Workshop presentation delivered at the 1st Conference in Melbourne, Australia.

1. Ed O’Shaughnessy
@agileeddie
Go forth and
self-organise!
strategies & tactics for
building great teams|

2. Please organise
yourselves into
x team tables

3. About me
{ed | eddie | edmund}
I’m an Agile Coach & Change Agent within the Global
Development team at Computershare
I (try to) help people work together more effectively
When I’m not being disruptive and typing up Post-It
notes, you can find me @agileeddie
All views expressed or implied are mine, and do not
represent any organisation or anyone else, past,
present or in the future of this or any other timeline

4. https://flic.kr/p/5Hd9pq

5. #5 Build projects around motivated
individuals. Give them the environment
and support they need, and trust them
to get the job done
#11 The best architectures,
requirements, and designs emerge from
self-organizing teams
#12 At regular intervals, the team
reflects on how to become more
effective, then tunes and adjusts its
behavior accordingly
Agile Manifesto
Principles:
http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html

6. “Scrum Teams are self-organizing and cross-functional. Self-organizing teams
choose how best to accomplish their work, rather than being directed by others outside
the team… The team model in Scrum is designed to optimize flexibility, creativity, and
productivity.”
“Development Teams have the following characteristics: They are self-organizing. No
one (not even the Scrum Master) tells the Development Team how to turn Product
Backlog into Increments of potentially releasable functionality”
“The Scrum Master serves the Development Team in several ways, including: Coaching
the Development Team in self-organization and cross-functionality”
“The Development Team self-organizes to undertake the work in the Sprint Backlog,
both during Sprint Planning and as needed throughout the Sprint”
“By the end of the Sprint Planning, the Development Team should be able to explain to
the Product Owner and Scrum Master how it intends to work as a self-organizing
team to accomplish the Sprint Goal and create the anticipated Increment”
“Every day, the Development Team should understand how it intends to work together
as a self-organizing team to accomplish the Sprint Goal and create the anticipated
Increment by the end of the Sprint”
The Scrum Guide™
http://www.scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html

7. But first…
Why Teams?

8. Collectively solve problems greater than one mind
Apply skills mix beyond scope of any one individual
Create fresh ideas and novel solutions
Coordinate individual activities towards a bigger goal
Provide members with mutual support and help
Enable people to learn from each other and develop
Generate sense of belonging and commitment.
The Need for & Benefits
Of Teams

9. Team
Efficacious
Timely
Affordable
Trusted
Value
Feedback
Customer
1
Great Outcomes
2
Improving Capability
3
Fulfilling Work

10. An identity and coherence as an actual team
Clear boundaries / guiderails
A compelling direction that sets the team’s focus
Inter-dependent work to achieve collective outcomes
Enabling team structure that facilitates teamwork
Membership stability over reasonable period
Supportive organisational context & Coaching.
What Makes a Team
a Team?

11. Let’s Form
A Team…

12. • Form into teams, take a team name
• You are Wordsmiths creating new words for
demanding Authors
• You have 2 minutes
• Note the first and last letters of each
person’s given/first name on your team, e.g.
EdmunD
• Create the longest word you can from these
letters of your team
• Compare results

13. An identity and coherence as an actual team
Clear boundaries / guiderails
A compelling direction that sets the team’s focus
Inter-dependent work to achieve collective outcomes
Enabling team structure that facilitates teamwork
Membership stability over reasonable period
Supportive organisational context & Coaching
How Did We Do?

14. Why
Self-organis{ing}?

15. “As the nature of software continues
to shift towards continuous delivery,
we are able to create a new type of
conversation with the
marketplace – a continuous one.
We deploy products, observe,
measure, interview, learn, and
optimize in hours, not months.
Decisions are made quickly. Directions
shift overnight” ~ Jeff Gothelf
https://hbr.org/2014/11/bring-agile-to-the-whole-organization

16. Where does
Self-organising fit in?
https://www.infoq.com/articles/what-are-self-organising-teams
Setting overall
direction
Designing the
team and its
organisational
context
Monitoring and
managing
work process
and progress
Executing the
team task
Manager-led
teams
Self-
managing
teams
Self-
designing
teams
Self-
governing
teams
Management
Responsibility
Team’s Own
Responsibility
AgilityStability TENSION

17. An appropriate set of skills and knowledge
Collective ownership and accountability
Control over work methods, team structure and
coordination strategies
Feedback about how well the team is performing
Monitoring the environment and adapting its
working methods accordingly
Behavioural boundaries (core norms of conduct).
What Enables Teams
To Self-organise?

