Sue Johnston's Thursday presentation at Prairie Dev Con's Deliver conference. Shifting mindsets for effective work.

1. This app won’t work on my O/S
Shifting Mindsets for Team Success
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OK
Sue Johnston

2. PLEASE NOTE
SLIDES ≠ PRESENTATION
• These slides are designed to be viewed in
conjunction with human beings talking and
interacting with you.
• They may make little sense to you if you were not
at the live session.
• Stilll, if they’re useful to you, I’m happy.

4. Agile Fundamentals
Coach Skills for Agile
Facilitation Skills for Agile
Coach
Places I’ve worked or studied that shaped my learning
Author Trainer Learner
Who is Sue anyway?

5. “Have an Android? Sign up for our wait list.”
“Have a Blackberry? Sorry. Can’t help you.”
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6. #@<?^%$X&$!!!!

7. Does BlackBerry’s first
Android Handset Deserve
a Place in your Pocket?
We Reckon So
BlackBerry May Win You Back with Android
Change the O/S

8. Our Age of Anxiety is, in great
part, the result of trying to do
today’s jobs with yesterday’s
tools and yesterday’s concepts.
We shape our tools and
afterwards our tools shape us.
Most of our assumptions have
outlived their usefulness.
Marshall McLuhan
Change the O/S

9. The
Big Idea
Two Types
of O/S
Changing
Mindsets
(Ours)
Changing
Mindsets
(Others)
Next
Steps
OPTIONS DOING DONE

10. Exciting “Apps”

11. OLD
MINDSET
NEW IDEA
NEW IDEA
NEW IDEA
NEW IDEA
NEW IDEA
NEW IDEA
This app won’t work on my O/S
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12. Error
This app won’t work on my O/S

13. VALUES
BELIEFS
PRINCIPLES
PRACTICES
THINKING
ACTION
Guide us to
Inform +
support
OPERATING
SYSTEM
The BIG IDEA

14. VALUES
BELIEFS
PRINCIPLES
PRACTICES
THINKING
ACTION
Guide us to
Inform +
support
OPERATING
SYSTEM
The BIG IDEA

15. EXERCISE 10 minutes
On your own:
• Think of some beliefs that prevail in the organizations you work in or
with.
• Some may move people forward.
• Some may hold people back.
• Some make us awesome.
• Some limit our effectiveness.
• Write them on sticky notes – 1 belief per sticky.
• 3 minutes
At your table:
• See if there are common beliefs amongst these organizations.
• 7 minutes BELIEF
BELIEF
Keep the stickies handy. We’ll use them later.

16. The
Big Idea
Two Types
of O/S
Changing
Mindsets
(Ours)
Changing
Mindsets
(Others)
Next
Steps
OPTIONS DOING DONE

17. TWO OPERATING SYSTEMS
UNILATERAL
CONTROL
MUTUAL
LEARNING

18. UNILATERAL CONTROL
Values
• Be right
• Win, don’t lose
• Minimize expressions of negative
feelings
• Act rational
Assumptions
• I understand the situation; those
who disagree don’t
• I am right; those who disagree are
wrong
• I have pure motives; those who
disagree have questionable motives
• My feelings and behaviour are
justified
• I am not contributing to the problem

19. UNILATERAL CONTROL
BEHAVIOUR
1. State views without asking for others’ views
2. Withhold relevant information
3. Speak in general terms and don’t define
what specific words mean
4. Keep reasoning private; don’t ask others
about their reasoning
5. Focus on positions
6. Act on untested assumptions as if they were
true
7. Control the conversation
8. Avoid, ease into or save face on difficult
issues

20. MUTUAL LEARNING
Values
• Transparency
• Curiosity
• Informed Choice
• Accountability
• Compassion
Assumptions
• I have information and so do other
people
• Each of us sees things others don’t
• People may disagree with me and
still have pure motives
• Differences are opportunities for
learning
• I may be contributing to the problem

21. MUTUAL LEARNING
BEHAVIOUR
1. State views and ask genuine questions
2. Share all relevant information
3. Use specific examples and agree on what
words mean
4. Explain reasoning and intent
5. Focus on interests, not positions
6. Test assumptions and inferences
7. Jointly design next steps
8. Discuss undiscussable issues
• Transparency
• Curiosity
• Informed Choice
• Accountability
• Compassion

22. EXERCISE 10 minutes
UNILATERAL
CONTROL
MUTUAL
LEARNING
• At your tables, place the stickies you generated earlier on the big head
posters, matching attitudes and behaviours with the appropriate
operating system or mindset. Add new stickies if you like.
• Discuss implications, results, impact of these with your tablemates.

23. EXERCISE
What’s the IMPACT of the behaviours
and language you just described?
Behaviour Result
Language Result
Do they produce results your
organization is trying to AVOID?

