Category: Agile Coaching Lessons

AGILE COACHING LESSONS

In a previous lesson, I explained that self organization is in fact “self management.”

Self-management is “authority distribution” by mutual consent.

What is “authority distribution?”

 

 

A better question might be, “what is authority?”

 

Authority

Authority is the “right to do work.” The term “work” in this context includes the very important work of making decisions that people are subject to, such as the people who populate a team.

You may want to read the previous paragraph again…slowly.

 

Let’s digress  for a moment, and add this related definition:

Power is the exercise of authority. (NOTE: This series of essays on Agile coaching refers to these concise definitions frequently.)

For now, let’s bookmark those two definitions… and sum up what we know so far…

• Self-organization IS self-management.
• Self-management IS authority-distribution.

Therefore:

• At the root of self-organization is the “distribution of the right-to-do-work.”

There is a quite a bit more to it than that, however:

1. First, the distribution of authority (the distribution of the right-to-do-work) is by consent of everyone who is effected. If the distribution is not consent-based, there is at least some form of tyranny present.
2. Second, the distribution of authority (the distribution of the right-to-do-work) is dynamic, and very sensitive to inputs & feedback from the environment. In a truly self-organizing system, the operative rule is that everything is subject to review all the time, in real time. This absolutely includes at all times how decisions are being made that affect the group-as-a-whole.

If this is beginning to sound like you better get busy studying authority, then I believe you are understanding this lesson series very well indeed.

Summarizing:

At the root of genuine and authentic self-organization in human social systems is the dynamic and ongoing distribution of authority by consent.

This fact has huge implications for how you might be able to effectively coach Agile teams.

Furthermore and more to the point, this fact implies you might encourage the use of periodic, enterprise-wide Open Space events in service to authentic and genuine org-wide transformation… (hint hint…)

 
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If you find value in these essays and find yourself curiously drawn to them, consider investigating OpenSpace Agility, and/or  following me on Twitter and/or joining the OpenSpace Agility group on Facebook

 

AGILE COACHING LESSONS

The facilitator is a servant, always serving the person or group who is authorizing them. In service to the group, it is essential that you make it clear exactly who you are working for, before you start facilitating a meeting.

You need to get explicit about where your authorization to facilitate is actually coming from. Announcing who the Convener actually is (the “meeting owner”) helps you to do your job, because people understand who (and what) you are serving. They understand your role.

Once you clarify your role and related authorization, you may proceed. You bring your tools to the facilitation: your experience, that set of juicy markers, the flip charts, and the other stuff you need.

You also bring your body.

Your body is always positioned somewhere in the room, and it is either sitting or standing. Somewhere. And, it is in a posture. It’s also dressed in clothing (presumably.)

Whether you care to realize it or not, you are continuously signaling something with your body, which includes your face. And your postures.

When facilitating meetings, be aware of your postures. This (strangely) includes some very little things, such as who or what you are looking at.

And for how long.

To be effective at facilitation, pay attention to the subtle effects your postures, positioning and gestures are having on the group as a whole.

Here are a couple of things to think about…

…the following forms & actions are authoritative in nature:

• Standing when the others are seated
• Documenting the goings-on (white board or flip chart or notes)
• Pointing your finger
• Sitting or standing deep in the room, facing the door
• Being dressed a little better than the ambient level of dress in the room

…so be very careful about how you use these non-verbal devices. Pay attention to the fact these devices are authoritative in nature. Avoid them when you want to “be background.” Use them when you want to “be foreground.” During the span of a typical meeting, you are typically oscillating between these two extremes.

When you use these devices, you are projecting authority. When you refrain from these non-verbal forms, you are refraining from projecting authority. Try to be very deliberate about both.

You can go much further with leveraging your non-verbals. But first, to make the most of these non-verbal tools, it is important to make sure the people in the room are completely comfortable with you moving about.

You want to be able to move about naturally so you can use positioning (later) to maximum effect. And so my guidance is to move around periodically, early on, so the folks get used to that. If you are working with a team, get them used to you moving about. After a while they will get used to it and “forget about it.” Thereafter, you can make the most of that freedom-of-movement, in service to the group’s process.