18. Let’s Experiment
With Our Team…

19. • You have 5 minutes
• You are Wordsmiths creating new words for
demanding Authors
• < A surprise! >
• Note the second and penultimate letters of
each person’s given/first name on your
team, e.g. eDmuNd, add them to the pool
• Create the longest word you can from all
the letters of your pool
• < Maybe another surprise! >
• Compare results

20. An appropriate set of skills and knowledge
Collective ownership and accountability
Control over work methods, team structure and
coordination strategies
Feedback about how well the team is performing
Monitoring the environment and adapting its
working methods accordingly
Behavioural boundaries (core norms of conduct)
How Did We Do?

21. • You have 5 minutes
• You are Wordsmiths creating new words for
demanding Authors
• < A surprise! >
• Note the third and last-but-two letters of
each person’s given/first name on your
team, e.g. edMUnd, add them to the pool
• Create the longest word you can from all
the letters of your pool
• < Maybe another surprise! >
• Compare results

22. An appropriate set of skills and knowledge
Collective ownership and accountability
Control over work methods, team structure and
coordination strategies
Feedback about how well the team is performing
Monitoring the environment and adapting its
working methods accordingly
Behavioural boundaries (core norms of conduct)
How Did We Do?

23. Team
Efficacious
Timely
Affordable
Trusted
Value
Feedback
Customer
1
Great Outcomes
2
Improving Capability
3
Fulfilling Work
?

24. Tahani Al-Jamil
AGE
OCCUPATION
ASPIRATION
DOMICILE
FLUENT IN
PERSONALITY
MOTIVATION
Tahani wants a career change and has
landed a gig with mumsnet.com writing
cartoon strips to educate under-5’s.
SITUATION
The first cartoons have got a good
response and now the editor wants to
run a series focusing on language skills.
NEEDS
Tahani requires lots of long, funny,
nonsense words that she can use in her
cartoon strips to engage the audience
and spark their curiosity about how
words are created, used and modified.
36
Civil Engineer
Children’s author
Switzerland
Five languages
Demanding!

25. Let’s Improve
Performance…

26. • You have 5 minutes
• Reflect on how you worked as a team
• What were your frustrations?
• What worked well?
• What are you confused by?
• Have a conversation in your team then
share your insights with everyone

28. We collaborate internally
to compete externally

29. Building
Healthy Teams

30. Inspection
Transparency
Adaptation

31. SAFETY
RESPECT
HONESTY
COURAGE
TRUST Inspection
Transparency
Adaptation

32. Psychological safety is a sense
of confidence that the team
will not embarrass, reject or
punish someone for speaking
up.
It describes a team climate
characterized by interpersonal
trust and mutual respect in
which people are comfortable
being themselves.
Amy Edmondson
Psychological safety and learning behaviour in work
teams
https://flic.kr/p/i8nEz

33. https://flic.kr/p/i8nEz
http://www.midss.org/content/team-learning-and-psychological-safety-survey

34. Some Tools
to Try

35. https://www.questionwritertracker.com/quiz/61/Z4MK3TKB.html

36. http://www.owlfoxdean.com/leadership-canvas

37. http://theteamcanvas.com/

38. Concern
Influence
Control Can directly control the situation
to obtain desired outcomes
No direct control but can
influence / persuade others to
do what you need to achieve
You are concerned about the
situation but have no direct or
indirect control over it
You respond to events
Moveintoyourcontrolcircle
Focus on Your
Circle of Control
http://bioteamsmicroblog.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/control-versus-influence-versus-concern.html
https://www.futureworksconsulting.com/blog/2010/07/26/circles-and-soup/

39. Endorse
Agree with
reservations
Disagree –
cannot support Block
“I like it and
support it”
“I can live with it
and support it:
I do have
some concerns”
“I wouldn’t stop the
group, but I don’t want
to be involved”
“I veto this
proposal”
1 2 3 4
Agreement Scale for
Making Decisions
https://www.ebgconsulting.com/Pubs/Articles/DecideHowToDecide-Gottesdiener.pdf

40. Let’s Grow
Our Team…

41. Explore and Sustain
Self & Team Reflection
What Does Success Look Like in X Months?
What do you bring to the team?
What Makes a Great Team?
What do you need to be personally successful?
What do you expect from your team?
What Would Abject Failure Look Like in X Months?
What’s important to you & What pisses you off?

