Reviving Dysfunctional Teams with Trust and Collaboration | Mike Bowler

Summary

Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast: "Reviving Dysfunctional Teams with Trust and Collaboration" Featuring Mike Bowler

Release Date: November 12, 2024
Host: Vasco Duarte
Guest: Mike Bowler, Experienced Scrum Master and Agile Coach

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Introduction

In this episode of the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast, host Vasco Duarte welcomes Scrum Master and Agile Coach Mike Bowler to discuss the challenges and successes of transforming a highly dysfunctional team into a productive and cohesive unit. The conversation delves into the psychological underpinnings of team dynamics, strategies for fostering collaboration, and the importance of building trust within teams.

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Inspiring Literature: "Thinking Fast and Slow"

Timestamp: [00:30]

Mike Bowler begins by sharing the book that has most influenced his career as a Scrum Master:

Mike Bowler [00:42]: "I'll pick Thinking Fast and Slow because it's an interesting introduction into what makes people tick. Ultimately, everything we're doing is all about people. It's about behavior change."

He emphasizes the book's exploration of the dual systems of thought—System One (fast, unconscious) and System Two (slow, conscious)—and how understanding these can aid in managing and motivating teams effectively.

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Understanding Team Dynamics and Dysfunction

Timestamp: [02:34]

Mike recounts his experience with what he describes as the "most dysfunctional team" he has ever worked with. The team had been embroiled in a three-month project that extended to six months without delivering a functional product. Key issues included:

• Fragmented Team Structure: The team was split into subgroups that worked well internally but failed to collaborate with other parts of the team.
• Poor Workflow Management: Their project board was cluttered with multiple "done" columns that did not accurately reflect progress, culminating in nothing being deployed to production.
• Hostile Environment: Persistent technical and personal disagreements created a toxic atmosphere, hindering productivity and morale.

Mike Bowler [02:34]: "They were extremely dysfunctional... there were disagreements at a technical level, there were disagreements at a people level, and it was completely a mess."

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Identifying the Roots of Dysfunction

Timestamp: [05:19]

Vasco inquires about the underlying causes that led to such dysfunction. Mike identifies the formation of "tribes" within the team as a significant factor:

Mike Bowler [05:19]: "We had one person who had worked remotely... and others who worked on different floors, leading to strong internal bonds but poor inter-group collaboration."

The physical separation and lack of integration fostered silos, making it difficult for team members to work cohesively.

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Strategies for Reviving the Team

Timestamp: [06:28]

Mike outlines the multifaceted approach he employed to address the team's dysfunction:

1. Individual One-on-One Meetings:

   • Conducted private discussions to understand individual perspectives.
   • Faced challenges with finger-pointing as team members often blamed others when alone.

2. Group Discussions:

   • Facilitated collective conversations to identify systemic issues.
   • Encouraged shared responsibility and collective problem-solving.

3. Collaborative Practices:

   • Pairing: Engaged in pairing sessions with different team members to foster collaboration.
   • Mob Programming (Later Reflection): While not implemented initially, Mike later recognized the value of ensemble programming in breaking down silos more effectively.

4. Building Trust through Shared Activities:

   • Organized communal lunches to create informal bonds.
   • Leveraged the natural human tendency to form in-groups by fostering shared experiences.

Mike Bowler [07:45]: "Eating with people, we have formed an in-group with them. And that helps us build some of this trust that we need."

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Outcomes and Lessons Learned

Through persistent effort and strategic interventions, Mike successfully transformed the team's dynamics:

• Enhanced Collaboration: Increased pairing and shared activities led to better teamwork and reduced silos.
• Improved Workflow: Simplified the project board to accurately reflect progress, facilitating better project management.
• Sustainable Change: Although two team members eventually chose to leave, they did so amicably, recognizing the positive changes within the team.

Mike Bowler [08:10]: "They left on good terms. They recognized that this was not, you know, a horrible thing."

Vasco highlights the effectiveness of Mike's approach, emphasizing the importance of fostering trust through group activities rather than addressing conflicts individually, which could exacerbate tensions.

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Key Takeaways

1. Understand the Human Element: Grasping the psychological drivers behind team behavior is crucial for effective Scrum Mastery.
2. Foster Collaboration: Implementing collaborative practices like pairing and ensemble programming can bridge gaps between fragmented team members.
3. Build Trust Through Shared Experiences: Informal interactions, such as communal meals, can significantly enhance team cohesion and trust.
4. Simplify Processes: Clear and concise workflow management tools prevent confusion and enhance productivity.
5. Embrace Change: Recognize that some team members may choose to leave, but focus on cultivating a positive and collaborative environment for those who remain.

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Notable Quotes

• Mike Bowler [00:42]: "Everything we're doing is all about people. It's about behavior change."
• Mike Bowler [02:34]: "They were extremely dysfunctional... completely a mess on every level."
• Mike Bowler [07:45]: "Eating with people, we have formed an in-group with them. And that helps us build some of this trust that we need."
• Mike Bowler [08:10]: "They left on good terms. They recognized that this was not, you know, a horrible thing."

