7 tips for managers to successfully un-manage
By Bachan Anand / Filed under Collaboration, Inspect & Adapt, Self Organization, WORK is GOOD / February 5th, 2012
It’s always amazing when a group of people pleasantly surprises and inspires us in the most unexpected ways. A couple of days ago, I was listening in on the weekly Review and Retrospective Meeting that the Conscires team conducts at the end of each Sprint (yes, we do practice what we stand for and promote!). My intention was to find a bunch of things that I could coach the team on (in this particular case, ‘coaching’ was a nicer way my mind looked at the evil intention of telling people how they can do better – in other words, how I could ‘fix’ them!)
Anyways, I was on this call while I was waiting for my flight and the team started with the review. I could hear one person talking about another’s task. I jotted down, “Why is Indu updating everyone on what someone else had done?” Right after that, she said, “I don’t know about this item and will need to wait for Deepa.” So Mr.Coach in me had to erase his comments, for Indu was only speaking on behalf of an absent member of the team. Soon, I could hear the others talking about their own tasks. Thank God I did not speak out of turn and state something to that effect in the meeting. As the meeting proceeded, I was amazed how self-organized, happy and collaborative this team is and, mind you, this is a distributed team – no one sits in the same room during this meeting (some of them are located on opposite sides of the globe), no one has met more than half of the team members; in fact, I doubt if anyone has actually met more than 6 people in the team. As I continued to listen, I was delighted at how much the team has achieved, and to see that they also take accountability for what they couldn’t finish.
The meeting, facilitated by Lisa, moved on from reviewing the work done in the previous sprint to retrospective, in which everyone spoke about how they felt regarding the way we were working. Even though I was about to board the flight, I wanted to listen in with the urge that hopefully there will be more coachable moments. The team started the retrospective with a “Perfection Game”, with each team member rating the sprint on a scale of 1 to 10, and capturing what could have made it a 10. It was encouraging to hear honest shares on how people felt and what they believe will get them to a number 10. It was so cool to see the team encouraging one of the members to move from a 9 to 10, as she couldn’t really come up with a reason as to why the sprint deserved only a 9!
Lisa then asked the team whether they wanted to do a “Start – Stop – Continue” activity or just do Shout-outs for each other and Jeena suggested Shout-outs. The “continual improvement” side of Mr.Coach wrote down, How do we improve if we don’t look at Start – Stop – Continue? Well, since the announcements were going on at the airport, I couldn’t seize what I thought was a coaching movement and come up with a question like “What action items would come out of this meeting?”
The team captured the shout-outs, applauding each other for doing a great job and acknowledging each person’s efforts in supporting others. It was amazing to feel the positive energy those conversations created. It reminded me of a discussion I had over lunch about how we lack positive feedback at workplaces and its negative impact, and also the dearth of feedback when things are going right.
I felt fortunate to see a team do so well, and was a little annoyed with myself that I would have spoiled those meaningful conversations with my coaching tips – thank God Southwest did a rather loud announcement for boarding!
Here are my takeaways from the meeting:
1. Be happy to be wrong: Keep your judgments away while you are coaching, be patient and observe what the team is up to.
2. Meaningful conversation vrs action items: What we need in workplaces is a safe environment for more meaningful conversations, instead of action-oriented meeting minutes.
3. Learn from your team: Remind yourself that learning comes from unexpected quarters, be open to learning when others expect you to teach.
4. “Management by leaving the room” is important, especially when you feel responsible for running a company or managing a team.
5. Re-invent your job as a manager: It is not that managers are evil, we sometimes put ourselves in such situations. The only solution I see is to have everyone take responsibility and manage, so essentially Quit your job as a manager.
6. Accept the greatness of the team. The team would do quite well just the way they are, without requiring anyone to fix things for them. They just need opportunities to communicate and share.
7. Love your team members: I know Lisa really meant it when she told me the other day “Everyone loves Indu,” it was evident from the Retro meeting. I would even take it further to say, everyone in the team loves each other, or am I taking that too far – ?
And yeah… we don’t always have to do START – STOP and CONTINUE to be on a path of growth, just do Shout-outs and bring on that Positive Energy!
