© 2011 Don Gray The agile training class for a newly formed team was almost complete. We’d covered values, practices, roles, the product backlog, done simulations teaching the Scrum process and I could see the end of  training. A little team building activity, and we could start tomorrow with building the backlog, story sizing, then start the first sprint.  Forging ahead, the team selected a name, came up with a list of team norms, and they became a team with me as their ScrumMaster. Or did they? Over  the next few

When we flip the safety discussion over, we find trust. When I trust you I provide the safety you need to take risks and speak your truth without fear of ridicule, rejections or retribution. What Does Trust Mean? I like to use the following four beliefs I learned from Esther Derby to define trust in the workplace. I believe you have the ability to do the things you say you’ll do. I believe you will do the things you agree to do  – or let

© 2011 Don Gray It all started with a tweet I posted: “Why” questions trigger feelings bypassing data input and thinking. #dontdothat As this got retweeted, interesting questions started coming my way: What about the Five Whys? Do you have data? What is your context? All good questions. “Why” questions have the ability to both gather data and to probe for underlying thoughts and decisions that lead to action. Other interrogatives (what, when, where, how) provide a better way to gather data since they focus

Most of the time, most of the people don’t put a lot of thought into their behavior. They run an “auto-pilot” program that governs how they respond. If we examine the elements that generate behavior, we get something like this list: Physical sensations – information coming into us from “the real world”. Beliefs and Values – concepts and things important to us Feelings – both physical and self-esteem Data/facts – information I “know” Thoughts – What we do with the data/facts Intuition – Hunches based

©2007, 2009 Don Gray and Jerry Weinberg Engelbert watched Pam nervously chew on her knuckle as she stood in the door of his office, answering his call. “Come in and close the door.” He motioned her to a seat, then stood and pointed an accusing finger down at her. “We need to decide how you’re going to explain what happened with the UDCRM release”, he said. “You’ve managed to upset everyone. Sharkey told the CEO the customers are screaming because we can’t ship on time.

©2006 Don Gray and Jerry Weinberg Engelbert frowned, trying to understand why Pamela had been acting strangely. Her programming skills were among the best in the company. She had a way of getting things completed. That’s why he made her project lead for Uberdenke’s next UDCRM product release. With only two weeks left until the ship date, Pamela’s personality had shifted. Normally calm and composed, she had been seen crying after meetings. Occasionally he could hear her screaming at the programmers working for her. Something

We’ve defined safety to mean we can take risks and our coworkers/management will support us, especially if setbacks occur. We have the ability to speak our truth without fear of ridicule, rejection, or retribution. Throughout the day we will feel differently about the risks we’re willing to take and what we might say. I’ve seen conversations spin on a dime when a senior manager stuck his head in the conference room. How can we measure safety in the workplace? What does it mean to productivity?

When I talk with other coaches about teams, I  hear a lot about “creating safety” and “safe teams”. I don’t hear much about how to do that. While debriefing a coaching simulation the 2010 AYE Conference we listed things coaches did and models coaches might use. Someone said, “Create a safe environment”. I replied, “And how do we do that?” And out came ideas and suggestions on how to do that! I’ve been flipping through my agile books looking for discussions about teams and safety.

58 members of agile-RTP and I explored communication in agile teams March 2, 2010. I appreciate the turnout. The rain and temperature were falling. We kept warm and had a great time. Here’s the slide deck I had time for. Thank you again to Jeff Barschaw, the other agile-RTP organizers, and agile-RTP members!

Does your standard iteration retrospective constantly repeat the mantra: “What did we do well?” “What could we do better?” “What one thing would we like to work on during the next sprint” Is your team starting to push back on taking the time for their retrospective? If so … Increase your team’s effectiveness by facilitating better retrospectives. We will demonstrate and teach: How to establish a retrospective’s goal. What constitutes an effective retrospective. Which activities generate information and which help make decisions. Common traps, pitfalls