Boost your team performance

BOOST YOUR TEAM PERFORMANCE

MASSIMO SARTI - PMI-ACP - SCRUM MASTER - SCRUM PRODUCTOWNER - PMP - PRINCE2 - POST-IT® LOVER

♂ ♂ ♂ ♂♂♀ ♀ ♀ ♀ ♀

PSYCHOLOGY OF SCRUM AGILE - LONDON - 17 MAY 2016


▸ When and how teams work best (or worst)

▸ How to create self-organising, empowered teams

▸ How to shield team from interruptions

▸ How to reach team consensus

▸ ….

A tool set of techniques, knowledge and associated skills to achieve these results

LEARNING OBJECTIVES


▸ Individuals and interactions over processes and tools

▸ Working software over comprehensive documentation

▸ Customer collaboration over contract negotiation

▸ Responding to change over following a plan

WHERE DO TEAMS FIT IN AGILE MANIFESTO?

https://agilemanifesto.org

“Agile is more humanistic than mechanistic” (Mike Griffiths)

PROCESSES AND TOOLS ARE SIMPLY EASIER TO DESCRIBE, CLASSIFY, AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE FOR THAN TRICKIER TOPICS RELATED TO INDIVIDUALS AND INTERACTIONS. INDIVIDUALS AND INTERACTIONS CANNOT READILY BE REFERRED TO IN GENERAL TERMS BECAUSE PEOPLE VARY SO MUCH, IN SKILL SETS, ATTITUDES, EXPERIENCES, PERSPECTIVES, CULTURE, ETC.

Mike Griffiths - PMI-ACP Exam Prep

"NO MATTER HOW IT LOOKS AT FIRST, IT’S ALWAYS A PEOPLE PROBLEM."

Gerald M. Weinberg - The Second Law Of Consulting


DEFINITION OF TEAM

* THIS ALLOWS US TO ALL BE ON THE SAME PAGE FOR THE NEXT HUNDRED SLIDES

A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO WORK TOGETHER AT A PARTICULAR JOB

OXFORD DICTIONARY


A SET OF INDIVIDUALS WHO SUPPORT THE PROJECT MANAGER IN PERFORMING THE WORK OF THE PROJECT TO ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES.

PMBOK 5th edition


A TEAM IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE OR OTHER ANIMALS LINKED IN A COMMON PURPOSE. HUMAN TEAMS ARE ESPECIALLY APPROPRIATE FOR CONDUCTING TASKS THAT ARE HIGH IN COMPLEXITY AND HAVE MANY INTERDEPENDENT SUBTASKS. … A TEAM BECOMES MORE THAN JUST A COLLECTION OF PEOPLE WHEN A STRONG SENSE OF MUTUAL COMMITMENT CREATES SYNERGY, THUS GENERATING PERFORMANCE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THE PERFORMANCE OF ITS INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS.


A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH COMPLIMENTARY SKILLS WHO ARE COMMITTED TO A COMMON PURPOSE, PERFORMANCE GOALS AND APPROACH FOR WHICH THEY HOLD THEMSELVES MUTUALLY ACCOUNTABLE.

J. Katzenbach - D. Smith - Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High Performance Organisation

THERE IS ONE MISSING PIECE

A TEAM IS A TEMPORARY ORGANISATION

* KINDLY TAKEN FROM PRINCE2 PROJECT DEFINITION

AND IF IT IS TEMPORARY, IT HAS A LIFECYCLE!

* OH WELL, EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD HAS A LIFECYCLE

THE MOST FAMOUS TEAM LIFECYCLE MODEL: TUCKMAN’S MODEL

* AFTER 50 YEARS IT IS STILL THE MOST QUOTED

FORMING STORMING NORMING PERFORMING (ADJOURNING)

Bruce W. Tuckman - Developmental Sequence in Small Groups


FORMING

▸ Description: orientation

▸ Patterns of interpersonal relationships: testing and dependence

▸ Task activity: orientation to the task

▸ It is only a working group


STORMING

▸ Description: resistance to group influence and task requirements

▸ Patterns of interpersonal relationships: intragroup conflict

▸ Task activity: emotional response to task demands

▸ It is a pseudo team


NORMING

▸ Description: openness to the other group members

▸ Patterns of interpersonal relationships: intragroup feeling and cohesiveness develop, new standards evolve and new roles are adopted