Scrum is not enough to revolutionize workplaces
By Bachan Anand / Filed under Agile, Collaboration, Scrum, Self Organization, WORK is GOOD / January 31st, 2012
How many of you have come across the adage, “We cannot solve a problem with the mind that created it”? If we look at a team, everything that is working (or not working) is due to the system and process – way of working – that was created by the collective minds of the company: the team members and the minds needed to create a product (may include the customer). Very often, it is difficult for those involved to objectively determine WHAT in the system is not working and WHY it is not doing so (and thus the adage, “We cannot solve a problem with the mind that created it”). This is why new mindsets like Scrum are introduced: so that they can objectively identify the inherent problems and loopholes in the system and propose appropriate solutions.
Scrum provides a clear framework for people to identify and articulate problems so that they can be solved. It creates a new approach to team work, product development, and organizational interaction; facets that have their foundation in Empiricism, Focus, Self-Organization, Collaboration, and Rhythm. Once we introduce this mindset to the team and the organization, the existing problems in the company show up and they do so with greater clarity so that the very people who created the system can now change it. So, the power is not with Scrum, but with the people. What Scrum does is that it gives them a new set of foundations and practices to grow, learn, and change their work environment for the better. For me, THIS is the gift of Scrum!
And yet, along my Scrum journey, working with varied teams and using Scrum at home, I have started wondering whether we need a greater change in the workplace itself. This is because I find that some people-related problems are a major cause for apathy and inefficiency at the work place. Some of these problems are: Employees not having a share in the input of the company’s vision (thereby making them feel isolated from the decision-makers), staff feeling no responsibility for the growth of the company (“why should I bother when I have no stake in it?”), and individuals not having the liberty to choose whom they want to work with.
Here are the areas where I believe a new approach to work would be beneficial in creating a truly liberating and creative work environment:
- Each person in a team has input and ownership of the VISION, instead of the vision being owned by one person: COLLECTIVE VISION.
- Financial ownership is in proportion to the effort and the ownership each person has on a team: CO-OWNING.
- Team members choose whom they want to work with through a democratic process: SELF-FORMING.
Could this be the next step in the evolution of work from slavery, supervisors, managers, and micro-managers? Perhaps this is the next step to Interdependent Work Places, so that WORK is GOOD!
What would be a good name for such work-environments? “COLLABORATIVES”? “THE ART of WORKING”?
What if we leave it unnamed it so that it grows into whatever it wants to become…
Learning from mistakes
By Jeena / Filed under Collaboration, Self Organization, WORK is GOOD / December 19th, 2011
In our very busy lifestyle, it is not always that we pause to look back on the way we came and feel proud of both our achievements and the lessons we have learned, individually and as a group.
At the dawn of 2011, Conscires was a three-member team conducting 3 trainings per month in 5 cities across the USA. Today, as the sun sets on 2011, we are an eleven member group managing an average 12 trainings per month, across 16 cities in three countries. If that isn’t reason enough to rejoice, I don’t know what is.
It’s been an incredible journey, to put it mildly. One of the most important things we learnt as a team was to perform as a team.
There has been a bunch of interesting lessons during our journey together, derived from experiences that left us embarrassed or mad or shocked or rippling with laughter. In other words, there were several mistakes that we made, and scampered to rectify. We see them not as failures, but as opportunities that helped us learn and grow.
One such was the time when a couple of us were reviewing the training pages on our website late into the night. After a hectic day, both were exhausted and disoriented. That probably was the only excuse for almost sending a trainer, who was to take a class in Boston, to Seattle, and asking all the trainees in Boston to attend the class at Denver. We learned that an extra pair of eyes is always essential to spot mistakes just before deploying or publishing. We also discovered that if we start laughing at midnight over foolish mistakes, it is not easy to stop the laughter!
Not as funny was the time when discount codes to be sent to some trainees (offering reduced rates) got mixed up. In another instance, instead of allowing for two free discount codes, we enabled an ‘unlimited’ number, and realised our mistake only when a large number of free registrations poured in. In both cases, we made quick amendments to ensure our attendees were not at a disadvantage.
Much of our training promotional activities happen through social media groups. It was a difficult episode for one of us when the postings done on one such group were termed as spam and other members posted spiteful comments. Well, we learned to promote our programs in such a way that others do not feel overwhelmed by them!
As our trainings expanded to other cities and enquiries began to flow in, we faced a problem in handling customer queries. More than once, a couple of us replied separately to the same query without letting each other know. No damage was done since the replies were identical, except that the customer got two emails each. Since then we devised methods to determine who was going to reply and, also ensured that the rest of the customer support team were kept in the loop to avoid duplication.
