The wisdom of Teams

Slides showed in CDK Global, Hungerford, during The Agilists August Meetup.
9 August 2016

1. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS*
MASSIMO SARTI - PMI-ACP - SCRUM MASTER - SCRUM PRODUCTOWNER - PMP - PRINCE2 - ITIL - POST-IT® LOVER
THE AGILISTS! - HUNGERFORD - 9 AUGUST 2016

2. * THE TITLE OF THIS TALK IS MY
PERSONAL, LITTLE TRIBUTE TO
ONE OUT OF THREE BEST BOOKS I
EVER READ ABOUT TEAMS
Massimo Sarti
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
FYI: the second one is Peopleware of Tom DeMarco.
The third one is The Decision to Trust of Robert Hurley

3. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
Show you some food for thoughts you can apply in your daily
teamwork:
‣Teams' lifecycle and performances
▸Conflicts and conflict management
▸Roles and behaviours
▸Trust and distrust
▸….
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

4. FROM A LIFE SPENT IN
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY, I LEARNT…

5. “NO SILVER BULLET”
THERE IS NO SINGLE DEVELOPMENT, IN EITHER TECHNOLOGY
OR MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUE, WHICH BY ITSELF PROMISES
EVEN ONE ORDER OF MAGNITUDE IMPROVEMENT WITHIN A
DECADE IN PRODUCTIVITY, IN RELIABILITY, IN SIMPLICITY
Frederick P. Brooks Jr.
No Silver Bullet -- Essence and Accident in Software Engineering
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

6. "NO MATTER HOW IT LOOKS AT
FIRST, IT’S ALWAYS A PEOPLE
PROBLEM."
Gerald M. Weinberg
The Second Law Of Consulting
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

7. “A FOOL WITH A TOOL
IS STILL A FOOL”
Grady Booch
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

8. Massimo Sarti - Humble Opinion
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
* AND THEY OFTEN WIN AGAINST TOO COMPLEX PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES
A GROUP OF MOTIVATED, SKILLED
PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS WIN
AGAINST A SET OF COMPLEX,
EXPENSIVE TOOLS

9. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
▸Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
▸Working software over comprehensive documentation
▸Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
▸Responding to change over following a plan
WHERE DO PEOPLE AND TOOLS/PROCESSES FIT IN AGILE MANIFESTO?
https://agilemanifesto.org
“Agile is more humanistic than mechanistic”
(Mike Griffiths)

10. DEFINITION OF
TEAM
* THIS ALLOWS US TO ALL BE ON THE SAME PAGE FOR THE NEXT HUNDRED SLIDES

11. A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO
WORK TOGETHER AT A
PARTICULAR JOB
OXFORD DICTIONARY
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

12. A SET OF INDIVIDUALS WHO SUPPORT
THE PROJECT MANAGER IN
PERFORMING THE WORK OF THE
PROJECT TO ACHIEVE ITS OBJECTIVES.
PMBOK 5th edition
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

13. A TEAM IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE OR OTHER ANIMALS LINKED IN A COMMON
PURPOSE. HUMAN TEAMS ARE ESPECIALLY APPROPRIATE FOR CONDUCTING
TASKS THAT ARE HIGH IN COMPLEXITY AND HAVE MANY INTERDEPENDENT
SUBTASKS.
…
A TEAM BECOMES MORE THAN JUST A COLLECTION OF PEOPLE WHEN A
STRONG SENSE OF MUTUAL COMMITMENT CREATES SYNERGY, THUS
GENERATING PERFORMANCE GREATER THAN THE SUM OF THE PERFORMANCE
OF ITS INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS.
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team (19/07/2016)

14. A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WITH
COMPLIMENTARY SKILLS WHO ARE COMMITTED
TO A COMMON PURPOSE, PERFORMANCE GOALS
AND APPROACH FOR WHICH THEY HOLD
THEMSELVES MUTUALLY ACCOUNTABLE.
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
J. Katzenbach - D. Smith

15. THERE IS ONE
MISSING PIECE

16. A TEAM IS A TEMPORARY
ORGANISATION
* KINDLY TAKEN FROM PRINCE2 PROJECT DEFINITION

17. AND IF IT IS TEMPORARY,
IT HAS A LIFECYCLE!
* WELL, EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD HAS A LIFECYCLE

