The biggest root cause for project failure is people. While processes and tools can contribute, people are at the center of it all providing sub 40% success rates. To address the problem, we need to fix people – or at least how they interact and communicate. Newer project paradigms promote individuals collaborating and constantly interacting to respond to change as key contributors to success, providing higher success rates of meeting time, scope, AND schedule. Applying the Virginia Satir communication model provides a strong framework to drive better interaction, team engagement, and potential for success.

1. Fixing the People Problem:
Soft Skills that Lead to Successful Teams
Troy Bitter
October 2013

2. Introducing Troy Bitter
• Senior Manager Consultant @ Sogeti
• Nearly 2 decades in IT, predominantly
project management
• Over 7 years of experience applying
tonight’s techniques
• Involved in local project management
and agile communities
• PMI Director for PMI-ACP training
2

3. Abstract
The biggest root cause for project failure is people. While
processes and tools can contribute, people are at the center
of it all providing sub 40% success rates.
To address the problem, we need to fix people – or at least
how they interact and communicate. Newer project
paradigms promote individuals collaborating and constantly
interacting to respond to change as key contributors to
success, providing higher success rates of meeting time,
scope, AND schedule.
Applying the Virginia Satir communication model provides a
strong framework to drive better interaction, team
engagement, and potential for success.
3

4. Contents
• Empowering teams to their full potential
• Trust through engagement
• Soft skills that directly contribute to team success
Results
Focus
• Explain why effective interactions are so
critical to project success
• List the 5 Freedoms of the Satir model
• Identify behaviors that can transform
teams from good to great
4

5. Group Time: What is a Team?
Describe
• They sink or swim
together
• No one person is more
valuable then the next
• The team is flat versus a
traditional hierarchical
structure
Benefits
• Strong commitment to
one another and the
common goal
• Minimizes politics and
maximizes
communication
• Teams become more
efficient over time
• Cross training
5

6. Supporting Paradigms
Agile Manifesto
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Communication over process NOT communication
without process
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Working software is more important than excessive
documentation NOT there is no need for
documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Customers working with developers to address a
business need NOT developers satisfying a
contractual obligation
Interactions means communication.
Communication & Soft skills from
tech people?
Working software is built in
collaboration
Collaboration / people working
together requires communication
Change needs to be communicated
Responding to change over following a plan
Adapting to change NOT failing to plan
6

7. What if we applied with low emphasis on
interactions & communication?
Have you ever felt like
a cog in the machine?
Decisions made (good or bad)
without input or interaction
Code what you are told to code
Run these tests
Check this checklist
Unintended
Consequences
Lower Creativity
Less Ownership
Diminished Morale
Loss of Productivity
Sounds like faster waterfall
Those consequences don’t align with team – more ownership provides improved creativity and
increased productivity. All of this positively affects morale.
7

8. Table Time:
Communication Challenges
8

9. Have you been to the
Land of Assumptions?
Someone cut you off
You are driving down the
expressway. Some maniac is
speeding, cuts you off, and ‘almost
caused an accident.’
How do you
react?
He just got a call that his wife went into labor. He needs to get to the hospital now. How does this
context change your reaction?
9

10. Have you been to the
Land of Quick Interpretation?
Code Migration
Quality
The code was migrated to the test
environment. It appears that a lot
isn’t working.
Let’s listen to the conversation
with Tom the Tester and Dave the
Developer.
Yes interactions should occur,
but this interaction may not be optimal
10

11. Have you been to the
Land of Must Be Right?
Working Software
Requirement: Quantity is numeric
within 1-35.
Solution Provided: Quantity is a
drop down list of values 1-35. We
thought it would be a text field or
spin control that only accepted
numeric values within the range.
Yes interactions should occur,
but unsure if this was an effective use of time
11

12. Have you been to the
Land of Silence?
Unsure or Quiet Person
Built a customized navigation bar
for an application. It had scalability
issues and other challenges after
production launch.
In the production triage meeting,
James mentions a Google toolkit
control that we could use. Offline, I
learned that he had this idea during
the original project but felt like no
one would consider it – ‘decision
was made.’
Need an environment that people feel
comfortable contributing ideas,
not just hands on keyboards
12

13. 5 Freedoms of Satir Model
The freedom to see and hear what is here, instead of
what should be, was, or will be
The freedom to say what you feel and think, instead of
what you should
The freedom to feel what you feel, instead of what you
ought to
The freedom to ask for what you want, instead of
always waiting for permission
The freedom to take risks on your own behalf, instead
of choosing to be only “secure” and not rocking the boat
13

14. Table Time:
Learning through Sharing
14

15. 5 Freedoms of Satir Model – In Action
N
M
The freedom to see
and hear what is here
The freedom to feel
what you feel
R
D
The freedom to say
what you feel and think
The freedom to ask for
what you want
J
The freedom to take
risks on your own
behalf

16. From Philosophy to Behaviors
How do we turn a philosophy
into behaviors?
Congruent behaviors are a
core concept in the Satir
model. The ability to be aware
of and fully value the many
dimensions of your self,
others, and the contexts in
which you work and relate.
16

17. Congruence
Clear communication
3 C’s of communication
What is Done
Cooperation rather than competition
My idea doesn’t have to win
Inquiry over advocacy
Quicker decision making
17

18. Congruence (continued)
Empowerment rather than subjugation
Increased ownership
More creativity
Uniqueness rather than categorization
Work on things I’m good at (fit)
Higher quality
18

19. Congruence (and some more)
Use of authority to guide and accomplish "what fits,"
rather than forced compliance, tyranny or power
Carrot vs stick management. MBWA instead of MBF
More leading, less managing
Being personally and socially responsible
Responsible for interactions
Responsible for intangibles like maintainability
To use problems as challenges and opportunities for
creative solutions
Keep moving forward thinking
19

20. Summary
20

21. Closing
Questions
tbitter@us.sogeti.com
513-655-7432
21