Consultants

Kristina Klessmann, Management Consultant

Every time that Kristina takes an important step in her development, she rearranges her apartment. After changing from consulting in the field of HR Transformation towards coaching Scrum Teams in various companies, she must have delivered her grand-oeuvre of interior design. The Agile Values and an honest, open application process – the likes of which she had never before encountered, neither as personnel manager nor as applicant – were crucial in her decision to take this step. To tell the truth instead of using diplomatic circumlocutions describes Kristina‘s manner of speaking as much as her way of working, as she demands flexibility of thought not only of others, but particularly of herself. Her direct, sometimes slightly ironic questions reflect her real interest and she sees them as vital for understanding the other person. Being a pragmatic negotiator, tackling things head on, and taking the first step towards change for others is her second-best quality. That Kristina always seems to hit the right key can possibly be led back to her passion for playing the violin.

Deborah Weber, Management Consultant & Trainer

A good deed a day and seeking out the right path in seemingly impassible localities? Scouts may be good at this, but so are ScrumMasters. Since Deborah is experienced in both roles – while also being a Human Resources expert and an excellent coach – it is in her nature to set the talents of Scrum Teams free by showing them the way towards a new quality of togetherness. Happiest when surrounded by nature, the woman from the Palatine adores using her abilities for leading others towards success. She is a keen observer, immediately noticing the various connections within and between Teams that enable her to give spot-on advice for improvement. If she could chose to be one of the Agile Values, she would pick Courage, which is necessary when you want to change or move something. Deborah wishes to initiate this kind of change particularly in the non-technical departments of companies. Her experience as HR manager allows her to raise awareness and understanding for Scrum in the personnel offices. She believes that the transformation towards becoming an agile company would happen faster and more sustainably, if the internal change experts would also chose to re-design their instruments for recruiting or personnel development. 

Stephanie Gasche, Management Consultant

Already at an early age, Stephanie began to understand the importance of respectful interaction. When she turned twelve, her family decided to move to the USA despite her lack of English language skills – and since then, extensive traveling has been her passion. Her studies and work experience in England and France helped cultivating Stephanie‘s soft spot for diverse cultures. She has learned to value the differences between human beings above all else, which is where she sees the connection to her work: Every day, Stephanie deals with various kinds of people that all come together with one common interest – to act agile. Stephanie‘s hobbies are as international as her life: born in Austria, she loves hiking and rock climbing, while her Californian self yearns to go surfing. Her multiple Anglophone home countries have taught the sensitive culture vulture openness and spontaneity – two values that she sees reflected in the Deming Cycle: while she always has some kind of itinerary in mind, Stephanie remains flexible on the journey to her goal in order to be open to new chances that may come along unexpectedly. 

Sven Winkler, Management Consultant & Trainer

Sven knows many languages: Java, Perl, C# and XML – he even knows a bit of Japanese. The experienced ScrumMaster, Product Owner and software architect from Nürnberg openly admits that he enjoys talking a lot – about agile software development in general and Scrum in particular. Interestingly enough, he still encounters moments that take his breath away, i.e. when he experiences Scrum Team members suddenly understanding the value of their own work. For Sven, “agile“ is the right way to tackle the complexity of software and product development. He is fascinated by the cleverly devised, rational and scientifically-based system of methods, which enhance each other. However, it is most important that humans are at the centre of it. If you ask Sven, what it is that makes him a good Scrum Consultant, he will start babbling, “Passion, passion, passion, devotion, courage, honesty, openness, focus, creativity, fun, commitment, cheerfulness, positive attitude…“.   

Martin Stallmaier, Management Consultant & Trainer

To turn employees that are simply working off Tasks into employees who are actually keen on performing and working together is what fascinates Martin from Salzburg most about Scrum. Stagnation exhausts our Systemic Business and Project Coach more than change – particularly those moments when things are stuck in a deadlock and our minds slowly dry out. And yet, it can be so easy: fast feedback, mutual inspiration amongst the Team members, and solution-oriented communication all uncover the talents of the individual. This way, innovation as well as individual purpose are set free, which certainly account for a lot of fun at work. According to Martin, the special aspects of his work are the accompaniment of people during their diverse and highly emotional Team improvement process as well as the transfer of his motto of “life should be fun“ onto others. 

Kristina Barisic, Management Consultant

If Kristina would be given the opportunity, she would get rid of telephone conferences and instead place all persons involved around one table. As organisational and economic psychologist, she knows how important direct contact with each other is in order to understand and truly “recognise“ one another. Scrum was a personal realisation for her too, since she had in fact been searching for a fitting framework for her own self-organisation. The analytical, optimistic amateur dancer is not only enthusiastic about the various feedback and reflection methods of Scrum, but also by its Values. Commitment reflects her own devotedness and Courage depicts her ability to discuss sensitive and problematic topics, where others would rather close their eyes and ears. Since Kristina feels at home both in Croatia and Austria, she loves cooperating with people from diverse cultures and bringing people together despite their differences on the road to a common goal.