A 90 minute workshop on the Practical Diversity Tactics hosted at Agile Roots 2015 including the interactive suggestions at the end of the slide deck. Conference held in Utah.

1. P R A C T I C A L T E A M
D I V E R S I T Y TA C T I C S
I N T E R A C T I V E W O R K S H O P ( Y E S , Y O U R I D E A S A R E N E E D E D )
Lanette Creamer

2. P R I M E D I R E C T I V E F O R A G I L E R E T R O S P E C T I V E S
Regardless of what we discover, we understand
and truly believe that everyone did the best job
they could, given what they knew at the time, their
skills and abilities, the resources available, and the
situation at hand.

3. I T ’ S G O I N G
D O W N L I K E T H I S
• Set the tone
• The team level
• What aren’t we talking
about?
• What tactics?
• Activities
• What happens next?
Oh really? I suppose
you’ve got this all
solved then?

4. B I A S
W E A L L H A V E I T B U T I T I S E A S I E R T O D E T E C T I N O T H E R S
I’m pretty sure
they are biased!
What is their
problem?

5. W H Y A L L T H E C O N F L I C T ?
I T S E E M S L I K E A L L D R A M A A N D L I T T L E P R O G R E S S

6. I T R I E D T O H E L P & I T S U C K E D
Check your
privilege!

7. T O U G H E R ?
W H Y C A N ’ T W E A L L J U S T B E
G O A H E A D & C A L L T H E C O P S !

8. I D O N ’ T S E E A S A F E T Y I S S U E

9. R E F U S I N G T O A D M I T T H AT W E S E E
D I F F E R E N C E S I S N O T W O R K I N G
W E A R E N O T A L L T H E S A M E

10. T H E W R O N G WAY T O E Q U A L I T Y
T R E A T I N G E V E RY O N E I N H U M A N E LY
I started interrupting the
executives during meetings
too! Now they all feel equally
unimportant. Problem solved.

11. W E H AV E E V E RY T H I N G T O G A I N B Y
S E L F O R G A N I Z I N G

12. T H E C O S T O F
S P E A K I N G U P
• Why pretending can be
profitable.
• But I’m not experiencing
problems?
• How widespread is this?
• Can’t the law fix this?
• We don’t need no Code of
Conducts.

13. T H E B A C K S T O RY
S O , H O W D I D Y O U G E T H E R E ?
Lean in to the dish,
Sparkles. Lean in! I’m
sure with the right
attitude all will be well.
Perception is reality!

14. W H AT C A N W E D O F O R Y O U R T E A M
T O D AY, T O G E T H E R ?
3 minutes

15. – A S H O C K I N G LY C O M M O N B U T P R O VA B LY FA L S E V I E W
“Most people pretty much get what they deserve.”
I deserve this! I’m
certainly better than
kitten. I know because
I have this kibble.
The lack of self
awareness is
stunning.

16. Y O U ’ D B E P E R F E C T I F O N LY, . .
J U S T C H A N G E E V E RY T H I N G , T H E N Y O U C A N B E O N E O F U S

17. I T I S Y O U R
R E S P O N S I B I L I T Y
• Experiments in approach
• Is “doing what works”
stopping progress?
• If you’ve got yours, why
would you care?
• What if they really do not
know?
• Who has to educate
Could I just focus on my job
now? I’d rather not spend
my free time voluntarily
interacting with people who
don’t like me?

18. B E I N G C O O L
R O C K S TA R S L O V E

19. – O N E A S P E C T O F H U M A N N AT U R E
“I don’t care until it impacts me.”

20. W H AT D I F F E R E N C E D O E S I T M A K E T O A T E A M ?
W H AT FA C T O R S D I S C O U R A G E D I V E R S I T Y ?
10 minutes

21. A C C E S S T O M E D I C A L C A R E
W E S T I L L H A V E G A P S I N A R E A S A S B A S I C A S

22. I N T E N T I O N S D O N O T PAY B I L L S
C O M P E N S A T I O N E Q U A L I T Y M A T T E R S B E C A U S E

23. Ageism
The fun is over.

24. D I S C U S S I N G A P R O B L E M I S N ’ T A P R O B L E M
W H E N N E G A T I V I T Y I S S E E N A S C A R E E R
L I M I T I N G , H O W C A N VA L I D I S S U E S B E
A D D R E S S E D ?

