Soft skills are important for software craftspeople. This document discusses several soft skills tools, including status games from improv theatre, solution-focused thinking, transactional analysis, and the four-ears model of communication. These tools are meant to help individuals grow their soft skills and work effectively as part of a team. Practicing these tools can provide choices for interacting with others and resolving issues.

1. Soft Skills Essentials for
Software Craftsmen
Pierluigi Pugliese
ConneX o
X

2. Why are we here?

3. It all started here...

4. What about this?

5. Agile Coaches think Teams

6. You are part of the Team

7. And what about
your skills?

8. Find the Person:
Some statistics from
Agile Coaching books

12. We should grow also
Individuals,
not just
Teams!

13. Teams are made by Individuals
Great Individuals for Great Teams

14. How to support individuals?

15. Space to learn

16. An experienced Mentor

17. Space to interact

18. Individual Coaching

19. Invest in Trust

20. Soft Skills

21. And now some practical
soft-skills tools...

22. Status
(Improv Theatre)

23. Status

24. A: “Hi there, I had a very
successful day at work”
B: “Oh, yeah, I told you with my help you
could have made it great” you high, me higher
B: “Yeah, great, but it’s just a small victory...”
you lower than you think - implies me high
B: “Oh really, what a great coach you are”
you high, me low - but is it sincere?
B: “Oh, I wish I could be as successful as you
one day” you high, me really low

25. Status Games are Everywhere!

27. Your Turn: Another Status

28. Go or Stay?

29. Think Solutions
(Solution Focused)

30. Solutions instead of
Problems
“All of the Facts belong only to the
Problem, not to its Solution”
(Ludwig Wittgenstein)
Here,
The Future
Now
The Past

31. The Problem
The Goal

32. The Solution State

33. Solution - What would be
instead of different?
Problems - What resources did
you use?
Suppose you - How would you
recognise it?
have achieved
your goal...

34. Your Turn: Think Solution

35. Transactions
(Transactional Analysis)

36. Ego States
P C
Parent Child
A
Adult

37. Complementary Transaction
S
R
P C
Parent Child

38. Complementary Transaction
S
R
A A
Adult Adult

39. Crossed Transaction
R
S
? P
A Parent
Adult

40. Parent Types
CP NP

41. Child Types
AC FC

42. What goes where...
Acting as... Elicits...
Controlling Parent Adapted Child
Nurturing Parent Free Child
Adult Adult
Free Child Nurturing Parent
Adapted Child Controlling Parent

43. Your Turn: Crossed
P CP NP CP AC
NP FC
A A A A
FC NP
C AC FC AC CP

44. The 4-Ears Model
(Schulz von Thun)

45. A Message
4 Sides
Sender Receiver

46. About the Facts
Factual Information
Self Statement
An Appeal
About Message What I
Me Want
Relationship Indicator
Me vs.You

47. Identify the Sides
You’re late again!
l ?
ba
1. Factual Information
er
2. Self Statement
v
3. Relationship Indicator
n-
4. Appeal
No

48. Identify the Sides
We should discuss this
another time
1. Factual Information
2. Self Statement
3. Relationship Indicator
4. Appeal

49. Identify the Sides
On this project it’s
better to use our tool!
1. Factual Information
2. Self Statement
3. Relationship Indicator
4. Appeal

50. Basically...

51. All of these Tools give you
more Choices

52. Use Passively and Actively

53. Where can you go from here?
There’s a wealth
of techniques out there:
you choose where
to explore next...

54. Pierluigi Pugliese
ConneX o
X
http://blog.connexxo.com
Bibliography here!