▸ Task activity: open exchange of relevant interpretations; intimate, personal opinions are expressed

▸ It is a potential team


PERFORMING

▸ Description: constructive action

▸ Patterns of interpersonal relationships: roles become flexible and functional; structural issues have been resolved; structure can support task performance

▸ Task activity: interpersonal structure becomes the tool of task activities; group energy is channeled into the task; solutions can emerge

▸ It is the real team


ADJOURNING (OR MOURNING)

▸ Description: disengagement

▸ Patterns of interpersonal relationships: anxiety about termination and separation; sadness; feelings toward leader and group members

▸ Task activity: self-evaluation

▸ It is a former team


JUST SIT AND WAIT?


A BETTER REPRESENTATION

FORMING

ADJOURNING

STORMING NORMING PERFORMING

USE SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP

* FROM ONE MINUTE MANAGER

EFFECTIVE TEAM LEADERS ADJUST THEIR STYLE TO PROVIDE WHAT THE GROUP CAN’T PROVIDE FOR ITSELF

Kenneth Blanchard - Builds High Performing Teams


SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP (II MODEL - KENNETH BLANCHARD)

S1

S2S3

S4DIRECTING

COACHINGSUPPORTING

DELEGATING

SUPP

ORTI

VE B

EHAV

IOUR

DIRECTIVE BEHAVIOUR

D1D2D3D4

DEVELOPMENT LEVEL

HIGH COMPETENCE HIGH COMMITMENT

MODERATE TO HIGH COMPETENCE VARIABLE COMMITMENT

LOW TO SOME COMPETENCE LOW COMMITMENT

LOW COMPETENCE HIGH COMMITMENT

USE EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

* BUT BE AWARE: VALIDITY IS CONTROVERSIAL


EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (DANIEL GOLEMAN)

SELF AWARENESS

- EMOTIONAL SELF AWARENESS - SELF CONFIDENCE - ACCURATE SELF ASSESSMENT

RECO

GNIZ

E

OTHERS

SOCIAL AWARENESS

SELF MANAGEMENTRELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

SELF

REGU

LATE

- EMPATHY - SERVICE ORIENTATION - ORGANISATIONAL AWARENESS

- INSPIRATIONAL LEADERSHIP - INFLUENCE - CHANGE CATALYST - CONFLICT MANAGEMENT - TEAMWORK

- SELF CONTROL - TRANSPARENCY - ADAPTIBILITY - INITIATIVE - DRIVE AND MOTIVATION


PUTTING THE 3 MODELS TOGETHER

STAGE TEAM LEADERSHIP MEMBERS’ EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

FORMING DIRECTING SELF AWARENESS

STORMING COACHING SELF MANAGEMENT

NORMING SUPPORTING SOCIAL AWARENESS

PERFORMING DELEGATING RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT


WHAT IS NEEDED?

FORMING STORMING NORMING PERFORMING ADJOURNING

Minimise durationKeep team's

members here

Don’t forget this

HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU CHOSEN OTHER TEAM MEMBERS?

* WE LEARN THIS FROM FIRST DAY IN THIS WORLD BECAUSE WE DON’T CHOOSE OUR PARENTS

IN AN IDEAL WORLD, PRODUCT OWNER SHOULD CHOOSE TEAM MEMBERS AND THEN TEAM MEMBERS SHOULD CHOOSE THEIR SCRUM MASTER

Lyssa Adkins


COMPRESS FORMING DURATION

KEEP YOUR TEAM SMALL

TEAMS SHOULD BE NO LARGER THAN TWO PIZZAS CAN FEED.

Jeff Bezos


SOCIAL LOAFING IS A RATIONAL BEHAVIOUR: WHY INVEST ALL OF YOUR ENERGY WHEN HALF WILL DO - ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS LITTLE SHORT-CUT GOES UNNOTICED? … WHEN PEOPLE WORK TOGETHER, INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES DECREASE.