Here are some examples.

Say the group starts discussing something. And one person starts saying something specific that you quickly recognize as being really key to helping the group.  By simply positioning behind them (ideally a little to the right) you signal non-verbally that you are supporting (and indeed, are authorizing) that conversation. The theory here is that people use signals and signs to make sense of things. To make meaning.

Here is another example. If a member of the group is in the middle of executing the “endless monologue” pattern as others are rolling their eyes, use your body to shift the discussion in a subtle manner. Simply move into the general area of the speaker and if they do not slow down, eventually move into their personal space in very small increments until they do.

 

Once you become aware that people are ascribing meaning to your non-verbals, and that you can use your body as a facilitation asset, you can experiment with the use of your body to become a fantastically effective facilitator.

 

The facilitator is a servant, always serving the person or group who is authorizing them.

 

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AGILE COACHING LESSONS

Self organization is self management.

This means the reverse is true: “self management is self organization.”

What is management?

To manage is to direct and control. Inside software development teams, management includes directing and controlling decisions that effect the the team. Let’s set aside that important point for now. For now, let’s discuss the nature of management as it pertains to the software teams you are advising…

…Management is a function, not a role. Repeat: management is a function performed by the team, not performed a single person in a role. Not a person. Not a “manager-person.”

Management is a function, and an essential one. IT’S NOT GOING AWAY. Management is actually more alive then ever before. The difference, for purely Agile teams, is that management is an essential function, rather than an essential role.

So: when you hear “self organization”, replace that with “self management.”

 

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AGILE COACHING LESSONS

If you think people are not paying attention to how you move, where you position, where you sit, where you are looking, where you are standing, etc….you are missing some very fundamental information that can help you be much more effective. Your choices of dress, postures, positioning and seating choices during meeting facilitation has everything to do with how you are signaling… in authority terms.

As it turns out, most people are quite adept at picking up signals without thinking about it. Especially signals about authorization.

And in Agile coaching, authority dynamics are the name of the game.

In the previous lesson I explained to you that must deflect any and all projections of authority from the teams you are advising.

Presumably you understand that. The question now is: how are you going to signal that you are not an authority figure?

Here is a very specific way you can signal a complete lack of authority: sit as close to the door as possible, with your back to the door. In all cases, avoid the head of table. Avoid seats that are deep in the room, facing the door. Why avoid these seats?

First, do so because that is where authority sits. And you are not authority in this organization. If you play the authority-figure, you are killing repeat KILLING any chance the team has to self-organize. (This is explained in the next lesson.)

Second, if you occupy any of those seats, you miss a wonderful chance to see who chooses to occupy them. By leaving them empty, you can see what develops. You can see who considers themselves to be authority in this social space.

Third, and most importantly, you can now easily get eye contact with the authority in the room. You are after all working for them- why wouldn’t you want to check in frequently with some eye contact?

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If you find value in these essays and find yourself curiously drawn to them, consider investigating OpenSpace Agility, and/or  following me on Twitter and/or joining the OpenSpace Agility group on Facebook

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AGILE COACHING LESSONS

If you are an Agile coach, it is essential that you signal to anyone and everyone (inside the client org) that you have no authority. Period. Teams automatically project authority on you, and it is essential that you not only refuse to accept it, but also that you immediately reflect it back to the team that is offering it to you.

 

For this to work. two things must be true:

 

 

• Formally authorized authority figures in the org must be willing to grant authority to teams to make decisions within clearly defined guardrails. They must signal this continuously. And mean it.
• You yourself must be able to resist any and all attempts by the team to draft you into the role of authority-figure. Otherwise you have “no shot” at encouraging them to self-organize, which is in essence the act of self-management.

So:

• Formally authorized leaders must signal that teams are free to make real decisions within well defined “guardrails”.
• You yourself must resist being attracted to any and all projections of authority by the team.

Do you see why?

 

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If you find value in these essays and find yourself curiously drawn to them, consider investigating OpenSpace Agility, and/or  following me on Twitter and/or joining the OpenSpace Agility group on Facebook