25. A S P E E R S , W H AT M I G H T W E D O T O S U P P O RT
T E A M M E M B E R S FA C I N G D I S C R I M I N AT I O N ?
10 minutes

26. E VA L U AT I O N E Q U A L I T Y
C O N F I R M A T I O N B I A S , F E E D B A C K , P E R F O R M A N C E R E V I E W S
You need to show your positivity, Tim.
Since we started pointing out how
negative you are, you haven’t
improved. I’m afraid we need to
monitor you closer so you can prove
you are feeling more positive.
I am positive that you
aren’t helping?

27. WHAT TACTICS CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE
FEEDBACK FAIRNESS?
10 minutes

28. • Environment
• Opportunity
• Feedback
• Exposure to Threats (Harassment, Abuse, Bullying)
• Subtext, Pretext, and the Largeness of Nothing
• Gender and Gender Identity
• Age
• Race
• Sexual Orientation
• Creed, Religion
• Disabilities
• Assumption, Expectation, Credibility
• Invitation, Compensation, Negotiation

29. U S I N G T H E C AT E G O R I E S M E N T I O N E D , O R Y O U R O W N
C AT E G O R I E S I N A D D I T I O N , W H I C H A R E A S
M O S T I M PA C T Y O U R T E A M R I G H T N O W ?
15 minutes

30. T E M P O R A RY H U RT S ?
W E C A N H E A L T H E
I F W E A R E AWA R E O F T H E M

31. I N G E N I O U S T E C H N O L O G Y
A B I L I T Y E Q U A L I Z I N G E F F O R T

32. P R O T E C T I N G T H E V U L N E R A B L E
Y O U C A N ’ T E N S U R E S U R V I VA L
B U T E F F O R T M A K E S I T P O S S I B L E

33. OPPORTUNITY
C H A N C E S B E C O M E P R O V E N E X P E R I E N C E

34. P R O T E C T I N G T H E N 0 0 B S
S U P P O R T T H O S E W I T H O U T T H E E X P E R I E N C E

35. WHAT TACTICS CAN BE USED TO IMPROVE
ACCESS TO EDUCATION AND OPPORTUNITIES?
10 minutes

36. E N V I R O N M E N TA L I M P R O V E M E N T S
W E C A N A L L B E M O R E E F F E C T I V E W I T H
S A F E T Y, C O M F O RT, S AT I S FA C T I O N

37. OPEN SPACE NOISE POLLUTION
T H E S T R U G G L E I S R E A L

38. WHAT ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES COULD
IMPROVE WORKING CONDITIONS FOR EVERYONE?
10 minutes

39. M I S TA K E S W I L L B E M A D E
H O W D O W E R E C O V E R ?

40. – N I N J A C AT S
“Handling conflict well takes skill and practice.”

41. • Excuses
• Denial
• Defensiveness/Rationalization
• Intention Explaining
• Criticizing
Normal Responses to Feedback

42. HOW CAN WE RESPOND BETTER TO FEEDBACK, OR TO OTHERS IF WE GET
THESE NORMAL, BUT LESS THAN IDEAL RESPONSES?
WHAT CAN WE DO TO RECOVER WHEN MISTAKES ARE MADE?
10 minutes

43. C O H E S I V E T E A M S
S U P P O RT O N E A N O T H E R

44. REAL EXPERIENCES, REAL IDEAS
? minutes

45. • Privilege
• Safety
• Access
• Opportunity
• Retention/Belonging
CONSIDERATIONS FOR AGILE TEAMS

46. A N I M A L
A N A LY T I C S

48. I N T E R A C T I V E I D E A S :
W H AT D I F F E R E N C E D O E S I T M A K E T O A T E A M ? W H AT
FA C T O R S D I S C O U R A G E D I V E R S I T Y ?
• Create a safe environment.
• By having more biased opinions (and all of our opinions are
biased to some extent) we can make better decisions.
• With more diversity, consensus is harder to reach.
• Groupthink is harder with a more diverse group, which may be
difficult, but can reduce quality risk.
• Having different cultures isn’t all the happy stock photos and
rewards without struggle (oh we are so global & it is easy). It is
challenging to learn different social norms in teams.

49. • Diversity is important because why should we limit the future for our
daughters? They should have every option to choose.
• We need to do more to hire and retain a diverse group. Unconscious bias filters
out many people without intending to.
• More different perspectives provide a better chance to observe and
understand accurately.
• Inviting the quiet to be heard is even more critical in a diverse group. Letting
the loudest drown out others is a risk. Inviting and then actually listening.
• There is more conflict with a diverse group, but not all conflict is bad.
• A lack of trust is harmful to diversity. Trust can be useful in encouraging
diversity.

