Team safety using Deep Democracy presented at 1st Conference Melbourne March 2017. In 2015 Google published a list of the traits that its most effective teams share, with the key one being “psychological safety.” Many organisations, whether they are going through agile transformation, or are agile by design, are looking to create and maintain an environment where self organising teams thrive. If psychological safety is one of the key ingredients to this, what does safety look and feel like? How do we know what level of safety we have in a team? And how can we increase levels of safety? The Lewis Method of Deep Democracy offers a road map for teams to achieve safety so that they thrive. This talk shares the key tools to get groups on this road including the Resistance Line, Check-In and 4 Steps so that by the end of the talk you’ll walkaway with tools you can play with.

1. Team safety using
Deep Democracy
Andrea Blundell and Pru Gell

2. Team safety using
Deep Democracy
Andrea Blundell and Pru Gell

3. Acknowledgement of county

4. Pru
Gell
My why:
Lit up by people and
groups living their
potential, to enable
positive change
Why I’m talking:
● Facilitator
● Mediator
● Educator
● Deep Democracy
Coach
My why:
Inspired by people and
groups who imagine a
new future and move
towards it
Why I’m talking:
● Agile Coach
● Facilitator
Andrea
Blundell

5. Team safety using
Deep Democracy
1) What is team safety and why it is important?
2) Diagnosing safety in our teams?
3) Tools to increase team safety?

6. 4) If there’s a part of you that
does not want to be here:
a) What part of you is that?
i.e. part of you that has a pressing
deadline to meet or…
b) What would it take you to
come along and be here?
1) How are you
feeling at this point
in your day?
2) What are your
hopes for this session
3) Do you want
to be at this
session?
Is there anything that
makes you want to be
somewhere else?
ACTIVITY

7. The Lewis Method of
Deep Democracy

8. Why do a Check-in?
1. Recognised as humans rather than
mere cogs in a workplace,
humaness welcomed
2. Everyone given opportunity to talk
3. Equalise rank
4. Makes what’s unconscious,
conscious … and more

9. CONSCIOUS
UNCONSCIOUS
What some people in
the group are aware of
but others are not
What everyone in the
group are aware of…
Group’s Wisdom & Potential

10. What is Deep Democracy?

11. NEW WAYS
OF WORKING

12. UK
Denmark
France
USA
Israel
India
Australia
Lebanon
Kenya
Belgium
South Africa
Italy
Sweden
Ireland
Netherlands
New Zealand
Palestine
Zimbabwe
Turkey
Norway
Germany
Canada
Iraq
Russia

13. What is team safety and
why it is important?

14. ACTIVITY
Identify/remember a time when you were in a
meeting and you wanted to say something but
felt a bit hesitant, vulnerable, uncomfortable
to say something. Maybe you had a view that
was different to the other ones being shared.
1) When have you
experienced this?
2) What was happening in the
room that didn’t make you feel
comfortable or safe to speak?
Share with someone near by

15. Psychological Safety?
“Psychological safety is a
shared belief that the
team is safe for
interpersonal risk taking”

16. Google’s Project Aristotle
Psychological Safety = #1 trait
“Team members feel safe to take risks and be
vulnerable in front of each other”
• Conversational turn taking
• Empathy
• Bring real person to work

17. Detection of
threat in the
environment
• Calm
• Embodied
• Present
• Open
• Curious
• Relaxed, yet alert
• Competent
Safety
(Social
Engagement and
Communication)
Danger
(Fight/ Flight
mode)
• Increased heart rate
• Reactive
• Increased respiration
• Worry/ panic/ anxiety
• Anger/ Rage
Life Threat
(Freeze/
Collapse/ Shut
down)
• Low heart rate
• Low energy
• Disconnection
• ‘Spacey’
• Under responsive
Porges, S.W. (2004). Neuroception: A subconscious
system for detecting threats and safety.

18. Diagnosing safety in our teams?

19. Resistance Line
COVERT OVERT
Inefficient & Ineffective
Sarcastic Jokes Gossip Disruption Strike
Excuses
Poor
Communication/
Breakdown
Go Slow War/
Withdrawal

20. QUESTIONS
1) Have you felt
yourself using these
kinds of behaviours?
2) What was
going on that led
you to use them?
COVERT OVERT
Inefficient & Ineffective
Sarcastic Jokes Gossip Disruption Strike
Excuses
Poor
Communication/
Breakdown
Go Slow War/
Withdrawal

21. Tools to increase team
safety?

22. Increase safety using
Deep Democracy by
Let people feel that it’s safe to express their views
Have people know that their views are heard
Factor in their views
Benefits:
1. People stay off or at least reduce time on the Resistance Line
2. Extra wisdom/insights added into decisions
Good for business and humans within

23. Well how to
do that?
How can we increase
levels of safety?

24. List of tools
1.Check-in
2.Four Steps

25. Tool 1. Check-in
1. Recognised as humans
2. Everyone given opportunity to talk
3. Equalise rank
4. Make what’s unconscious, conscious
More reasons for why to do it …
• enables you to ‘read’ the group and gain insight into
the dynamics that will influence the meeting
• allows insight into the Resistance Line
• set a relevant agenda

26. Tool 2. 4 steps
1. Gain all the views
2. Make it safe to say “NO”
3. Spread the ”NO”
4. Ask the Question:
What do you need to go along?

27. Step 1: Gain all the views
1. With what you say
2. Set tone with how you talk
3. Speak from the ‘I’. Why?
• 2nd/3rd person generalities slow, no
decisions made
• Accountability & responsibility made
when people speak from the ‘I’

28. Step 2: Make it safe to say the ‘no’
How to do?
• Be aware of tone and ensure
address all sides equally.
• Bring/invite in no view if it’s
not coming in

29. Step 3: Spread the ‘no’
Ask “Anyone else feel
a little bit like this?”
Recognise person with
‘no’ = Spokesperson for
all not expressing their
views.

30. Step 4: What would it take you
to come along?

31. Take aways

32. Team safety using
Deep Democracy
1. What is team safety and why it is important?
2. Diagnosing safety in our teams?
3. Tools to increase team safety?

33. From here
practical first steps
• Resistance Line
• Check-in
• Spread the ‘no’

35. Learn more about
Deep Democracy
Prugell@gmail.com
Blundellandrea@gmail.com
Myrna Lewis’s book ‘5 steps to decisions that last’
www.deep-democracy.net
or using Deep Democracy
in agile environments