42. • You have 5 minutes
• In your teams explore the questions
• Discuss these and note your insights
• Share with everyone what you found
• What was the biggest surprise for you?
• What would be the easiest / hardest for you
to use?

43. What is the
Manager’s role?

44. • You have 5 minutes
• In your teams explore how to help with self-
organisation
• If you’re a manager / leader, what can you
do to help self-organising teams?
• If you’re a team member, what do you need
from managers / leaders for you to succeed
at self-organising?
• Share with everyone what you found

45. Creating & Sustaining
Self-organising Teams
Communicate a clear, unifying purpose & direction
Champion a supportive environment for teamwork.
Delegate decision-making to lowest level reasonable
Help the team learn how to work collectively
Define team boundaries & protect team as an entity
Nurture the development of psychological safety
Facilitate interactions within and across teams

46. How might we…

47. https://flic.kr/p/5Hd9pq

49. Recommended
Reading

50. http://a.co/9cePVl7 http://a.co/8usHLSHhttp://a.co/2pyw4s6

51. References 1:
Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances. Richard Hackman
http://a.co/9cePVl7
What Makes for a Great Team? Richard Hackman
http://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2004/06/hackman.aspx
What Are Self-Organising Teams? Sigi Kaltenecker & Peter Hundermark
https://www.infoq.com/articles/what-are-self-organising-teams
Psychological safety and learning behaviour in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2). 1999. Amy Edmondson
http://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/15341_Readings/Group_Performance/Edmondson%20Psychological%20safety.pdf
Bring Agile to the Whole Organization. Jeff Gothelf
https://hbr.org/2014/11/bring-agile-to-the-whole-organization
Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy, Amy Edmondson
https://amzn.com/078797093X
Building a psychologically safe workplace: Amy Edmondson at TEDxHGSE
https://youtu.be/LhoLuui9gX8
What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team. The New York Times Magazine, 25 Feb 2016. Charles Duhigg
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html
The five keys to a successful Google team, Julia Rozovsky
https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-google-team/
High-Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create It
https://hbr.org/2017/08/high-performing-teams-need-psychological-safety-heres-how-to-create-it
3 ways to promote psychological safety in your team, Dr Todd Hall
http://drtoddhall.com/3-ways-to-promote-psychological-safety-in-your-team/

52. References 2:
Design the Team You Need to Succeed, Christina Wodtke
https://productcoalition.com/design-the-team-you-need-to-succeed-aeb98d396fcf
Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (NB, needs Java and Flash to run)
https://www.questionwritertracker.com/quiz/61/Z4MK3TKB.html
Reading the Mind in the Eyes or Reading between the Lines? David Engel et al
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0115212
Team Learning and Psychological Safety Survey
http://www.midss.org/content/team-learning-and-psychological-safety-survey
Completing this 30-minute exercise makes teams less anxious and more productive
https://qz.com/1046131/writing-a-user-manual-at-work-makes-teams-less-anxious-and-more-productive/
The Personal Leadership Canvas
http://www.owlfoxdean.com/leadership-canvas
The Team Canvas
http://theteamcanvas.com/
Decide How to Decide, Software Development Magazine, vol. 9, no. 1. Ellen Gottesdiener
https://www.ebgconsulting.com/Pubs/Articles/DecideHowToDecide-Gottesdiener.pdf
How to build trust? Break it first. Julie Diamond
http://juliediamond.net/home-page-blog/2065/
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni
http://a.co/64Miph1
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink
http://a.co/h2YodwM

53. References 3:
The Importance of Teams, The National Council for Voluntary Organisations
https://knowhownonprofit.org/people/teams/about-teams-and-types-of-team/importance
Tom Chi on Rapid Prototyping & Product Management, Martin Eriksson
https://www.mindtheproduct.com/2015/07/video-tom-chi-on-rapid-prototyping-product-management/
Collaboration and the designer’s mindset, Jonathan Follett
https://www.oreilly.com/ideas/collaboration-and-the-designers-mindset
Embracing Agile, Darrell K. Rigby, Jeff Sutherland, and Hirotaka Takeuchi
https://hbr.org/2016/05/embracing-agile
Getting Teams To Deliver Predictably, Derek Huether
https://www.leadingagile.com/2013/05/getting-teams-to-deliver-predictably/
Safe enough to try: An interview with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, McKinsey Quarterly
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/safe-enough-to-try-an-interview-with-zappos-ceo-tony-
hsieh
What Really Happened with Vista, Terry Crowley
https://hackernoon.com/what-really-happened-with-vista-4ca7ffb5a1a
Transforming Criticism into Wishes: A Recipe for Successful Conflict, Kyle Benson
https://www.gottman.com/blog/transforming-criticism-into-wishes-a-recipe-for-successful-conflict/
Inside the debate about power posing: a Q & A with Amy Cuddy, David Biello
https://ideas.ted.com/inside-the-debate-about-power-posing-a-q-a-with-amy-cuddy/
High Performance Via Psychological Safety, Joshua Kerievsky
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/high-performance-via-psychological-safety-joshua-kerievsky/