50. • Observation: Men at some companies tend to collaborate at the start
to “get it over with”, but the women tend to collaborate throughout
more. Quality was brought to a higher level because of collaborating
throughout.
• Having people who are not like me on my team at all would be a
change.
• Forsaking derision enables inclusivity.
• Managers should reach out more, make conditions more flexible to
attract more women.
• See testers (and other disciplines and skills) more as equals.

51. I N T E R A C T I V E I D E A S :
A S P E E R S , W H AT M I G H T W E D O T O S U P P O RT T E A M
M E M B E R S FA C I N G D I S C R I M I N AT I O N ?
• Solidarity
• Can you speak up? Do you have the security to stand up, speak up, or defend
someone outright? It does no good if it results in two people unemployed if that is a
risk they can not take. Some are in positions to help this way, others need a more low-
key approach.
• Physical intimidation and the threat of battery is actually assault.
• Peer pressure can be used as a powerful good influence. Model good behavior, and
make it known that discrimination isn’t welcome.
• Take a risk. The cost of doing nothing is quite high.
• Diversity appears to be shrinking both overall percentage at tech companies, and
even more on engineering teams based on self reported data from companies. We
have about half as many women as we did in 2000.

52. • Record discrimination and make it transparent. If you see questionable behavior,
it can help to take down a note if recording isn’t allowed, or make a cell phone
video and make it obvious that you are doing so. Abuse thrives most in secrecy.
• When a known bully is involved, does it help to fight back? Fly under the radar?
Or resign? You can’t change them, but you can sometimes change the dynamic. If
it is making YOU someone you do not want to be, it may be best to find other
opportunities.
• We all make mistakes. Apologizing and being accountable for your own actions
goes much further than excuses and deflecting blame.
• Refusal to apologize for mistakes should be a fireable offense.
• Not participating in spreading harmful commentary about others on our team can
help with inclusivity, as can balancing it out by adding positives.

53. I N T E R A C T I V E I D E A S :
W H AT TA C T I C S C A N B E U S E D T O I M P R O V E F E E D B A C K FA I R N E S S ?
• If there is a change needed, the person themselves needs to
control and track progress. Ownership and accountability needs
to be a collaboration. Coaching can’t just be criticism &
monitoring and work.
• All performance reviews are harmful. More companies need to
read what science says about this.
• Threats that imply “The beatings will continue until Morale
improves” harm engagement.
• Avoid stack ranking. It is nearly always harmful and causes side-
effects.

54. • When asked which employees go in to the life raft, explain that the
captain goes down with the ship, and expect your manager’s
resignation.
• If your employees feel disposable, you can’t expect loyalty or
engagement from them.
• If you rely on “tossing out the weak” surely people will game the
system.
• Timely actionable feedback is far better than waiting for a
performance review.
• Transformational Leadership has helped our team.

55. • Listen, Parrot, and Validate Understanding.
• Allow people to debrief and decompress during and after stressful
situations. Return to the conversation if needed for it to be
constructive.
• Show maturity and class regardless of how others behave.
• Stay on the point. It is about the behavior and not about the person.
• Be aware that women and minorities are more often evalutated on
personality and appearance rather than work. Keep it about the work
and do not allow personality differences to influence opinions unfairly.

56. O T H E R I N T E R A C T I V E C O M M E N T S
• There is a mob mentality where a team member is attacked by
everyone. It is not good for the team to have expendable “red
shirts” or “scapegoats”.
• On our team, a woman from a specialty I didn’t understand
pushed my work to the next level. She felt that the idea “wasn’t
quite there yet”. Due to her willingness to continue contributing,
we ended up with a patent shared between the two of us. Without
her perspective, the work would have been much less.
• Hiring managers are in denial. The list of what is “required” is so
far removed from the skills those currently doing the job have that
it is causing far more of a problem than just “the pipeline”.

57. S P E A K E R ’ S N O T E S
• We did not finish all of these slides or activities as we
favored interactive discussion over following any
agenda.
• Those who shared in the workshop participated with
intent of adding practical ideas to try for those who
wish to increase and support inclusivity. Not all ideas
are appropriate in all settings for all teams.