18. THIS TIME I WILL SHOW JUST FEW
SLIDES ABOUT THE MOST FAMOUS
TEAMS' LIFECYCLE MODEL: BRUCE
TUCKMAN’S MODEL

19. FORMING
STORMING
NORMING
PERFORMING
(ADJOURNING)
Bruce W. Tuckman -
Developmental
Sequence in Small
Groups

20. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
TUCKMAN’S TEAM DEVELOPMENT SEQUENCE
STAGE CHARACTERISTICS
FORMING
Unwilling to undertake the work and unable to do so.
Lack of knowledge and lack of skills.
Tendency to focus on themselves rather than the team
STORMING
Willing to attempt the work but unable to do it as the skills are missing.
High conflict potential with team members.
Challenges ideas
NORMING
Unwillingness returns, possibly due to lack of self-confidence in newly
acquired skills, but they are able to do the work.
Focus tends to be on rules and procedures and processes
PERFORMING
Willing and able to do the work and to act as an effective team.
Focus changes to delivery of the objectives
ADJOURNING
Group disengages.
Anxiety about termination and separation, sadness.
Feelings toward leader and group members

21. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
TUCKMAN’S MODEL: A GRAPH REPRESENTATION
FORMING
ADJOURNING
STORMING NORMING PERFORMING

22. BEFORE CONTINUING,
PLEASE REMEMBER THAT
A MODEL IS LIKE A MAP

23. A MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY IT
REPRESENTS, BUT, IF CORRECT, IT HAS A
SIMILAR STRUCTURE TO THE TERRITORY,
WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR ITS USEFULNESS.
Alfred Korzybski (1933)
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

24. IN THE SAME WAY A MODEL
IS A SIMPLIFICATION OF THE
COMPLEXITY OF REALITY

25. SOMETIME A MODEL IS AN
OVER-SIMPLIFICATION

26. SOMETIME A MODEL
IS SIMPLY WRONG

27. ALL MODELS ARE WRONG,
SOME ARE USEFUL
George Box
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

28. SAID THIS…

29. …LET ME INTRODUCE
ANOTHER MODEL

30. THE WHITE-FAIRHURST
TPR LIFECYCLE MODEL

31. IN 2007 ALASDAIR A. K. WHITE AND
JOHN FAIRHURST FORMULATED A
PERFORMANCE HYPOTHESIS BASED ON
SEVERAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES

32. ALL PERFORMANCE WILL
INITIALLY TREND TOWARDS
A STEADY STATE,
PARTICULARLY AFTER A
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE
UPLIFT, AND THAT STEADY
STATE WILL THEN DEVELOP
A DOWNWARD CURVE
LEADING TO A SIGNIFICANT
PERFORMANCE DECLINE
ALASDAIR WHITE

33. Taken from Alasdair White paper: “From Comfort Zone to Performance Management - Understanding
development and performance”

34. THE COMFORT ZONE IS A BEHAVIOURAL STATE
WITHIN WHICH A PERSON OPERATES
IN AN ANXIETY-NEUTRAL CONDITION, USING A
LIMITED SET OF BEHAVIOURS TO
DELIVER A STEADY LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE,
USUALLY WITHOUT A SENSE OF RISK
Alasdair White
From Comfort Zone to Performance Management
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

35. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
THE TPR MODEL
STAGE
BEHAVIOUR / CHARACTERISTICS OF
TEAM’S MEMBERS
TRANSFORMING
Unwilling/unable, defensive, fearful. Then willing/
unable but aggressive, argumentative, challenging.
Then unwilling/able, lack of self confidence.
PERFORMING Willing/able, works independently, confident
REFORMING
Disengaging, seeking new confort zone, needs new
goals

36. COLIN CARNALL STUDIED HOW PEOPLE
REACT WHEN THEY MANAGE CHANGE IN
ORGANIZATIONS: HE OBSERVED THAT, WHEN
PEOPLE ARE SUBJECTED TO ‘CHANGE’, THIS
HAS A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THEIR
SELF-ESTEEM. HE NOTED THAT “LINKED TO
THIS IMPACT ON SELF-ESTEEM
WILL BE AN IMPACT ON PERFORMANCE”

37. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
THE COPING CYCLE (CARNALL)
STAGE CHARACTERISTICS
DENIAL
When significant changes are first mooted the initial response may
be to deny the need for change. Increase in anxiety
DEFENCE
Defensive behaviours emerge. People try to force the new reality
into the old model that has allowed them to continue to perform in
the current comfort zone
DISCARDING
People discard and abandon the old ways of doing things and either
commit to new work methods or invent new ways of acting
ADAPTION
People expend significant levels of energy on finding ways of
making things work. They align themselves with what they have to
do.This boosts self-esteem
INTERNALISATION
People have adopted and adapted the new working methods and
made them their own
From Colin Carnall – Managing Change in Organizations

38. YET ANOTHER MODEL:
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
* FROM KEN BLANCHARD - ONE MINUTE MANAGER

39. EFFECTIVE TEAM
LEADERS ADJUST
THEIR STYLE TO
PROVIDE WHAT
THE GROUP CAN’T
PROVIDE FOR
ITSELF
Kenneth Blanchard - Builds High
Performing Teams

40. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP (II MODEL - KENNETH BLANCHARD)
S1
S2S3
S4
DIRECTING
COACHINGSUPPORTING
DELEGATING
SUPPORTIVE BEHAVIOUR
DIRECTIVE BEHAVIOUR
D1D2D3D4
DEVELOPMENT LEVEL
HIGH COMPETENCE
HIGH COMMITMENT
MODERATE TO HIGH COMPETENCE
VARIABLE COMMITMENT
LOW TO SOME COMPETENCE
LOW COMMITMENT
LOW COMPETENCE
HIGH COMMITMENT

41. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP
STAGE CHARACTERISTICS
DIRECTING
The leader provides specific direction and closely
monitors task accomplishment
COACHING
The leader continues to direct and closely monitor task
accomplishment but also explains decisions, solicits
suggestions and support progress
SUPPORTING
The leader facilitates and supports people’s efforts
toward task accomplishment and shares responsibility
for decision making with them
DELEGATING
The leader turns over responsibility for decision making
and problem solving to people
From Ken Blanchard – Leadership and the One Minute Manager

42. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
MERGING ALL THE MODELS TOGETHER
TUCKMAN’S
STAGES
TEAM
LEADERSHIP
STYLE
COPING
PHASES IN
MEMBERS
CONFORT
ZONES
PERFORMANCE
MODEL (TPR)
FORMING DIRECTING DENIAL
FIRST
PERFORMANCE
LEVEL
TRANSFORMINGSTORMING COACHING DEFENCE
NORMING SUPPORTING DISCARDING
PERFORMING DELEGATING ADAPTATION TRANSITION PERFORMING
ADJOURNING - INTERNALISATION
SECOND
PERFORMANCE
LEVEL
REFORMING

43. HOW TO REDUCE THE
TRANSFORMING
DURATION?

44. FIRST: KEEP YOUR
TEAM SMALL

45. TEAMS SHOULD BE NO
LARGER THAN TWO PIZZAS
CAN FEED
Jeff Bezos
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

46. IN THE WEST, TEAMS FUNCTION BETTER IF AND
ONLY IF THEY ARE SMALL AND CONSIST OF
DIVERSE, SPECIALISED PEOPLE. THIS MAKES
SENSE, BECAUSE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
CAN BE TRACED BACK TO EACH SPECIALIST.
Rolf Dobelli
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

47. MOST ORGANISATIONS
INTRINSICALLY PREFER
INDIVIDUAL OVER TEAM
ACCOUNTABILITY
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
J. Katzenbach - D. Smith

48. SOCIAL LOAFING IS A
RATIONAL BEHAVIOUR: WHY
INVEST ALL OF YOUR ENERGY
WHEN HALF WILL DO -
ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS
LITTLE SHORT-CUT GOES
UNNOTICED?
…
WHEN PEOPLE WORK
TOGETHER, INDIVIDUAL
PERFORMANCES DECREASE.
Rolf Dobelli- The art of thinking
clearly

49. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
NUMBER OF LINKS THAT NEEDS TO BE MANAGED AMONG MEMBERS
1
3
6
10
N(N-1) / 2

50. EVERY STEEP JUMP IN LINKS ALSO
PRODUCES A STEEP JUMP IN THE POTENTIAL
FOR MISMANAGEMENT, MISINTERPRETATION,
AND MISCOMMUNICATION.
Janet Choi
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

51. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
HOW SMALL IS SMALL?
▸The magical maximum team size was heralded at 7±2
▸Someone now says it is 5±2
▸Team should have an odd number of members. This prevents
ties and improves the odds of making a correct decision. Even-
numbered groups can make decisions, but the decision-making
can take more time
http://sheilamargolis.com/2011/01/24/what-is-the-optimal-group-size-for-decision-making/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-harness-science-best-team-size-georg-fasching

52. SECOND: FORM
YOUR TEAM ASAP

53. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
REDUCE DISTANCE BETWEEN MEMBERS
▸Before starting: Boot camp
▸Build from day 1 personal relationships
▸ Personal histories exercise: life stories and
interesting backgrounds
▸ Experiential team exercises:
▸ outdoor activities
▸ escape rooms
▸“Working agreements”
▸On the way:
▸ 360-degree feedback
▸ Personality and behavioural profiles

54. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
ESTABLISH WORKING AGREEMENTS ASAP (TEAM NORMS)
▸Guidelines developed by the team as to how they must work
together to create a positive, productive process
▸Working agreements describe positive behaviours that often are
not automatically demonstrated in team process
▸Working agreements should be:
▸limited in number
▸important to the team
▸fully supported by each member
▸reminded to members when they are broken
▸Working agreements should be posted on a board for easy
reference through the team process
https://www.scrumalliance.org/community/articles/2015/march/how-to-create-agile-team-working-agreements

55. THEN: KEEP YOUR TEAM
STABLE AND "SAFE"

56. ADDING
MANPOWER TO A
LATE SOFTWARE
PROJECT MAKES
IT LATER.
Fred Brooks - The Mythical
Man-Month

57. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
CHANGING TEAM’S MEMBERS IMPACTS SCOPE
Scope
Scope
Cost
Time Cost
Waterfall Agile
Time
Fixed
Variable
plan driven
value & vision
driven

58. A DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
DOESN’T OPERATE IN A
VACUUM; IT OPERATES
WITHIN A LARGER
ORGANISATIONAL
ENVIRONMENT. WHEN THE
WIDER ORGANISATION
WITHHOLDS RECOGNITION,
RESOURCES, OR SUPPORT,
DEVELOPMENT TEAM WILL
FEEL ISOLATED AND
ABANDONED - NOT AN
ATMOSPHERE THAT MAKES
FOR EFFECTIVE WORK.
Jim Highsmith - Agile Project
Management

59. GET YOUR TEAM
TO PERFORM

61. CHECK AND ACT
(INSPECT AND ADAPT)

62. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
WHAT TO OBSERVE IN GROUPS
▸Communication and participation
▸Decision making
▸Conflicts
▸Leadership
▸Goals
▸Roles and behaviours
▸Group norms
▸Problem solving
▸Climate / Tone
Kenneth Blanchard

63. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
WHAT TO OBSERVE IN GROUPS
▸Communication and participation
▸Decision making
▸Conflicts
▸Leadership
▸Goals
▸Roles and behaviours
▸Group norms
▸Problem solving
▸Climate / Tone

64. OBSERVE ROLES /
BEHAVIOURS

65. NO SHARP DISTINCTION CAN
BE MADE BETWEEN
LEADERSHIP AND
MEMBERSHIP FUNCTIONS,
BETWEEN LEADER AND
MEMBER ROLES. GROUPS
MAY OPERATE WITH VARIOUS
DEGREES OF DIFFUSION
OF “LEADERSHIP” FUNCTIONS
AMONG GROUP MEMBERS OR
OF CONCENTRATION OF SUCH
FUNCTIONS IN ONE MEMBER
OR A FEW MEMBERS.
Kenneth Benne - Paul Sheats -
Functional Roles of Group Members

66. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
26 ROLES/BEHAVIOURS (KENNETH BENNE - PAUL SHEATS)
TASK ROLESSOCIAL ROLES
SELF-ORIENTED
ROLES
AGGRESSOR
BLOCKER
RECOGNITION SEEKER
DOMINATOR
DESERTER
PLAYBOY
ENCOURAGER
HARMONISER
GATEKEEPER
TENSION RELIEVER
CONCILIATOR
FEELING EXPRESSER
FOLLOWER
INITIATOR
INFORMATION SEEKER
INFORMATION GIVER
ORIENTERER
OPINION SEEKER
OPINION GIVER
ELABORATOR
COORDINATOR
DIAGNOSTICIAN
ENERGIZER
PROCEDURE DEVELOPER
SECRETARY
EVALUATOR

67. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
6 (+1) SELF-ORIENTED (DESTRUCTIVE) ROLES/BEHAVIOURS
AGGRESSOR
The aggressor criticizes everything said within the team environment. This individual has the
ability to block the introduction of new ideas and concepts by minimizing and deflating the
status of other team members and creating a sense of intimidation.
BLOCKER
The blocker is a dominant personality who automatically rejects the views and perspectives of
others out of hand. This individual blocks the team’s ability to brainstorm and discuss the
merits of new concepts and ideas raise.
DESERTER
The deserter holds back his or her personal participation and refuses to become active within
the team environment. This individual focuses the team on his or her immature behavior and
attempts to resolve the conflict and unrest it creates, which effectively limits the team’s ability to
make progress on problems and assigned projects.
RECOGNITION
SEEKER
The recognition seeker looks for personal attention and in so doing monopolizes the discussion
by continually asserting his or her personal ideas, suggestions and viewpoints. The recognition
seeker is also attempting to win the team over to his or her ideas and opinions.
PLAYBOY
The playboy displays a lack of involvement in the group through inappropriate humor, horseplay
or cynicism.
DOMINATOR
The dominator displays threatening and bullying behavior within the team setting. This
individual uses intimidating and minimizing behavior in an attempt to take over the team and
control all discussions.
DEVIL’S
ADVOCATE
While the devil’s advocate in the sense of introducing different viewpoints into the team
discussion is a positive team function, it can become a negative role when used to block team
progress or consensus. In this regard, the devil’s advocate is simply a naysayer that refuses to
allow the team to move forward.

68. PERSONAL
EXERCISE

69. TRY TO REMEMBER YOUR
ROLE(S)/BEHAVIOUR(S)
DURING YOUR LAST MEETING

70. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
WHAT TO OBSERVE IN GROUPS
▸Communication and participation
▸Decision making
▸Conflicts
▸Leadership
▸Goals
▸Roles and behaviours
▸Group norms
▸Problem solving
▸Climate / Tone

71. MANAGE
CONFLICTS

72. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
CONFLICTS ARE INEVITABLE
▸Conflict between team members is a fact of life
▸Conflicts occur at all levels of interaction
▸Conflict is a critical event in the course of a relationship
▸Whether a relationship is healthy or unhealthy depends
not so much on the number of conflicts between
members, but on how the conflicts are managed and
resolved
▸We should recognise which is the level of conflicts in our
team

73. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
TEAM CONFLICT LEVELS (SPEED LEAS’S FRAMEWORK)
Level/Name CharacteristicsLanguage usedAtmosphere/Attitude
1
Problem to
solve
Team members
engage openly and
constructively
Open, fact based
Persons have different
opinion
2
Disagreement
Conversation
changes to make
room for self-
protection
Open to
interpretation,
guarded
Self protection becomes
important
3
Contest
Distorted language,
over generalisations,
real issues lost
Include personal
attacks
Discussion becomes
either/or and blaming
flourishes
4
Crusade
Becomes more
ideological
Ideological
The overall attitude is
righteous and punitive.
5
World War
Features full-on
combat
Little, non
existent
Persons must be
separated

74. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
TEAM CONFLICT LEVELS (SPEED LEAS’S FRAMEWORK)
Level/Name How to (try to) resolve the conflict
1
Problem to solve
‣Don’t take any immediate action to resolve the conflict
‣Construct a collaborative scenario and help to build consensus
around a decision that everyone can support
2
Disagreement
‣Don’t take any immediate action to resolve the conflict
‣Empower the relevant team’s member to solve the problem
‣Restore a sense of safety to the team
3
Contest
‣Don’t take any immediate action to resolve the conflict
‣Accommodate people’s different views
‣Compromise work, but don’t compromise team’s values
4
Crusade
‣Use diplomacy
‣De-escalate conflict
‣Use a facilitator / negotiator to convey messages between
different parties
5
World War
‣It’s unresolvable
‣Give people ways to exit from team
‣Separate opposing individuals to prevent further harm each
other

75. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
SIX CONFLICT MANAGEMENT STYLES (SPEED LEAS)
Style Behaviour
Persuading
‣Present both side
‣Present your favoured viewpoint last
‣Be for, not against
Compelling / Forcing
‣Increase your authority, both tacit and explicit
‣Use clear statements to get a clear response
‣Be able to bring sanctions to bear immediately upon non-compliance
with your demands
Avoiding / Ignoring /
Accomodating / Fleeing
‣Procrastinate!
‣Use when the cost of working a problem through is greater than the
value of having worked it through
‣Use when the conflict is on many fronts
‣Use when people need time or space to cool down
Collaborating
‣Win-win: involve the others
‣Jointly acknowledge there is a problem
‣Jointly agree on how deal with the problem
‣Jointly invent options for mutual gain and then jointly choose an
option
Negotiating /
Bargaining
‣Sorta-win-sorta-lose: try to obtain as much you can
‣Parties involved must share some information
‣Stress the desirability of agreement
‣Present positive points before the other does
Supporting
‣The other owns the problem
‣Make short and neutral statements
‣Reflect the feeling content of a person’s words or actions
‣Help the other to feel strong and confident that he can deal with the
conflict

76. ANOTHER MODEL FOR
OBSERVING MEMBERS'
BEHAVIOUR IN CONFLICTS

77. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT (THOMAS - KILMANN INSTRUMENT OR TKI)
COMPETING COLLABORATING
COMPROMISING
AVOIDING ACCOMODATINGASSERTIVENESS
Focus on my needs
Impersonal
complier
Tough Battler
Friendly Helper
Problem Solver
Manoeuvring Conciliator
I’m OK,
you are not OK
I’m OK,
you are OK
I’m not OK,
you are not OK
I’m not OK,
you are OK
COOPERATIVENESS Focus on others’ needs
www.slideshare.net/bhaskardiwakar/conflict-management-11475906
* Similar tool: Blake and Mouton’s Conflict Grid

78. ARE BAD PERFORMANCES
ALWAYS A PROBLEM OF
CONFLICTS?

79. DYSFUNCTIONAL
TEAM MANAGEMENT

80. ABSENCE OF TRUST
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM
FEAR OF CONFLICT
LACK OF COMMITMENT
AVOIDANCE OF
ACCOUNTABILITY
INATTENTION
TO RESULTS
Patrick Lencioni

81. TRUST LIES AT THE
HEART OF A
FUNCTIONING,
COHESIVE TEAM.
WITHOUT IT,
TEAMWORK IS ALL
BUT IMPOSSIBLE.
Patrick Lencioni - The five
dysfunctions of a team

82. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
5 DYSFUNCTIONS…
Dysfunction Characteristics
Absence of trust
‣Hesitate to ask for help or provide constructive feedback
‣Hesitate to offer help outside their own areas of responsibility
‣Waste time and energy managing their behaviors for effect
‣Dread meetings and find reasons o avoid spending time together
Fear of conflict
‣
Have boring meetings
‣
Create environments where back-channel politics and personal attacks thrive
‣
Ignore controversial topics that are critical to team success
‣
Waste time and energy with posturing and interpersonal his management
Lack of commitment
‣
Creates ambiguity among the team about direction and priorities
‣
Watches windows of opportunity close due to excessive analysis and unnecessary
delay
‣
Revisits discussions and decisions again and again
‣
Encourages second-guessing among team membersAvoidance of
accountability
‣Creates resentment among team members who have different standards of
performance
‣Misses deadlines and key deliverables
‣Places an undue burden on the team leader as the sole source of discipline
Inattention to results
‣
Stagnates/fails to grow
‣
Rarely defeats competitors
‣
Loses achievement-oriented employees
‣
Encourages team members to focus on their own careers and individual goals
Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

83. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
…AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM…
Dysfunction How to deal with
Absence of trust
‣Personal Histories Exercise and Personality and Behavioral Preference Profiles
‣360-Degree Feedback
‣Experiential Team Exercises
‣Demonstration of vulnerability first by leader
Fear of conflict
‣
Mining for conflict
‣
Real-Time Permission
‣
Demonstration of restraint by leader when people engage in conflict
Lack of
commitment
‣
Cascading Messaging
‣
Contingency and Worst-case scenario analysis
‣
Low-risk exposure therapy
‣
Ability of leader to not place too high of a premium on consensus or certainty
Avoidance of
accountability
‣Publication of goals and standards
‣Simple and regular progress reviews
‣Team rewards
‣Ability of leader to allow the team to serve as the first accountability mechanism
Inattention to
results
‣Public declaration of results
‣Results-Based rewards
‣Setting the tone for a focus on results from the leader
Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

84. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
…AND WHEN TEAM WORKS WELL
Dysfunction Team’s members
Absence of trust
‣
Admit weaknesses and mistakes
‣
Accept questions and input about their areas of responsibility
‣
Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative conclusion.
‣
Take risks in offering feedback and assistance
‣
Offer and accept apologies without hesitation
‣
Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to work as a group
Fear of conflict
‣
Have lively, interesting meetings
‣
Extract and exploit the ideas of all team members
‣
Minimize politics
‣
Put critical topics on the table for discussion
Lack of commitment
‣
Creates clarity around direction and priorities
‣
Aligns the entire team around common objectives
‣
Develops an ability to learn from mistakes
‣
Moves forward without hesitation
Avoidance of
accountability
‣
Ensures that poor performers feel pressure to improve
‣
Identifies potential problems quickly by questioning one another’s approaches without hesitation
‣
Establishes respect among team members who are held to the same high standards
‣
Avoids excessive bureaucracy around performance management and corrective action
Inattention to results
‣
Retains achievement-oriented employees
‣
Minimizes individualistic behavior
‣
Enjoys success and suffers failure acutely
‣
Benefits from individuals who subjugate their own goals/interests for the good of the team
‣
Avoids distractions
Patrick Lencioni, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

85. WHAT IS TRUST?

86. GROUP EXERCISE

87. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
TRUST FALL EXERCISE

88. THE POWERFUL
EFFECT OF TRUST IS
THAT IT ENABLES
COOPERATIVE
BEHAVIOUR WITHOUT
COSTLY AND
CUMBERSOME
MONITORING AND
CONTRACTING.
Robert F. Hurley - The
Decision to Trust

89. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
THE DISTRUST-TRUST CONTINUUM
Taken from The Decision to Trust - Robert F. Hurley
Distrust TrustNeutral
Suspicion Zone
‣Caution
‣Reluctance to
cooperate
‣Marginal
commitment
‣Anxiety
‣Cooperation
‣Commitment
‣Flourishing
‣Confort

90. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
DECISION TO TRUST
From Robert F. Hurley - The Decision to Trust
Decision to trust
Trust B in matter X Distrust B in matter X
Broken Affirmed End relationshipContinue with Caution
Situational factors
Repair Not repair Repair Not repair

91. PERSONAL
EXERCISE

92. USE “5 WHYs” METHOD FOR
UNDERSTANDING WHY YOU
PROFESSIONALLY TRUST IN SOMEONE IN
YOUR CURRENT WORKING ENVIRONMENT

93. USE “5 WHYs” METHOD FOR
UNDERSTANDING WHY YOU
PROFESSIONALLY DISTRUST IN SOMEONE IN
YOUR CURRENT WORKING ENVIRONMENT

94. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
THE DECISION TO TRUST MODEL
Trust Factors
Risk Tolerance some people are risk takers others are cautious
Adjustment some people are optimists others are pessimists
Power some people have authority others suffer from it
Situational Factors
Security sometimes the stakes are high sometimes they’re low
Similarities some people are similar to each otherothers aren’t
Interests sometimes interests are alignedsometimes they aren’t
Benevolent Concern some are nice to us others… not so much
Capability some know what they’re doing others… not really
Predictability/Integritysome people deliver on commitmentothers… forget it
Communication some can communicate well some… —uhm
Taken from The Decision to Trust - Robert F. Hurley

95. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
WHAT TO OBSERVE IN GROUPS
▸Communication and participation
▸Decision making
▸Conflicts
▸Leadership
▸Goals
▸Roles and behaviours
▸Group norms
▸Problem solving
▸Climate / Tone

96. IT’S ALL ABOUT
DECISIONS

97. [HIGH PERFORMANCE TEAMS] ARE
CONSENSUS-DRIVEN, WITH FULL
DIVERGENCE AND THEN CONVERGENCE.
AND THEY LIVE IN A WORLD OF CONSTANT
CONSTRUCTIVE DISAGREEMENT.
Lyssa Adkins
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS

98. CREATE FULL
DIVERGENCE…

99. …USING
BRAINSTORMS?

100. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
SOME BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUES
▸Quiet writing (Brain writing)
▸Round Robin
▸Free-for-all
▸Role-storming
▸Stepladder technique
▸Crawford's Slip Writing Method

101. ..THEN QUICKLY
CONVERGE..