Rolf Dobelli- The art of thinking clearly

IN THE WEST, TEAMS FUNCTION BETTER IF AND ONLY IF THEY ARE SMALL AND CONSIST OF DIVERSE, SPECIALISED PEOPLE. THIS MAKES SENSE, BECAUSE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES CAN BE TRACED BACK TO EACH SPECIALIST.

Rolf Dobelli


EVERY STEEP JUMP IN LINKS ALSO PRODUCES A STEEP JUMP IN THE POTENTIAL FOR MISMANAGEMENT, MISINTERPRETATION, AND MISCOMMUNICATION.

Janet Choi



NUMBER OF LINKS THAT NEEDS TO BE MANAGED AMONG MEMBERS

1

36

10 N(N-1) / 2


HOW SMALL IS SMALL?

▸ The magical maximum team size was heralded at 7±2

▸ Someone now says it is 5±2

▸ Team should have an odd number of members. This prevents ties and improves the odds of making a correct decision. Even-numbered groups can make decisions, but the decision-making can take more time

http://sheilamargolis.com/2011/01/24/what-is-the-optimal-group-size-for-decision-making/https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-harness-science-best-team-size-georg-fasching

FORM YOUR TEAM ASAP


REDUCE DISTANCES BETWEEN MEMBERS

▸ Before starting: Boot camp ▸ Build from day 1 personal relationships ▸ Personal histories exercise: life stories and interesting

backgrounds ▸ Experiential team exercises: ▸ outdoor activities ▸ escape rooms

▸ “Working agreements” ▸ On the way: ▸ 360-degree feedback ▸ Personality and behavioural profiles (MBTI?)


ESTABLISH WORKING AGREEMENTS ASAP (TEAM NORMS)

▸ Guidelines developed by the team as to how they must work together to create a positive, productive process

▸ Working agreements describe positive behaviours that often are not automatically demonstrated in team process

▸ Working agreements should be: ▸ limited in number ▸ important to the team ▸ fully supported by each member ▸ reminded to members when they are broken

▸ Working agreements should be posted on a board for easy reference through the team process

https://www.scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2015/march/how-to-create-agile-team-working-agreements

EXIT FROM THE STORM


WHAT TO OBSERVE IN GROUPS

▸ Communication and participation ▸ Decision making ▸ Conflicts ▸ Leadership ▸ Goals ▸ Roles and behaviours ▸ Group norms ▸ Problem solving ▸ Climate / Tone

Kenneth Blanchard

OBSERVE ROLES / BEHAVIOURS

NO SHARP DISTINCTION CAN BE MADE BETWEEN LEADERSHIP AND MEMBERSHIP FUNCTIONS, BETWEEN LEADER AND MEMBER ROLES. GROUPS MAY OPERATE WITH VARIOUS DEGREES OF DIFFUSION OF “LEADERSHIP” FUNCTIONS AMONG GROUP MEMBERS OR OF CONCENTRATION OF SUCH FUNCTIONS IN ONE MEMBER OR A FEW MEMBERS.

Kenneth Benne - Paul Sheats - Functional Roles of Group Members


26 ROLES/BEHAVIOURS (KENNETH BENNE - PAUL SHEATS)

TASK ROLESSOCIAL ROLES

SELF-ORIENTED ROLES

AGGRESSOR

BLOCKER

RECOGNITION SEEKER

DOMINATORDESERTER

PLAYBOY

ENCOURAGER

HARMONISER

GATEKEEPER

TENSION RELIEVER

CONCILIATOR

FEELING EXPRESSER

FOLLOWER

INITIATOR INFORMATION SEEKER

INFORMATION GIVER

ORIENTERER

OPINION SEEKEROPINION GIVER

ELABORATORCOORDINATOR

DIAGNOSTICIAN

ENERGIZERPROCEDURE DEVELOPER

SECRETARYEVALUATOR


6 (+1) SELF-ORIENTED (DESTRUCTIVE) ROLES/BEHAVIOURS

AGGRESSORThe aggressor criticizes everything said within the team environment. This individual has the ability to block the introduction of new ideas and concepts by minimizing and deflating the status of other team members and creating a sense of intimidation.