54. References 4:
Five questions about psychological safety, answered. Wendy Hirsch
https://scienceforwork.com/blog/psychological-safety/
Inversion: The Crucial Thinking Skill Nobody Ever Taught You. James Clear
http://jamesclear.com/inversion
Three Kinds of Measurement and Two Ways to Use Them. Michael Bolton
http://www.developsense.com/articles/2009-07-ThreeKindsOfMeasurement.pdf
The Ignorance of Management – Deep and Wide. Gene Hughson
https://genehughson.wordpress.com/2016/04/29/the-ignorance-of-management-deep-and-wide/
Measure Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Culture to Optimize DevOps Transformations. DevOps Enterprise Forum
https://dl.orangedox.com/K8NyWKVMrAVWkusDKe
Coaching Agile Teams: A Companion for ScrumMasters, Agile Coaches, and Project Managers in Transition, Lyssa Adkins
http://a.co/bUl15W2
Managing Product Teams for Success, Teresa Torres
https://www.producttalk.org/2017/05/managing-product-teams/
The People's Scrum: Agile Ideas for Revolutionary Transformation, Tobias Mayer
http://a.co/8p6mfRG
Control? Influence? Concern? Know the difference or pay the price! Ken Thompson
http://bioteamsmicroblog.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/control-versus-influence-versus-concern.html
Devops Downunder, 2013. Jason Yip
https://vimeo.com/63687885
The Beginner’s Guide to Deliberate Practice. James Clear
https://jamesclear.com/beginners-guide-deliberate-practice

55. References 5:
Strategic Leadership: The Tangible Force of Trust. Matt Russell
https://medium.com/swlh/strategic-leadership-the-tangible-force-of-trust-b2670b2cbd51
How Self-Organization Happens. Bonnitta Roy & Ben Linders
https://www.infoq.com/articles/how-self-organization-happens
The Importance of Agency. Colin Breck
http://blog.colinbreck.com/the-importance-of-agency/
Exploring Potential Drivers of Employee Engagement, Enablement, and Empowerment. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences.
Vol 6, No 2 S1 (2015). Iman Permana et al
http://www.mcser.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/view/5940/5712
Modus List 4: Eleven Reasons Your Employees Are NOT Working For You. Modus Cooperandi
http://moduscooperandi.com/blog/modus-list-4-eleven-reasons-your-employees-are-not-working-for-you/
Cattle, Slaves and Automobiles: Driving Dangerously With Management Clichés, David Hurst
https://medium.com/@davidkhurst/cattle-slaves-and-automobiles-driving-dangerously-with-management-clich%C3%A9s-
7e24a401add9
Developmental Sequence in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6). 1965. Bruce Tuckman
http://openvce.net/sites/default/files/Tuckman1965DevelopmentalSequence.pdf
Helping: How to Offer, Give, and Receive Help. Edgar Schein
http://a.co/2pyw4s6
Icons designed by Freepik
http://www.flaticon.com/packs/
Photographs c
www.flickr.com

56. 1. Your team must move to another area outside the room
2. You are a remote member of the team, move physically out of ear-
shot
3. Your team can negotiate with any other team to exchange letters.
4. Two teams are combined as one
5. You are a shared SME (Subject Matter Expert) between multiple teams
(your letters move with you)
6. Some members of your team have been pulled away for other work
7. Your team must use letters from another team to form your words
8. Leave your team and take your letters with you
9. You are disengaged and grumpy, disrupt your team mates!
10. The requirements have changed! Create as many unique words as
possible
11. You are nominated as team leader, take control and direct your team!
12. You are the team’s manager – demand word length estimates and
regular status reporting!