Scrum Gathering London 2018: What's Really Going On? An Observational Skills Workshop
- 1. What’s REALLY Going On? An Observational Skills Workshop Julie Wyman Mark Grove
- 3. excella.com | @excellaco Imagine… You’ve recently joined a team as coach, consultant, or Scrum Master. You decide the best way to start is to “simply” observe the team working. • What do you notice? • What do you look for?
- 4. excella.com | @excellaco More than simply what you see on the surface.
- 5. excella.com | @excellaco Getting below the surface Some examples
- 6. excella.com | @excellaco Body Language • Crossed arms? • Leaning closer? Leaning away? • Pointing?
- 7. excella.com | @excellaco Tone of Voice • Whose voice is louder? Softer? • When does it get louder? • When does it get softer?
- 8. excella.com | @excellaco Pronouns • “He” or “she” instead of peoples’ names? • “Me” and “you” instead of “we”?
- 9. excella.com | @excellaco Physical Space • How are people positioned? • Are people facing each other? • What in the space is being used? Not used?
- 10. excella.com | @excellaco Collaboration • Is there a director? Doers? • Solo work vs. group work? • Who tends to offer ideas? Who tends to respond? • Is disagreement shared?
- 11. excella.com | @excellaco Decision Making • Do people think out loud? • How are decisions made? Consensus? Consultation? Direction?
- 12. excella.com | @excellaco Information Sharing • Verbal? • Visual? • Written?
- 13. excella.com | @excellaco Sharing your observations Some tips
- 14. excella.com | @excellaco When sharing observations… • Do factually state what you observed in neutral language • Avoid interpretation and assigning meaning to actions
- 15. excella.com | @excellaco Time to practice! Modified from a Coaching Beyond the Team activity
- 16. excella.com | @excellaco General instructions • Let’s practice – observing and sharing observations! • Two rounds: • One group will build while the other group observes • After the first round, roles will switch
- 17. excella.com | @excellaco Round 1: Instructions • Set up: Split into small groups groups (in each group, ½ will be builders & ½ will be observers) • Observers: Each pick one area to observe & use Post-Its to take notes (1 observation per Post-It) • Builders: Build a 5-foot tall structure out of index cards in 5 minutes or less
- 18. excella.com | @excellaco 5 minute timer Google timer
- 19. excella.com | @excellaco Round 1: Small group debrief • Share • Observers: share the notes from your post-its • Builders: share what it felt like being observed • Discuss • How did it feel to observe just one area? • Was it hard to write down only facts? • Did you notice any jumps to interpretation?
- 20. excella.com | @excellaco Round 2: Instructions • Set up: Builders & observers switch roles • Observers: Each pick one area to observe & use Post-Its to take notes (1 observation per Post-It) • Builders: Determine in 5 minutes the 3 most important characteristics of a high-performing team
- 21. excella.com | @excellaco 5 minute timer Google timer
- 22. excella.com | @excellaco Round 2: Small group debrief • Share • Observers: share the notes from your post-its • Discuss • Did you do anything differently as observers this round having previously been observed yourselves? • How did it feel to observe just one area? • Did you notice any jumps to interpretation?
- 23. excella.com | @excellaco Wrapping it up And keeping it going
- 24. excella.com | @excellaco • What did you learn about being an observer? • What did you learn about how it feels to be observed? • What will you do differently next time? Time to reflect…