BLOCKER The blocker is a dominant personality who automatically rejects the views and perspectives of others out of hand. This individual blocks the team’s ability to brainstorm and discuss the merits of new concepts and ideas raise.

DESERTERThe deserter holds back his or her personal participation and refuses to become active within the team environment. This individual focuses the team on his or her immature behavior and attempts to resolve the conflict and unrest it creates, which effectively limits the team’s ability to make progress on problems and assigned projects.

RECOGNITION SEEKER

The recognition seeker looks for personal attention and in so doing monopolizes the discussion by continually asserting his or her personal ideas, suggestions and viewpoints. The recognition seeker is also attempting to win the team over to his or her ideas and opinions.

PLAYBOY The playboy displays a lack of involvement in the group through inappropriate humor, horseplay, or cynicism.

DOMINATOR The dominator displays threatening and bullying behavior within the team setting. This individual uses intimidating and minimizing behavior in an attempt to take over the team and control all discussions.

DEVIL’S ADVOCATE

While the devil’s advocate in the sense of introducing different viewpoints into the team discussion is a positive team function, it can become a negative role when used to block team progress or consensus. In this regard, the devil’s advocate is simply a naysayer that refuses to allow the team to move forward.


MYERS-BRIGGS TYPE INDICATORS (MBTI)

Question Type

1. Are you outwardly or inwardly focused? I Intraversion E Extraversion

2. How do you prefer to take in information? N Intuitive S Sensing

3. How do you prefer to make decisions? T Thinking F Feeling

4. How do you prefer to live your outer life? J Judging P Perceiving

* BE AWARE: QUESTIONABLE VALIDITY

16 different MBTI: i.e. INTJ, ESFP, etc.


BIG FIVE FACTOR MODEL (FFM - MCCRAE AND COSTA)Factor Characteristics

Openness Inventive/curious vs. consistent/cautious

Conscientiousness Efficient/organized vs. easy-going/careless

Extraversion Outgoing/energetic vs. solitary/reserved

Agreeableness Friendly/compassionate vs. analytical/detached

Neuroticism Sensitive/nervous vs. secure/confident

* AT LEAST! HIGH VALIDITY

MANAGE CONFLICTS


CONFLICTS ARE INEVITABLE

▸ Conflict between team members is a fact of life ▸ Conflicts occur at all levels of interaction ▸ Conflict is a critical event in the course of a relationship ▸ Whether a relationship is healthy or unhealthy depends

not so much on the number of conflicts between members, but on how the conflicts are managed and resolved

▸ We should recognise which is the level of conflicts in our team


TEAM CONFLICT LEVELS (SPEED LEAS’S FRAMEWORK)Level/Name Characteristics Language used Atmosphere/Attitude

1 Problem to

solve

‣ Team members engage openly and constructively ‣ Open, fact based ‣ Persons have different opinion ‣ Goals can conflict

2 Disagreement

‣ Conversation changes to make room for self- protection

‣ Open to interpretation, guarded

‣ People aren’t hostile, just wary ‣ Self protection becomes important

3 Contest

‣ Distorted language, over generalisations, real issues lost

‣ Include personal attacks

‣ “I am always the one to compromise for the good of the team” ‣ Discussion becomes either/or and blaming flourishes

4 Crusade

‣ Becomes more ideological ‣ Ideological ‣ The overall attitude is

righteous and punitive.

5 World War

‣ Features full-on combat ‣ Little, non existent ‣ “Destroy!” ‣ Persons must be separated


TEAM CONFLICT LEVELS (SPEED LEAS’S FRAMEWORK)Level/Name How to (try to) resolve the conflict

1 Problem to solve

‣ Don’t take any immediate action to resolve the conflict ‣ Construct a collaborative scenario and help to build consensus around a decision that everyone can support

2 Disagreement

‣ Don’t take any immediate action to resolve the conflict ‣ Empower the relevant team’s member to solve the problem ‣ Restore a sense of safety to the team

