Collaboration Is The Better Way
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The document discusses the importance of collaboration in tech, emphasizing communication, empathy, and shared goals as key components for team success. It outlines common issues in tech projects, such as missed deadlines and low productivity, and presents ten principles for effective collaboration, focusing on self-awareness and mindful empathy. Additionally, it includes exercises for improving communication and building trust among team members, highlighting the value of diverse perspectives.
![communicating better with text
exercise — create 2 scripts we can use to help us diffuse our
triggers and communicate with empathy
example — “Thank you for trying to understand my point.
However, I think where we’re still misaligned. Is … what do
you think?”
example — “Thank you for your enthusiasm! I’ve noted your
concerns and believe we might handle this concern/situation
by [alternative idea]...”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/fosdem-brussels-collaboration2019-final-190203220435/85/Collaboration-Is-The-Better-Way-12-320.jpg)
Collaboration Is The Better Way
- 1. Collaboration Is The Better Way Lauri Apple, Senior Program Manager, Public Cloud, Workday Erik Riedel, Founder, Works Together @Lauri_Apple & @er1p
- 3. • intro • communicating in tech • communication magic • empathy as a skill • shared goals • inclusion - collaboration across cultures • q & a
- 4. “the practice of an art requires discipline” — Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving discipline - not rigid, but an expression of one’s own will concentration - requires reflection, listening to others patience just going to work, having meetings, working on teams, doesn’t make us disciplined or collaborative. hierarchies don’t make us collaborative either, they inspire rebelliousness.
- 5. common problems in tech projects ● missed deadlines ● low productivity (“we need more time”) ● poor quality (rush to finish) ● high turnover (people keep leaving) ● difficulty recruiting (can’t find good people) “it’s always like this, all projects are like this, it’s the cost of doing (tech) business”
- 6. collaboration gets things done of course EVERYTHING on the previous slide is TRUE BUT that doesn’t get things done COLLABORATION does
- 8. ● GitHub issues ● PRs/code ● Slack ● Meetings ● Meetups ● Google docs ● Social media ● 1:1’s ● Mailing lists (not so much anymore) Which channels are the most challenging to you?
- 9. 10 principles for collaboration ● self-aware = resilience ● self-disciplined = high-performance ● head over heart = waste reduction ● mindful empathy = retention ● keep learning = growth mindset ● use different modes = flexibility ● focus on activities = results-orientation ● values and ethics drive = integrity ● “client defines success” = profitability, customer focus ● cultural competency = diversity and inclusion Source: Intentional Relationship Model Clearinghouse, http://irm.ahslabs.uic.edu/what-is-the-irm/
- 10. why be intentional? reduce or eliminate: ● conflicts, drama ● waste, delays ● confusion ● misalignment ● protects collaboration ● builds trust ● reduces cognitive load ● drives experimentation
- 11. when we are not being intentional, we... ● make assumptions, jump to conclusions ● don’t ask for what we need ● become frustrated, ruminate lose opportunities ● rely on mind-reading powers we don’t have.
- 12. communicating better with text exercise — create 2 scripts we can use to help us diffuse our triggers and communicate with empathy example — “Thank you for trying to understand my point. However, I think where we’re still misaligned. Is … what do you think?” example — “Thank you for your enthusiasm! I’ve noted your concerns and believe we might handle this concern/situation by [alternative idea]...”
- 15. the more communication, the better... ● increased communication frequency ● increased communication freshness ● archival history (for those jumping in) ● wide sharing ○ across time zones ○ across geographies ○ across organizations ● ...and more...
- 17. empathy as a skill
- 19. ● on a scale of 1 to 5 (low to high), how would you rate your empathy? ● when you aren’t communicating “empathetically enough,” what does that feel like in your body/mind? ● when you are communicating empathetically, how does that feel? ● do you reflect on your communication to improve collaboration? empathy audit
- 20. empathy exercises ● when you are frustrated, stop. ● but what if you’re so busy you can’t stop? ● can you find a way to build in pauses? ● example — journal or talk to a peer about your stress.
- 21. count your breaths. as you inhale, silently think 1, exhale 2, inhale 3, exhale 4 … all the way to 10. repeat 3 times. exercise - meditation minute
- 22. personal README (Katie Womersley, Buffer): https://github.com/KatieLo/README
- 23. shared goals
- 24. teams != me + me + me + me five dysfunctions of a team (Lencioni) — absence of trust — inattention to results — avoidance of responsibility — lack of commitment — fear of conflict put the US in trust
- 29. iterate them...
- 31. getting to goals ● customer focus ○ user experience as an equalizer ● brainstorming ○ the group agrees, not top-down ● task breakdown & tracking ○ agile, sprints, epics, epochs ● revisit assumptions ○ ...and adjust
- 32. inclusion
- 33. exercise - have cultural curiosity ● what’s one thing you can do to increase your awareness? ● do you ask people about their backgrounds and lives? ● do you approach people as a mentor? ● do you consider people’s mood, circumstances, stress levels, working conditions? ● RIGHT NOW - ask your neighbor to tell you TWO cultural things about them that are not obvious.
- 36. ● diverse backgrounds, diverse approaches ○ diverse experiences ○ everyone has a different lived experience ● more perspectives improve the results ○ ALWAYS improve the results ● breaking down the rockstar mentality ○ consider the view as the “rockstar” ○ consider views from the rest of the team ● “ancillary” items are critical ○ docs, design, user experience ● not enough hours in the day => burn out inclusion
- 38. resources ● Artwork ○ large stock photos & backgrounds all from pexels.com (royalty free) ● Manager README ○ Katie Womersley, Buffer https://github.com/KatieLo/README ● Maintainer README ○ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Fd-rkENsKyxOvlU00IUIHnsJnS5_B7krEE1GVdAwwnI/edit# ○ Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License: Lara Hogan ● 10 principles for collaboration ○ Intentional Relationship Model Clearinghouse http://irm.ahslabs.uic.edu/what-is-the-irm/ ● Brainstorming for goals, projects, designs ○ Brainstorming - 8 Rules, Interaction Design Foundation https://public-media.interaction-design.org/pdf/Brainstorm.pdf
- 39. thank you