Coaching Teams Through Change

@rachelcdavies @unrulymedia

10 YEARS COACHING DEVELOPERS

Have you ever tried to introduce changes at

work?

piece OF CAKE?

OR DID YOU HIT A FEW OBSTACLES?

CAN WE MAKE CHANGE EASY?

Hey guys, I just heard about XEBRA at XSconf! It’s cool!

WTF? How come Bob went

to XSconf? We’re busy!

Take #1

Why does no one listen to me? What’s wrong with them?

Is there a problem with the people in his team? Or Bob’s approach?!

What went wrong?

Hey guys, I just heard about XEBRA at XSconf! It’s cool!

Wow Bob’s amazing. Let’s get started right away!!!

Are we really ready for this?!

Put Yourself in Their Shoes

Pick your words carefully ..

WHAT INTERESTS THEM?

Hey guys, how’s it been going? Interested in a

lunchtime session about XEBRA?

I think it could help with our build times.

Bob! He can help with this live issue. XEBRA

sounds interesting but later.

Take #2

A few people showed up for my session about blah-de-blah but no one’s using it yet. I give up…

Hi. Is this the XX User Group? I’ve

been trying to use it at work but run into some issues

Oh really? That sounds

interesting. Tell us more..

Take #3

Reasons People Resist Change

How do I do that?

Are we allowed to do that?

Do we have time? What if it goes wrong?

Not my idea.

Might be hard work.

Dig Deeper

START BY LISTENING

Why listen?

•  Gather data •  Show respect •  Learn feelings/

opinions •  Encourage

REALLY listen

•  Be quiet •  Look at the person •  Remove distractions •  Encourage to continue •  Check you understand

Hang on! Ben, you’ve worked here for a few years. What’s your thoughts on speeding up the

build?

Well, about 6 months ago, we got

started on build automation but

then management told us it wasn’t a priority. Want me to dig out our setup?

Take #4

Invest in Your Idea

Maybe I need to work on this a bit more ..

Be an Example

ThINGS You Can Do

•  Learn more •  Practice •  Share with others •  Look for opportunities to try it out •  What else… ?

APPLY PRODUCT THINKING

Feasible Valuable

Usable

No Time!

Permission to Try

the right tools?

What’s in it for Me?

Share the Vision

Involve Others

!  Ask people to help solve problems and come up with their own solutions.

!  Build up their role in the team, encouraging them to take more responsibility

!  Invite them to showcase the work.

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Encourage experiments

Share results

BUILDING TEAM AWARENESS

RETROSPECTIVES

Team Agreements

MAKE IT VISIBLE

EXAMPLES

TECH ACADEMY

CROSS-TEAM PAIRING ON INFRASTRUCTURE

HOT IDEAS

Practical

Force Field Analysis

Desired  change  from  current  state  

Make Your Plan

•  Make a plan for how you will approach bringing ideas back from AgileIsland to your team. – What barriers might you face? – What actions will you take to invest in your

idea?

– How will you build interest and agreement?

THANK YOU www.slideshare.net/

RachelDavies

Further Reading •  “Agile Coaching” by Rachel Davies & Liz Sedley •  “Resistance as a Resource” by Dale Emery

http://dhemery.com/articles/resistance_as_a_resource/ •  Virginia Satir talks about Status Quo

http://web.me.com/sbuckbee1/Satirs_Process_of_Change/Status_Quo.html •  “The Trusted Advisor” by David Maister •  “Managing Transitions” by William Bridges •  “Fearless Change” by Linda Rising and Mary Lynn Manns •  “Leading Teams” by Richard Hackman •  “Influence” by Robert Cialdini •  “Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive” by

Goldstein, Martin, Cialdini •  “Coaching for Performance” by John Whitmore