Imagine you are asked to sit in on a team’s sprint review and retrospective. The team has been having difficulty forming and the Scrum Master has asked you to observe the team dynamics during these two sessions. Are you simply going to watch what’s going on or is there more you can do?

1. What’s REALLY Going On?
An Observational Skills Workshop
Julie Wyman & Mark Grove
excella.com | @excellaco

2. Agenda
1) Warm Up
2) Context Setting
• Areas of observation
• Sharing observations
3) Practice!
• 2 activity rounds
• Small-group discussion
4) Wrap Up
• Full-group debrief

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Imagine…
You’ve recently joined a team as
coach, consultant, or Scrum
Master. You decide the best way to
start is to “simply” observe the
team working.
• What do you notice?
• What do you look for?

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More than
simply what
you see on the
surface.

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Getting below the surface
some examples

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Body Language
• Crossed arms?
• Leaning closer? Leaning
away?
• Pointing?

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Tone of Voice
• Whose voice is louder?
Whose is softer?
• When does it get louder?
• When does it get softer?

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Pronouns
• “He” or “she” vs. peoples’
names?
• “Me” and “you” vs. “we”?

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Physical Space
• How are people
positioned?
• Are people facing each
other?
• What in the space is
being used? Not used?

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Collaboration
• Is there a director? Doers?
• Solo work vs. group work?
• Who tends to offer ideas?
Who tends to respond?
• Is disagreement shared?

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Decision Making
• Do people think out loud?
• How are decisions made?
Consensus? Consultation?
Direction?

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Information
Sharing
• Verbal?
• Visual?
• Written?

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Sharing your observations
some tips

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When sharing
observations…
• Do factually state what
you observed in neutral
language
• Avoid interpretation and
assigning meaning to
actions

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Time to practice!
Modified from a
Coaching Beyond the Team activity

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General instructions
• Two rounds:
• Practicing in small groups
• Half of each table will “build” while the other half
observes
• After the first round, roles will switch

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Round 1: Instructions
• Set up: Decide at your table who will build first & who will
observe
• Observers: Each pick one area to observe & use Post-Its to
take notes (1 observation per Post-It)
• Builders: Build a 5-foot tall structure out of index cards in 5
minutes

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Round 1: Small group debrief
• Share
• Observers: Share notes from your observation
• Discuss
• How did it feel to observe just one area?
• Was it hard to write down only facts?
• Did you notice any jumps to interpretation?

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Round 2: Instructions
• Set up: Builders & observers switch roles
• Observers: Each pick one area to observe & use Post-Its to
take notes (1 observation per Post-It)
• Builders: Determine in 5 minutes the 3 most important
characteristics of a high-performing team

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Round 2: Small group debrief
• Share
• Observers: Share notes from your observation
• Discuss
• Did you do anything differently as observers this round
having previously been observed yourselves?
• How did it feel to observe just one area?
• Did you notice any jumps to interpretation?

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Wrapping it up

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• How might improving your observation
skills enable you to provide better
coaching support to your team(s)?
• Why is it important to ensure your
observations avoid interpretation?
• What will you try to work on to improve
your observation skills?
Pair and share...

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Time to reflect…
• What did you learn about
being an observer?
• What did you learn about
how it feels to be observed?
• What will you do differently
next time?

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How to
connect with us
Julie Wyman
julie.wyman@excella.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/julie-wyman/
Mark Grove
mark.grove@excella.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkgrov/

27. Continue the
Conversation
Meet us at our booth to connect,
discuss, and explore any
questions that you have!
@excellaco
Excella Consulting
@excellaconsulting
Connect With Us!
Find us at our booth:
Wednesday, 12:30-1:30pm

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