people, teams, and teams of teams. This crucial role is responsible for fostering a thriving and collaborative work environment that empowers individuals and teams to achieve their full potential while delivering high-quality products and services. The People Developer serves as the people authority on the ART, providing guidance, support, and expertise on all people-related matters. It is an elevated and more strategic understanding of the role of people manager, people leader, or manager with people responsibility.
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What are typical responsibilities of a People Developer?
The key responsibilities of a People Developer to:
- Engage in Talent Enablement (Agile Talent Management)
- Cultivate Performance Acceleration (Agile Performance Management)
- Develop and sustain a strong People Runway
- Conduct strategic Workforce Management and manage people matters
- Act as People Advocate and Culture Champion
- Collaborate on redesigning HR practices and tools
- Drive Change Enablement (Agile Change Management)
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Is the People Developer an HR/P&C role?
No. Even though People Developers are responsible for people-related topics and collaborate with HR on redesigning HR practices and tools, they are not part of Human Resources (HR) / People & Culture (P&C).
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Who is the People Developer in a SAFe context?
The People Developer is the people authority on the Agile Release Train (ART). People Developer collaborate with Release Train Engineers, Scrum Masters, Product Owners, Product Managers and other key roles. There are usually around two to three People Developers per ART.
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How many people is a People Developer responsible for?
A People Developer is responsible for about 25-30 people. The people under their care are part of the same unit, ART, or tribe.
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Who can I contact for more information?
Feel free to reach out to our JLS team for further information.
