David Mole

LinkedIn

Speaker | Author | Coach

Trusted by global organizations for high-stakes work, David is an expert at navigating teams through complex challenges. As a (twice!) published author and keynote speaker, he has an impressive track record of coaching leadership teams at renowned companies like Xero, Air New Zealand, Southern Cross, and Trade Me.

Unlock High Performance Where It Matters Most

David is trusted by leadership teams at Xero, Air New Zealand, and Trade Me to facilitate high-stakes workshops and unlock team potential. Whether you’re scaling a product team, tackling tough strategy sessions, or driving leadership capability, David creates the conditions for teams to perform at their best — every time.

David Mole giving a presentation next to a screen displaying "Facilitation Academy"

SERVICES…

  • The Facilitation Academy is a premier training program crafted to develop expert facilitation skills in your emerging leaders. Tailored for those who are ready to lead, this program equips participants with the ability to guide teams and groups with ease and confidence.

    Gain mastery in facilitation, building a powerful toolkit of techniques, skills, and hands-on experience, all within an immersive and supportive learning environment. Elevate your leaders and watch your teams thrive.

  • If your leadership team is just beginning its journey or striving to reach the next level, the Emerging Leadership Training Program is your path to success. This program equips your leaders with the confidence, expertise, and tools they need to excel in their roles and drive your organization forward.

  • Whether you’re seeking 1-on-1 coaching for personal growth or team coaching to elevate your collective performance, this on-demand coaching is here when you need it most.

    Designed to provide timely, tailored support, this coaching ensures you and your team are equipped to overcome challenges and achieve your goals.

  • If your team seems stuck, unhealthy conflict is showing up, or things seem oddly harmonious you can try a Team Diagnostic exercise to objectively measure where the team is today and inform the plan of where they could be tomorrow.

  • Entrust David with your most crucial events and free yourself to participate fully and maintain a strategic overview.

    With years of experience in running retrospectives, setting OKRs, and guiding Product Strategy sessions, David is skilled in planning and executing high-impact events that drive results and foster meaningful engagement.

  • Planning a team offsite? Let’s collaborate to design the perfect event tailored to your team’s needs.

    Reach out to discuss how we can create an engaging and impactful experience that aligns with your objectives and enhances team cohesion.

10 things about David

David Mole

  1. Director and consultant at Nomad8: For the last decade, I’ve been a director and consultant at Nomad8.

  2. Author: I co-authored Creating Great Teams: How Self-Selection Lets People Excel, a book that has influenced teams and team design around the world.

  3. Pioneering Product Teams: I led the establishment of the first Product Teams and embedded agility and product-led practices at Trade Me (New Zealand’s ebay).

  4. Highly Rated ICAgile Trainer: With extensive experience as an ICAgile trainer, I’ve trained hundreds of people in Agility, Facilitation and Product Ownership.

  5. Coach and Consultant to Xero Leadership Teams: I worked with Xero to define “How We Work” their global product-building strategy and practices for 5000+ people.

  6. Highly Rated Speaker: I am a sought-after speaker at major conferences worldwide, known for delivering impactful and engaging presentations.

  7. Venture Capital Trusted: As Product Manager for goal.com in 2011, I was trusted by venture capitalists to lead the scale-up and successful acquisition.

  8. Product Manager for Betfred: I managed the sports betting, poker, and casino platform at betfred.com, overseeing a website with billions in turnover and working directly for one of the richest men in the UK.

  9. Facilitation Academy Creator: I have developed and led the Facilitation Academy at companies like Southern Cross and Xero, training dozens of emerging leaders.

  10. International Team Building: Created and delivered team-building workshops for companies like Xplor, Xero and Alaska Air across continents.

Perhaps most importantly I’m also a dad to two children and proud pug owner.

Book cover of 'Creating Great Teams: Second Edition' by Sandy Mamoli and David Mole, featuring three dogs holding a stick together.