3 Contest

‣ Don’t take any immediate action to resolve the conflict ‣ Accommodate people’s different views ‣ Compromise work, but don’t compromise team’s values

4 Crusade

‣ Use diplomacy ‣ De-escalate conflict ‣ Use a facilitator / negotiator to convey messages between different parties

5 World War

‣ It’s unresolvable ‣ Give people ways to exit from team ‣ Separate opposing individuals to prevent further harm each other


SIX CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES (SPEED LEAS)Style Behaviour

Persuading‣ Present both side ‣ Present your favoured viewpoint last ‣ Be for, not against ‣ Do not interrupt, do not hurry to make your points

Compelling / Forcing‣ Increase your authority, both tacit and explicit ‣ Use clear statements to get a clear response ‣ Be able to bring sanctions to bear immediately upon non-compliance with your

demands

Avoiding / Ignoring / Accomodating / Fleeing

‣ Procrastinate! ‣ Use when the cost of working a problem through is greater than the value of having worked it through ‣ Use when the conflict is on many fronts ‣ Use when people need time or space to cool down

Collaborating‣ Win-win: involve the others ‣ Jointly acknowledge there is a problem ‣ Jointly agree on how deal with the problem ‣ Jointly invent options for mutual gain and then jointly choose an option

Negotiating / Bargaining‣ Sorta-win-sorta-lose: try to obtain as much you can ‣ Parties involved must share some information ‣ Stress the desirability of agreement ‣ Present positive points before the other does

Supporting‣ The other owns the problem ‣ Make short and neutral statements ‣ Reflect the feeling content of a person’s words or actions ‣ Help the other to feel strong and confident that he can deal with the conflict

ANOTHER WAY TO OBSERVE MEMBERS' BEHAVIOUR IN CONFLICTS


CONFLICT MANAGEMENT (THOMAS - KILMANN INSTRUMENT OR TKI)COMPETING COLLABORATING

COMPROMISING

AVOIDING ACCOMODATINGASSE

RTIV

ENES

S Fo

cus

on m

y nee

ds

Impersonal complier

Tough Battler

Friendly Helper

Problem Solver

Manoeuvring Conciliator

I’m OK, you are not OK

I’m OK, you are OK

I’m not OK, you are not OK

I’m not OK, you are OK

COOPERATIVENESS Focus on others’ needs

www.slideshare.net/bhaskardiwakar/conflict-management-11475906* Similar tool: Blake and Mouton’s Conflict Grid

IS “STORMING” ALWAYS A SYNONYM OF CONFLICTS?

DYSFUNCTIONAL TEAM MANAGEMENT

TRUST LIES AT THE HEART OF A FUNCTIONING, COHESIVE TEAM. WITHOUT IT, TEAMWORK IS ALL BUT IMPOSSIBLE.

Patrick Lencioni - The five dysfunctions of a team

WHAT IS TRUST?


TRUST IS…


TEN FACTORS THAT ALL CONTRIBUTE TO THE PRESENCE (OR LACK) OF TRUST

(Robert Hurley, adapted by Jurgen Appelo)https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140923185236-9187631-the-tricky-business-of-developing-trust

Risk Tolerance some people are risk takers others are cautious

Adjustment some people are optimists others are pessimists

Power some people have authority others suffer from it

Security sometimes the stakes are high sometimes they’re low

Similarities some people are similar to each other others aren’t

Interests sometimes interests are aligned sometimes they aren’t

Benevolent concern some are nice to us others… not so much

Capability some know what they’re doing others… not really

Integrity some people deliver on commitment others… forget it

Communication some can communicate well some… —uhm

ABSENCE OF TRUST


THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM

FEAR OF CONFLICTLACK OF COMMITMENT

AVOIDANCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

INATTENTION TO RESULTS

Patrick Lencioni


5 DYSFUNCTIONS…Dysfunction Characteristics

Absence of trust‣ Hesitate to ask for help or provide constructive feedback ‣ Hesitate to offer help outside their own areas of responsibility ‣ Waste time and energy managing their behaviors for effect ‣ Dread meetings and find reasons o avoid spending time together