102. …USING SOME
TECHNIQUE FOR BETTER
DECISIONS

103. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
BE AWARE OF…
▸Group-thinking
▸HiPPO (Highest Paid Person’s Opinion)
▸Halo effect
▸Band wagon effect

104. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
.. BUT TRY TO USE PARTICIPATORY DECISION MODELS
▸Simple voting
▸Thumbs up/down/sideways
▸Fist-of-Five voting (one finger: I totally support this
decision; five fingers: stop!)
▸Jim Highsmith's Decision Gradient

105. IN CASE OF DOUBT:
USE SPIKES

106. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
WHAT IS A SPIKE?
▸It is a time-boxed experimental activity
▸Two types of spikes:
▸Technical spikes
▸Functional spikes
▸The purpose is to gain the knowledge necessary to reduce
the risk of a technical approach, better understand a
requirement, or increase the reliability of an estimate
▸The output is demonstrable. This helps build collective
ownership and shared responsibility for the key decisions
that are being taken
http://www.scaledagileframework.com/spikes/

107. CREATE THE RIGHT
TEAM SPACE

108. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
THE DREAM
▸Co-location
▸Face-to-face communications
▸Caves and common
▸Insulated space
▸Osmotic communication
▸Tacit knowledge
▸Low-tech, high-touch information radiators

109. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
THE REALITY
▸Teams are distributed
"More than 82% of the respondents had at least
some distributed teams practicing agile within
their organisations, up from 35% just three years
earlier“ (VersionOne, 10 Annual State of Agile
Report)
▸Large rooms accomodate multiple teams
▸High-tech digital tools

110. LIMIT YOUR
PERSONAL WIP

111. LIMIT "WORK IN PROGRESS" IS
ONE OF THE FIVE CORE
PROPERTIES OF THE KANBAN
METHOD
David Anderson
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
http://www.djaa.com/principles-kanban-method-0

112. PERSONAL
EXERCISE

113. MONOTASKING VS
MULTITASKING

114. MULTITASKING IS NOT ONLY DOING
(OR SIMULATING TO DO) MULTIPLE
TASKS AT THE SAME TIME

115. WE LIVE IN A WORLD
OF INTERRUPTIONS

116. RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA,
IRVINE, FOUND AFTER CAREFUL OBSERVATION THAT THE
TYPICAL OFFICE WORKER IS INTERRUPTED OR SWITCHES
TASKS, ON AVERAGE, EVERY THREE MINUTES AND FIVE
SECONDS. AND IT CAN TAKE 23 MINUTES AND 15
SECONDS JUST TO GET BACK TO WHERE THEY LEFT OFF.
Brigid Schulte
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/inspired-life/wp/2015/06/01/interruptions-at-work-can-cost-you-up-to-6-hours-a-day-heres-how-to-avoid-them/

117. INTERRUPTIONS COME
FROM EVERYWHERE

120. MY HUMBLE SUGGESTION IS TO USE
A PERSONAL TIME MANAGEMENT
TECHNIQUE BUT AT THE TEAM LEVEL

121. THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
PUT THE “POMODORO TECHNIQUE” IN YOUR WORK AGREEMENTS
▸The traditional Pomodoro ("chunk of work) is 30 minutes long: 25 minutes
of work plus a 5-minute break.
▸A Pomodoro can’t be interrupted; it marks 25 minutes of pure work. A
Pomodoro can’t be split up; there is no such thing as half of a Pomodoro
or a quarter of a Pomodoro. The atomic unit of time is a Pomodoro. (Rule:
A Pomodoro Is indivisible.)
▸Every four Pomodoros, stop the activity you’re working on and take a
longer break, from 15 to 30 minutes.
▸The length of a Pomodoro, 25 minutes, seems short enough to make it
possible to resist being distracted by various kinds of interruptions.
Interruptions can become a real problem. You need minimising
unhandled interruptions and progressively increasing the number of
Pomodoros that can be accomplished consistently without interruptions.
http://caps.ucsd.edu/Downloads/tx_forms/koch/pomodoro_handouts/ThePomodoroTechnique_v1-3.pdf
Francesco Cirillo

122. IT’S TIME FOR ADJOURNING.
THANKS FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!
Massimo Sarti
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS
https://uk.linkedin.com/in/sartimassimo

123. Retrospective: feedbacks? suggestions?
THE WISDOM OF TEAMS