Creating great teams 2.0

Building on the groundbreaking impact of the first edition, the forthcoming second edition of "Creating Great Teams” is set to release in early 2025. This updated volume transcends its origins as a seminal concept and showcases self-selection as a well-established practice embraced by a diverse array of global organizations, including Volkswagen, Iconic, ANZ, ASB, Movio, Xero, and Riot Games.

The second edition demonstrates the evolved process, compelling new case studies, and innovative ideas that tell the transformative story of self-selection a decade later.

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  • David Mole in a suit is speaking into a microphone, standing in front of a large presentation screen
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  • David Mole presenting

  • Anna Curzon (Former CPO at Xero)

    “I just wanted to say how grateful I am for your awesome facilitation techniques. You have a really special approach to these sessions where everyone feels included. We always seem to meet the objective but it never feels like you’ve rushed us (even when we’re down to the wire).

    Without a doubt you are the best facilitator I’ve seen in action and I’m incredibly grateful for the work you’ve done at Xero to build valuable teams and to help us make valuable insights and decisions”

  • Danny Smith (CFO @ Storypark)

    “David is a brilliant collaborator, facilitator, coach, mentor, and wise head in the room. His sage prompts and suggestions are always well timed and placed.

    Whether he is gently nudging you along through a teaming roadblock or provoking a fundamental change in thinking and direction - David has a calm enthusiasm that fills the team with confidence to take the sometimes daring steps that are needed.”

  • Simon Young (CTO @ Serko)

    “David is a fantastic leader and proponent of Agility. His determination and focus, coupled with his strong ability to bring out the best in others, was key to the success of what was a watershed moment for more than one hundred people when we worked together at Trade Me”

  • Maria Cetkovic (Product at Southern Cross)

    “David is amazing at what he does - whether it's facilitating, coaching in agility, or running an experimentation sessions with agile teams.

    He created an atmosphere that felt safe, supportive, and fun, where we not only drew from his knowledge but also learned from each other. His expertise in agile and product development is something to aspire to. Every session was engaging, filled with real-life examples that made everything more relatable.”

  • Mars Lewis (Ritual Design at Port of Auckland)

    “Working with David has been a major highlight of these past two years. He possesses a brilliant combination of kindness, an easy-going nature, a collaborative mindset and a powerful intellect.

    Among his many talents are: distilling essential needs from radically diverse inputs, designing inclusive ways forward and masterfully facilitating strategic problem-solving sessions across all levels of the organisation”

  • Osheen Gill (Change at Southern Cross)

    “David is able to come into a room and immediately pick up on attitudes, feelings and thoughts that are often unspoken.

    I have come to David many a time for support, advice and guidance on various issues or situations I have experienced at work and his support has been absolutely pivotal in me finding solutions in those situations.

    He provides expert facilitation and is never fazed by a tough crowd. He thrives in challenging environments. He is an engaging speaker who is also quick on his feet and able to easily pivot and adapt to each environment he is put in.”

Articles by David

Featured
The Retro Facilitation Canvas for Effective Team Retrospectives

Peter Drury, the well known English football commentator, is famous for his witty, brilliant remarks which always appear to be spontaneous and off the cuff. "and Jesus heads home from the cross" (exclaimed Peter Drury, when Gabriel Jesus of Manchester City scored from a header) So I was intrigued w...

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Six Timeless Lessons from Agile Australia 2023

Agile Australia continues to be a world leading conference, and having just unpacked our suitcases from our trip to Sydney, I am excited to share a tapestry of thoughts that we've woven together into six takeaways and insights. The conference was headlined by outstanding speakers including Steve Den...

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Video: Self-Selection at Agile Australia 2016

This year's Agile Australia conference was an absolute blast! I loved having the opportunity to catch up with old friends, hang out with my Australian coaching colleagues and to meet new and interesting people. David Mole and Sandy Mamoli gave a talk on self-selection and creating great teams in Mel...

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Key Questions Retrospective Technique

New Agile teams tend to place a significant emphasis on the retrospective meeting. When an issue rears it’s head, they often say “we need to talk about that in the retrospective” rather than deal with it there and then. The problem facing teams who do this is that having placed a lot of emphasis on...

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