Most rewarding of all has been the way we practised what we preach – the implementation of Scrum within the organization, adapted to bring only the best out of our distributed team, taking into consideration our limitations and the nature of our work.
As I said, it’s been an incredible journey that promises to get better and better in the coming years.
(With inputs from the entire team at Conscires.)
7 steps to Customer Delight!
By Jeena / Filed under Collaboration, WORK is GOOD / December 12th, 2011
-
Make promises you can keep – and keep them.
-
Keep communication open, two-way and positive.
-
Be consistent. Be reliable. Then, be consistently reliable.
-
Take feedback, criticism and suggestions in a positive way.
-
Build a foundation of trust between the customer and the team.
-
Make your team knowledgeable, friendly and available, to ensure quick responses.
-
Better service ensures customer satisfaction. A motivated team offers better service.
My Thanksgiving Note to All
By Bachan Anand / Filed under Collaboration, WORK is GOOD / November 23rd, 2011
If I were to encapsulate the Year 2011, I would call it The Year of Growth, as Conscires and I have grown immensely this year! What was earlier a company of three persons, now comprises of ten members! For my part, I have realized that growth is a double-edged sword: One of joy and apprehension. As Edith Alizadeh, a fellow Conscires family member, so aptly pointed out, growth can sometimes lead to apprehension, as you are exploring unchartered territory. Ah, but the joy of achievement, as we have trained around 1300 individuals!
Each one of our trainees has taught us how to improve our trainings; indeed, we’re richer in our experiences from having worked with all of you! Thank you for your invaluable feedback and for spreading the word. Without you guys, we would not be around!
As I reflect on the past year this holiday season, I realize that there are many who make the work we do, possible. First and foremost, I would like to thank Indu Menon for building the Conscires family and inviting her ex-colleagues to the company. Most of us at Conscires know at least one other colleague from earlier times.
This year, I am also grateful that I experienced the joy of giving through the Pay It Forward/Donation-based classes that we had conducted internationally. Thanks to my mentor, Tobias Mayer, for inspiring me to participate in that program. Thanks also to Manoj Vadakkan, Erin Beierwaltes, Jeff Lopez, Sameer Bendre, Carlton Nettleton, Alan Dayley, Tori Abaijan, Margaret Motamed, and Lisa Montano who put monetary benefit aside and taught or supported these classes. It excites me that this program enabled us to train around 362 people in 11 cities in the United States as well as in London, England.
My sincere gratitude towards Lyssa Adkins and Michael Spayd for inviting me to Coaching Stance, from which I have benefited immensely. I now know how to step back during my coaching and other areas of work and believe that others are capable of delivering.
Here are some other folks that I would like to thank:
1. Alan and Veronica Cyment for being the great friends that they are and for conducting trainings alongside us.
2. Carlton Nettleton for being a good partner. I truly appreciate his patience with all the changes that have been made.
3. My wife, Rahmi, and daughter, Thumbi, for bringing joy into my life and helping me become more sensitive in dealing with others.
4. Rahmi, again, for taking a stance that she would like me to focus more on the family.
5. Tom and Beth Moore for all the open discussions, and welcoming me into their company.
6. Lisa Montano for identifying things that I sometimes don’t realize about myself.
7. Yalda Shafihie who works for the sheer pleasure of the experience, and for providing invaluable feedback.
8. Tobias Mayer for inviting me to coach with him. Consequently, I got the opportunity to work with Laura Murphy, Dan Hoffman, Ryan Southwick, and Patrick Tracey.
9. All the teams of the numerous companies that I was fortunate to coach: Thank you for being patient with yourselves and others during the changes that were brought about by the workshops.
10. Everyone in the Conscires family—Jeena Ramachandran, Reema Raj, Deepa Jeetu, Indu Menon, Neeta Singh, Lalita Rao, Lisa Montano, Vanessa Schmidt, Rahmi Anand, and Edith Alizadeh—for being so open and willing to learn as we grow as a team.
11. Last, but not the least, to a Power greater than myself in making me realize that to give up control is hard, but definitely worth it. I’ve gotta do more of it to create more meaningful and thriving work environments so that Work is, indeed, Good!
Thanks, again, one and all! May you and yours have a beautiful Thanksgiving!
-Bachan Anand
Founder, Conscires Agile Practices
