Heroes are Expensive: Extinguishing the Firefighting Culture
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Talk by Sue Johnston at Agile + Beyond 2018, June 17. Looks at the problems associated with people who work crazy hours to save the day, week after week, esp in Software.
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Heroes are Expensive: Extinguishing the Firefighting Culture
- 1. Agile + Beyond Ypsilanti, MI – May 17-18, 2018 HEROES ARE EXPEN$IVE Extinguishing the Firefighting Culture Sue Johnston It’s Understood Communication AGILE + BEYOND Ypsilanti, MI June 17-18, 2018
- 2. • These slides are designed to be viewed in conjunction with a human being talking and interacting with you. • They will make little sense to you if you were not at the live session. • But if you find them useful, I’m happy. PLEASE NOTE SLIDES ≠ PRESENTATION
- 3. Who is Sue? • Coach Skills for the Agile Workplace • Facilitation Skills for the Agile Workplace • Agile Fundamentals • Product Ownership • (Soon) Business Agility Coach Author Trainer Host June 7-8, 2018 Ontario Science Centre Toronto
- 5. • Firepoles + Ladders • Characteristics of hero • Causes of heroics • Impact of heroics • What to do about it What we’ll talk about What we’ll explore
- 6. GAME RULES Goal – Deliver water to douse flames Move what we roll Land on a firepole - Slide down Land on a ladder - Climb up Firepoles and Ladders
- 7. Characteristics of a hero Derive self-worth from fixing things. May intervene without getting the whole story. Become “the expert” on a topic but don’t share information.
- 8. Characteristics of a hero May start interpersonal conflicts to be seen as peacemakers. Often create a desperate situation so they can resolve it.
- 9. Characteristics of a hero Create impression “I alone can fix this.” May feel like martyrs. “I do all the work around here.”
- 10. Situation requires it Skills mismatch on team Systemic issues Organizational culture Causes of heroics
- 11. Individual personality • Chaos addicts • Adrenaline “junkies” • Rescuer personality • Fear of losing status • Fear of losing job More causes of heroics
- 12. Impact of heroics People copy heroes; it becomes entrenched in the culture. If “hero” is the leader, they create a state of dependency. Unscheduled work hours become normalized.
- 13. Impact of heroics Proactive effort is seen as a liability – people are not fighting today’s fire. We lose visibility into problems. Rushing to solution, hero may solve the wrong problem. Too busy mopping up to fix the leak.
- 14. Impact of heroics Teams become demotivated. People leave – even the heroes. Code becomes “write only.” Harm to product – and to customers.
- 15. What can we do about it? Stop rewarding heroics with attention, praise, money. Reward real success. Use meaningful metrics: reliability, quality, capacity. Focus on design, architecture, planning, testing – disciplined practices.
- 16. What can we do about it? Talk with the team about the impact and sources of firefighting behaviour. Continuously clarify roles. Break the dependency chain. (Time off.) Keep an eye out for “information hoarders.”
- 17. What can we do about it? Classify working extra hours as a “worst practice.” Reward teams for working standard hours. Build relationships to get needs met in healthy ways.
- 18. What can we do about it? Be consistent between words and actions. Monitor risk on an ongoing basis. Find out what is broken in the system that inspires the heroics.
- 19. What can we do about it? Realistic estimation – don’t plan backwards from a deadline. Manage expectations – client, sponsor, user. Build slack into the schedule.
- 20. Courageous communication “Six months seems much longer in anticipation than it does in retrospect.” Robin Korthals, former TD Bank President “One of the most important responsibilities of an Executive Champion is to receive bad news well.” Robert Reid, ED, All Humanity Holdings
- 21. Create a different sort of heroism Develop “healthy heroics:” explore • be curious • take initiative • understand risk Heroism is a counterbalance for error – eliminate errors.
- 22. Create a different sort of heroism Promote the heroic effects of a dedicated team with the support they need. Make heroism a team sport. Stress teamwork over individual problem solving efforts.
- 23. What will YOU do about it? It’s not helpful to say, “The hole’s not in my end of the canoe!” model Scrum values mob pair courage
- 24. References