Fear of conflict‣ Have boring meetings ‣ Create environments where back-channel politics and personal attacks thrive ‣ Ignore controversial topics that are critical to team success ‣ Waste time and energy with posturing and interpersonal his management

Lack of commitment‣ Creates ambiguity among the team about direction and priorities ‣ Watches windows of opportunity close due to excessive analysis and unnecessary delay ‣ Revisits discussions and decisions again and again ‣ Encourages second-guessing among team members

Avoidance of accountability

‣ Creates resentment among team members who have different standards of performance ‣ Encourages mediocrity ‣ Misses deadlines and key deliverables ‣ Places an undue burden on the team leader as the sole source of discipline

Inattention to results‣ Stagnates/fails to grow ‣ Rarely defeats competitors ‣ Loses achievement-oriented employees ‣ Encourages team members to focus on their own careers and individual goals

Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team


…AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM…Dysfunction How to deal with

Absence of trust‣ Personal Histories Exercise ‣ Personality and Behavioral Preference Profiles ‣ 360-Degree Feedback ‣ Experiential Team Exercises ‣ Demonstration of vulnerability first by leader

Fear of conflict‣ Mining for conflict ‣ Real-Time Permission ‣ Personality style and Behavioral Preference tools ‣ Demonstration of restraint by leader when people engage in conflict

Lack of commitment‣ Cascading Messaging ‣ Deadlines ‣ Contingency and Worst-case scenario analysis ‣ Low-risk exposure therapy ‣ Ability of leader to not place too high of a premium on consensus or certainty


‣ Publication of goals and standards ‣ Simple and regular progress reviews ‣ Team rewards ‣ Ability of leader to allow the team to serve as the first and primary accountability

mechanism

Inattention to results‣ Public declaration of results ‣ Results-Based rewards ‣ Setting the tone for a focus on results from the leader



…AND WHEN TEAM WORKS WELLDysfunction Team’s members

Absence of trust

‣ Admit weaknesses and mistakes ‣ Ask for help ‣ Accept questions and input about their areas of responsibility ‣ Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative conclusion. ‣ Take risks in offering feedback and assistance ‣ Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences ‣ Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics ‣ Offer and accept apologies without hesitation

Fear of conflict‣ Have lively, interesting meetings ‣ Extract and exploit the ideas of all team members ‣ Solve real problems quickly ‣ Minimize politics ‣ Put critical topics on the table for discussion

Lack of commitment‣ Creates clarity around direction and priorities ‣ Aligns the entire team around common objectives ‣ Develops an ability to learn from mistakes ‣ Takes advantage of opportunities before competitors do ‣ Moves forward without hesitation ‣ • Changes direction without hesitation or guilt


‣ Ensures that poor performers feel pressure to improve ‣ Identifies potential problems quickly by questioning one another’s approaches without hesitation ‣ Establishes respect among team members who are held to the same high standards ‣ Avoids excessive bureaucracy around performance management and corrective action

Inattention to results‣ Retains achievement-oriented employees ‣ Minimizes individualistic behavior ‣ Enjoys success and suffers failure acutely ‣ Benefits from individuals who subjugate their own goals/interests for the good of the team ‣ Avoids distractions


FROM NORMING TO PERFORMING

SELF DIRECTED TEAMS

YOU WILL NEVER, NEVER, NEVER HAVE AN EMPOWERED SELF-DIRECTED TEAM UNLESS THE MANAGER IS WILLING TO SHARE CONTROL

Kenneth Blanchard


TIME-BOX EVERY ACTIVITY

WORK EXPANDS SO AS TO FILL THE TIME AVAILABLE FOR ITS COMPLETION

Parkinson’s Law


http://www.economist.com/node/14116121


PUT THE “POMODORO TECHNIQUE” IN YOUR WORK AGREEMENTS▸ The traditional Pomodoro ("chunk of work) is 30 minutes long: 25 minutes

of work plus a 5-minute break. ▸ A Pomodoro can’t be interrupted; it marks 25 minutes of pure work. A

Pomodoro can’t be split up; there is no such thing as half of a Pomodoro or a quarter of a Pomodoro. The atomic unit of time is a Pomodoro. (Rule: A Pomodoro Is Indivisible.)

