Kick ‘Em or Keep ‘Em - Collaborating on our own Deserted Islands
A presentation at Deserted Island DevOps by Matt Stratton
Kick ‘Em or Keep ‘Em Collaborating on our own Deserted Islands Matt Stratton Transformation Specialist Red Hat @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
@mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
blah blah blah collaboration @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
blah blah blah empathy @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
blah blah blah @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
“Our analysis found that this culture of psychological safety is predictive of software delivery performance, organizational performance, and productivity”
- Accelerate State of DevOps Report 2019 @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
cool cool cool @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
cool cool cool how do we do it? @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Psychological safety @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
“[Psychological safety is] a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking up.” ‒ Amy Edmondson Professor, Harvard Business School @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Approach conflict as a collaborator Not as an adversary @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Speak human to human “Just like me” @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Replace blame with curiosity You donʼt have all the facts @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Model vulnerability Create emotional bonds @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Blameless facilitation @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
“Humans are hardwired through millions of years of evolutionary neurobiology and thousands of years of social conditioning to use the technique of blaming as a way to give voice to painful and uncomfortable feelings, in order to effectively disperse them from our psyches” ‒ J. Paul Reed Senior Applied Resilience Engineer, Netflix @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Facilitator’s Role • Encourage people to speak up, and make sure that everyone is heard. • Clarify insights and challenge the team with questions. • Help the team to see different angles and different options. • Keep everyone on time and on track. Cut off tangents and stop people from dominating the entire meeting. @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
• Do not make decisions. • Do not take sides. • Try to speak as little as possible. • Be a shadow that guides discussions, not a presenter who takes over the meeting. @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
De-escalating conflict @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
“We do not look for compromise; rather, we seek to resolve the conflict to everyone’s complete satisfaction.” ‒ Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
@mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Nonviolent Communication • Observations • Feelings • Needs • Requests @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Observations What I observe (see, hear, remember, imagine…free from my evaluations) that does or does not contribute to my well-being: “When I (see, hear) …” What you observe (see, hear, remember, imagine…free from my evaluations) that does or does not contribute to your well-being: “When you (see, hear) …” @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Feelings How I feel (emotion or sensation rather than thought) in relation to what I observe: “I feel …” How you feel (emotion or sensation rather than thought) in relation to what you observe: “When you (see, hear) …” @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Needs What I need or value (rather than a preference or a specific action) that causes my feelings: “… because I need/value …” What you need or value (rather than a preference or a specific action) that causes your feelings: “… because you need/value …” @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Requests • Clearly requesting that which would enrich my life without demanding • Empathetically receiving that which would enrich your life without hearing any demand @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
Requests The concrete actions I would like taken: “Would you be willing to …” The concrete actions you would like taken: “Would you like …” @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” ‒ African Proverb @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
https://speaking.mattstratton.com @mattstratton Deserted Island DevOps
We know that DevOps is about people, empathy, relationships, and collaboration. And science supports that—studies have shown collaboration is critical to effective software development and software operations. But many times, collaboration is easier said than done. Which raises the question: How do we deal with people and learn to work with different personalities?
Don’t worry, we can learn to improve our human interactions. Over time, I’ve learned some techniques and approaches to enhance collaboration and interaction, which I’ll share so you can put them into practice yourself!
Topics covered in this talk include:
- De-escalating conflict
- Facilitating blameless meetings
- Encouraging psychological safety in teams
Video
Resources
The following resources were mentioned during the presentation or are useful additional information.
Buzz and feedback
Here’s what was said about this presentation on social media.