24. UNILATERAL CONTROL
RESULTS
Performance
• Lower quality
decisions
• Less innovation
• Longer
implementation
time
• Increased costs
Working Relationships
• Lower commitment
• Decreased trust
• Reduced learning
• Greater
defensiveness
• Unproductive
conflict
• Inappropriate
dependence on
others
Individual Well-being
• Reduced motivation
• Decreased
satisfaction
• Limited
development
opportunities
• Increased stress

25. MUTUAL LEARNING
RESULTS
Performance
• Higher quality
decisions
• Greater innovation
• Shorter
implementation
time
• Reduced cost
Working Relationships
• Greater
commitment
• Increased trust
• Increased learning
• Reduced
defensiveness
• Productive conflict
• Appropriate
dependence on
others
Individual Well-being
• Increased
motivation
• Increased
satisfaction
• Richer development
opportunities
• Reduced stress

26. The
Big Idea
Two Types
of O/S
Changing
Mindsets
(Ours)
Changing
Mindsets
(Others)
Next
Steps
OPTIONS DOING DONE

27. UPGRADING 0/S - YOURS

28. • Think a result you want to achieve for yourself.
• Look at behaviours you’ve employed in trying to reach it.
MUTUAL LEARNING BEHAVIOURS
1. State views and ask genuine
questions
2. Share all relevant information
3. Use specific examples and agree
on what important words mean
4. Explain reasoning and intent
5. Focus on interests, not positions
6. Test assumptions and inferences
7. Jointly design next steps
8. Discuss undiscussable issues.
UNILATERAL CONTROL BEHAVIOURS
1. State views without asking for
others’ views
2. Withhold relevant information
3. Speak in general terms and
don’t define specific words
4. Keep reasoning private; don’t
ask others about their reasoning
5. Focus on positions
6. Act on untested assumptions as
if they were true
7. Control the conversation
8. Avoid, ease into or save face on
difficult issues
UPGRADING 0/S - YOURS

29. When was the last time you met
an idiot who agreed with you?
Do people disagree
because they’re idiots?
Or are they idiots
because they disagree?
UPGRADING 0/S - YOURS

30. How does what
happens affect what
you believe?
How does what you
believe affect what
happens?
What belief is holding you back?
UPGRADING 0/S - YOURS

31. The
Big Idea
Two Types
of O/S
Changing
Mindsets
(Ours)
Changing
Mindsets
(Others)
Next
Steps
OPTIONS DOING DONE

32. Mutual Learning
Values
1. Transparency
2. Curiosity
3. Informed Choice
4. Accountability
5. Compassion
What do these look like on your team?
UPGRADING 0/S - OTHERS

33. Mutual Learning Assumptions
1. I have information and so do other people
2. Each of us sees things others don’t
3. People may disagree with me and still have
pure motives
4. Differences are opportunities for learning
5. I may be contributing to the problem
UPGRADING 0/S - OTHERS
What do these look like on your team?

34. • Identify something you and your team or
organization do that no longer serves a useful
purpose:
• Can you trace that back through the model?
• What principle does it serve?
• What belief does that flow from?
• How can you change that belief?
EXERCISE

35. What belief is holding us back?
Is it a fact or is it a belief?
How do we know?
What might be possible if we didn’t believe that?
Could something else be true?
How could we find out?
UPGRADING 0/S - OTHERS
Useful Questions

36. Mutual Learning Behaviours
1. State views and ask genuine questions
2. Share all relevant information
3. Use specific examples; share word meanings
4. Explain reasoning and intent
5. Focus on interests, not positions
6. Test assumptions and inferences
7. Jointly design next steps
8. Discuss “undiscussable” issues
UPGRADING 0/S - OTHERS

37. Can you include Mutual Learning behaviours?
TEAM AGREEMENT
UPGRADING 0/S - OTHERS

38. What is the impact of more statements?
What happens when we come from curiosity,
rather than from knowing?
UPGRADING 0/S - OTHERS
? : ! ratio

39. UPGRADING 0/S - OTHERS
Identify when Unilateral
Control is in play
Explore what you may
not be seeing

40. The
Big Idea
Two Types
of O/S
Changing
Mindsets
(Ours)
Changing
Mindsets
(Others)
Next
Steps
OPTIONS DOING DONE

41. INTENTION
ATTENTION
MINDSET IS A CHOICE
NEXT STEPS

42. NEXT STEPS
Your intention – in a
sentence or two.
email@wherever.com
Optional reminder

43. The
Big Idea
Two Types
of O/S
Changing
Mindsets
(Ours)
Changing
Mindsets
(Others)
Next
Steps
OPTIONS DOING DONE

44. FIND US HERE!
Sue Johnston
sue@itsunderstood.com
@itsunderstood
Waterloo
You are here