▸ Every four Pomodoros, stop the activity you’re working on and take a longer break, from 15 to 30 minutes.

▸ The length of a Pomodoro, 25 minutes, seems short enough to make it possible to resist being distracted by various kinds of interruptions. Interruptions can become a real problem. You need minimising unhandled interruptions and progressively increasing the number of Pomodoros that can be accomplished consistently without interruptions.

http://caps.ucsd.edu/Downloads/tx_forms/koch/pomodoro_handouts/ThePomodoroTechnique_v1-3.pdf

(Francesco Cirillo)

IT’S ALL ABOUT DECISIONS

[HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAMS] ARE CONSENSUS-DRIVEN, WITH FULL DIVERGENCE AND THEN CONVERGENCE. AND THEY LIVE IN A WORLD OF CONSTANT CONSTRUCTIVE DISAGREEMENT.

Lyssa Adkins


CREATE FULL DIVERGENCE…

…USING BRAINSTORMS?


SOME BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUES

▸ Quiet writing (Brain writing) ▸ Round Robin ▸ Free-for-all ▸ Role-storming ▸ Stepladder technique ▸ Crawford's Slip Writing Method

..THEN QUICKLY CONVERGE..

…USING SOME TECHNIQUE FOR BETTER DECISIONS


BE AWARE OF…

▸ Group-thinking ▸ HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) ▸ Halo effect ▸ Band wagon effect


.. BUT TRY TO USE PARTICIPATORY DECISION MODELS

▸ Simple voting ▸ Thumbs up/down/sideways ▸ Fist-of-Five voting (one finger: I totally support this

decision; five fingers: stop!) ▸ Jim Highsmith's Decision Gradient

IN CASE OF DOUBT: USE SPIKES


WHAT IS A SPIKE?

▸ It is a time-boxed experimental activity ▸ Two types of spikes: ▸ Technical spikes ▸ Functional spikes

▸ The purpose is to gain the knowledge necessary to reduce the risk of a technical approach, better understand a requirement, or increase the reliability of an estimate

▸ The output is demonstrable. This helps build collective ownership and shared responsibility for the key decisions that are being taken

http://www.scaledagileframework.com/spikes/

KEEP YOUR TEAM STABLE

ADDING MANPOWER TO A LATE SOFTWARE PROJECT MAKES IT LATER.

Fred Brooks - The Mythical Man-Month


CHANGING TEAM’S MEMBERS IMPACTS SCOPE

Scope

Scope

Cost

Time Cost

Waterfall AgileTime

Fixed

Variableplan driven

value & vision driven

CREATE THE RIGHT TEAM SPACE


THE DREAM

▸ Co-location

▸ Face-to-face communications

▸ Caves and common

▸ Insulated space

▸ Osmotic communication

▸ Tacit knowledge

▸ Low-tech, high-touch information radiators


THE REALITY

▸ Teams are distributed

"More than 82% of the respondents had at least some distributed teams practicing agile within their organisations, up from 35% just three years earlier“ (VersionOne, 10 Annual State of Agile Report)

▸ Large rooms accomodate multiple teams

▸ High-tech digital tools

A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT DOESN’T OPERATE IN A VACUUM; IT OPERATES WITHIN A LARGER ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT. WHEN THE WIDER ORGANISATION WITHHOLDS RECOGNITION, RESOURCES, OR SUPPORT, DEVELOPMENT TEAM WILL FEEL ISOLATED AND ABANDONED - NOT AN ATMOSPHERE THAT MAKES FOR EFFECTIVE WORK.Jim Highsmith - Agile Project Management

ADJOURNING IS IMPORTANT!


ADJOURNING

▸ Many teams will reach this stage eventually. For example, project teams exist for only a fixed period, and even permanent teams may be disbanded through organisational restructuring.

▸ Team members who like routine, or who have developed close working relationships with colleagues, may find this stage difficult, particularly if their future now looks uncertain.

IT’S TIME FOR ADJOURNING. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION!

Massimo Sarti


https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sartimassimo

Boost your team performance

Leadership & Management

Transcript of Boost your team performance