What's the difference between groups and teams? Could teamwork be fun and productive at the same time? Why collaboration is so hard? What could you do to encourage teamwork?
2. Exploration to true teamwork
• What is teamwork?
• How does it differ from a group effort?
• What can you do to encourage teamwork?
Ville Marjusaari
Agile Coach @ Solita
@marjusaari
3. • What is your energy level right now?
Check-in
4. • Find a person you do not know yet
• Introduce yourself
• Discuss what does it mean to do teamwork
• Time: 2 minutes
How would you define
teamwork?
5. • Professional relationships.
• People exchange information and help each other
but they do this only to achieve their individual
goals for a common outcome.
• No synergy: achieves the sum of its parts at best.
Work group
6. • Deep mutual trust, commitment and accountability.
• People work together, side-by-side, to accomplish a
shared goal.
• Has synergy: achieves more than the sum of its
parts.
Real team
7. Main operating modes in “teams”
Coordination
• Sum or transfer work or
information from
member to member
8. Main operating modes in “teams”
Coordination
• Sum or transfer work or
information from
member to member
Cooperation
• Act of helping someone
else achieve his or her
goal
9. Main operating mode in a real team
Coordination
• Sum or transfer work or
information from
member to member
Cooperation
• Act of helping someone
else achieve his or her
goal
Collaboration
• Work jointly together for
a single purpose
11. • Instructor needs to get folder to fold the origami
object giving only verbal instructions
• Folder and instructor sit back to back
• Instructor can’t see what folder is doing
• Time: 4 minutes
Round 1: Coordination
Origami by Jorge under CC BY 2.0
12. • Instructor needs to get folder to fold the origami
object giving verbal instructions
• Folder and instructor sit face to face
• Instructor can see what the folder is doing but folder
can’t see the instructions
• Time: 4 minutes
Round 2: Cooperation
Cubetto simpaticamente decorativo by
Daniel Adami under CC BY 2.0
13. • Pair need to fold the origami object
• Both can see the instructions and what is happening
• Time: 4 minutes
Round 3: Collaboration
Origami by James Lee under CC BY 2.0
14. • How did different rounds feel?
• How did the results compare?
• Discuss with your pair
• Time: 2 minutes
Debrief
16. It’s a high energy state
Value
creation
ability
Time
High risk
Cognitively challenging
High emotional investment
Real teams
> 𝑃
Groups
= 𝑃
Low risk
Cognitively easy
Low emotional investment
17. • I’m free to choose my tools, working hours and how
I work
Society values individuals’
freedom
18. • He’s more senior than me
• She knows this best, it’s better to wait her to do it
• Busy vs. productive
• It can’t work – this is how we have always done
things here
Mental biases and hierarchies
Lewis Hine: Girl spinner
by trialsanderrors under CC BY 2.0
20. You can be fully present
• We must feel that we will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas,
questions, concerns or mistakes
• We must know that we can be free enough, sometimes, to share the things that scare us
without fear of recriminations.
• We must be able to talk about what is messy or sad, to have hard conversations with
colleagues who are driving us crazy.
21. What you can do to build
psychological safety
Leaders play important role but there are things you can do, too
22. Slow down
Be present and give time to your slow thinking to prevent old mental models to take over
23. Meet others as whole human
beings
Learn the real person behind the co-worker
Personal Map (Management 3.0)
Moving Motivators (Management 3.0)
Rules:
Opt-out
Hands up if I want attention
Vote:
thumbs up/down
Take a quick poll
Examples?
Developer submits code for testing
Dveloper informs UX designer that the layout is ready in testing environment to be checked
Properties of group’s output can be traced back to individuals
Examples?
PO adjust priorities to meet dependencies with other team
a developer continues to code the work of other developer who got sick
These two operating modes are where most teams stay
Examples?
Members build on top of each other’s ideas, and the collective result exceeds anything that could have been achieved individually.
Participants are using data to create something new, not just transmitting or sharing data.
The diversity of experience, skills, and knowledge is focused all at once on a single effort.
Properties of the output cannot be traced back to individuals.
It’s not a talent, it’s skill
Form pairs
Decide who will fold and who will instruct
--> Stand up
First round simulates coordination: transferring information from member to member.
Go through the instructions carefully
Any questions?
Pick up material
---
Next round simulates co-operation where instructors help folders to achieve their goal
Go through the instructions carefully
You may switch roles
Pick up material
---
Next round simulates collaboration: working jointly towards a common goal
Go through the instructions carefully
You may switch roles
Pick up material
Collaboration is not the only way – you need to consider the challenge ahead
If you need innovation, collaboration is the most direct & effective way
Explain patiently & remain open for criticis
Take keen interest on others and how they work
Google studied
Environment of trust and openness where team members can be vulnerable without penalty.
Psychological safety is not nearly complicated as it may sound. After all, it's really about truly making a team come together as one and putting forth an environment that sets up everyone for success.
Instead of rejecting: no, that doesn’t work, ask how do think it will work?
Two rounds
Debrief:
System 1&2: We often have “hard-wired” automatic responses. It’s important to really listen and take your time instead of leaping to an automated conclusion.
Non-verbal: It’s important to also see all non-verbal actions when communicating with a group.