1. Communication Understanding
Kata
Deliberate Practices for Shared
Andrew Annett
Susan Johnston

2. PLEASE NOTE
SLIDES ≠ PRESENTATION
• These slides are designed to be viewed in
conjunction with a human being talking
and interacting with you.
• They may not make much sense without
that

3. Individuals and
INTERACTIONS
over
processes and
tools
Agile Manifesto

4. Session objectives
Introduce four Communication Kata
Show you how they work
Give you a chance to practise

5. Who are we?
Andrew Annett
•
•
•
•
•
•
Agile via: Project Management
Communication via: Coaching
Education: Poli Sci + Business
Mission: Improve outcomes with
feedback-driven methods
Last project: Improve a public
sector agency
Current project: Improve a
software product organization
Susan Johnston
•
•
•
•
•
•
Agile via: Professional Coaching
Communication via: Journalism
Education: Psych + Business
Mission: Help you change the
world, one conversation at a time
Last project: Wrote a book
Current project: Launch
a coach school

6. Please hold
your
questions
until you
have one!

7. Ready
Introduction
Kata 1
Kata 2
Kata 3
Kata 4
Wrap
Doing
Done

8. Ready
Doing
Introduction
Kata 1
Kata 2
Kata 3
Kata 4
Wrap
Done

9. It’s about the Audience!

10. Conscious Communication

11. Brooks’ Law
n * (n-1)
2
2 nodes
5 nodes
12 nodes
1 connection
10 connections
66 connections

12. So What’s a Kata?
A structured routine
that makes
skills and mindset
teachable

13. Ready
Doing
Done
Introduction
Kata 1
Kata 2
Kata 3
Kata 4
Wrap

14. KATA 1
SCARF
Don’t worry.
We’ll explain the acronym
in a minute or two.

15. KATA 1
Your brain is
not your
friend

16. KATA 1
SCARF
S - Status
C - Certainty
A - Autonomy
R - Relatedness
F - Fairness

17. KATA 1
EXERCISE
SCARF POKER
SCARF cards – one set per person
Statement cards – one set per table
Someone reads a statement to group
Group members show the appropriate SCARF letter
Discussion:
• Why you selected that element of SCARF
• If statement violates SCARF, how you’d re-word it

18. Ready
Doing
Done
Introduction
Kata 1
Kata 2
Kata 3
Kata 4
Wrap

19. KATA 2
Intention Check
1. Identify your own intention
2. Share your intention
3. Ask about others’ intentions

20. Get curious
not furious

21. KATA 2
EXERCISE
• You are on a project where the product
owner isn’t sharing information your
team needs to do its job.
• As the scrummaster, you need the info.
• You want to build a good relationship
with this PO.
1. Check your intention
2. Share your intention
3. Probe for his intention

22. Ready
Doing
Done
Introduction
Kata 1
Kata 2
Kata 3
Kata 4
Wrap

23. KATA 3
Myth or
story
Key details
altered
Personal
spin
Generally
agreed
Ladder of
Misunderstanding

24. KATA 3
WIDENING GAP IN UNDERSTANDING
FACTS

25. KATA 3
EXERCISE
Place each statement where you think it belongs on the Ladder
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
The report is late.
You don’t respect my need for information on a timely basis.
The new system requires extra steps.
We have a difference of opinion.
You have a hidden agenda.
Every time I give you something to do, you let me down.
Nobody around here cares what users think.
I’m always last in line. Nobody respects my needs.
Only full time employees count around here.
You always disagree with me.
You’re not listening to me.
Jo put her vacation request in early.
Someone should have told me the rules about vacations.
Long term employees get preferential treatment.

26. Ready
Doing
Done
Introduction
Kata 1
Kata 2
Kata 3
Kata 4
Wrap

28. KATA 4
Empathy Map
What does the person
THINK + FEEL?
What does the person
HEAR?
What does the person
SAY + DO?
What does the person
SEE?

29. KATA 4
EXERCISE
• Think of someone with whom your
conversations are not successful
• Imagine yourself in their context
• Complete the sensory information on
the empathy map
• Insights?
• How will that change your
communication?

30. KATA 4
EXERCISE
• Mona has been a project manager for
20 years
• She’s a very senior manager and is at
a pivotal point in her career
• Even though development teams are
adopting agile practices, she insists on
traditional plans, schedules and status
reports.
• The pain this causes is confusion
about organizational direction – are we
agile or not?

31. Ready
Doing
Done
Introduction
Kata 1
Kata 2
Kata 3
Kata 4
Wrap

32. The Communication Kata
1. SCARF
2. Share Your Intention
3. Ladder of Misunderstanding
4. Empathy Map

33. Why Practise?
So we will
communicate
consciously
Practise and
repeat
a new kata
Over time,
this changes
people’s
mindsets
Long term,
this can
change a
culture

34. References + Resources
Books
Articles
•
Status and Self-esteem, David Rock
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-brain-work/200910/status-moreaccurate-way-understanding-self-esteem
•
SCARF, David Rock http://www.your-brain-at-work.com/files/NLJ_SCARFUS.pdf
•
Digital Empathy Map http://uxempathy.com/2012/10/digital-empathy-map
•
Intention Check, Jim + Michelle McCarthy http://www.mccarthyshow.com/online/

35. Ready
Doing
Done
Introduction
Kata 1
Kata 2
Kata 3
Kata 4
Wrap

36. Still Curious?
Questions now + questions later
Andrew Annett
Susan Johnston
andrew@leanintuit.com
@akannett
sue@itsunderstood.com
@itsunderstood