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Conclusion

Mike Bowler's experiences offer valuable insights into the intricacies of team dynamics and the pivotal role of trust and collaboration in overcoming dysfunction. By prioritizing understanding, fostering collaborative practices, and building trust through shared experiences, Scrum Masters can navigate and transform even the most challenging team environments.

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Stay Tuned: Join us next time on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast as we delve into leading change and the lessons learned from various change programs in the Agile landscape.

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If you enjoyed this episode, please rate it on Stitcher or iTunes, and share it with fellow Scrum Masters to help them enhance their craft.

Transcript

[Vasco Duart]

Hi, I'm your host, Vasco Duart. Welcome to the Scrum Master Toolbox podcast, where we share tips and tricks from Scrum Masters around the world. Every day, we bring you inspiring answers to important questions that all Scrum Masters.

[Podcast Host]

Face day after day. Hello, everybody. Welcome to our Team Tuesday this week with Mike Baller. Hey, Mike. Welcome back.

[Mike Baller]

Thank you.

[Podcast Host]

So, Mike, on Tuesdays, we talk about teams, of course. But before we dive into the team, share with us what was the book that most inspired you in your career as a Scrum Master?

[Mike Baller]

That's a tough one because I'm reading constantly and there's so many books that have done that, but I'll pick one. I'll pick Thinking Fast and Slow because it's an interesting introduction into what makes people tick. Because ultimately, everything we're doing is all about people. It's about behavior change. And all the interesting behavior change happens sort of at an unconscious level. So we need to understand a bit about the people, about the psychology behind them, around the things that motivate them. And Thinking Fast and Slow really gets into that. It talks about how we have these two different ways of thinking, System one and System two. System one being largely unconscious and System Two being largely conscious. And he goes into a lot of the science. It is a heavy book, but it's a very powerful book, and I think it would be useful to your readers as an entry point. Obviously, this is a very deep topic that you can spend a lot of time in, but this is a good entry point.

[Podcast Host]

Absolutely. And I'm with you in that. We need to understand how people think, what is important to them, what are kind of the patterns that we observe everywhere. Thankfully, lately, there has been quite a big movement also to introduce other aspects of people's psychology, like neurodiversity. And that's a very important set of tools that we need in our toolbox, because that's, as you said, we work with people. And talking about people, of course, they are the ones who compose the teams we work with, and sometimes they kind of create their own problems. And today is Team Tuesday here on the podcast. So we want to explore one of those stories with you. Mike, share with us a story of a team, tell us a little bit about the context, and then walk us through how those small little behaviors developed over time, grew, and eventually created problems for the team.

[Mike Baller]

I'll tell you about the most dysfunctional team I've ever worked with, because there were so many good learnings that came out of that, and the team did end up in A good place. I'll leave you with the good thought at the beginning. But they were incredibly dysfunctional when I got called in six months into a three month project, and you heard me correctly, it was supposed to be a three month project. And I got called in after six months because they, although they had a lot of code, they had nothing to show for it. There was nothing that actually worked. They had no end in sight. And so when I came into this team, they were extremely dysfunctional. There were pockets of people that worked well together. So these two people worked well together and those two people worked well together, but as a team they did not. There were two of them that wouldn't even work on the same floor as the rest of the people. They wouldn't even sit in the same area. We had people who were, you know, very argumentative with each other. It was just, it was really, really bad dynamics. There were disagreements at a technical level, there were disagreements at a people level and it just, it was completely a mess. So we had to work through all of these things. I took everybody aside individually, one on one, but one on ones in an environment like that tend to be a lot of finger pointing because each person, when you take them aside individually, will say, well, this is clearly why that person is wrong. Because nobody wants to acknowledge that they're also part of blame. And yet when we have a team dynamic that's a problem like this, then truly everybody shares a little bit of the blame. Some, some people obviously more than others. But we didn't, we wouldn't have gotten to this place if everybody wasn't doing something a little odd. So I start with a lot of one on one conversations and then as quickly as possible, we're trying to get into group discussions. How can we as a group talk about what's going on? Let's look at the systems that are going on within here. This is a team that when I first showed up on their board, they had a done column and then they had a done done column and then they had a done done done column. And even done done done didn't mean in production. So this was a complete mess on every level. Their workflow was a mess. Their team dynamics were a mess. They spent six months on this three month project and had nothing to show for it. All good people, I want to call that out. When you talk to all of them individually, they were all good and decent people who wanted to do a job, but they'd set, they just could not work together.

[Podcast Host]

What led you to those things? Like what were Maybe. Maybe you got a little bit of the history when you were talking to the team members. Like, what were some of the things you think, given the knowledge that you have, that led them to that point of conflict, disengagement with each other? I guess small little tribes formed within the team.

[Mike Baller]

Absolutely. And the tribes had formed and nobody had really done anything to stop that. We had one person who had worked remotely. This is back at a time that nobody worked remotely, but he had decided that he needed to live somewhere else. And management said, oh, we'll just pipe you in. We'll connect you in. So he got a little bit off on his own. We had other people who came in, and because they were working on a different floor initially, they developed a really strong bond and they were able to work well together, but they didn't. They didn't work well with others. And at the beginning, it was a choice that they were on a different floor, and eventually they just chose that they didn't want to be with anybody else. So it was this weird disconnect. I wasn't there for the early days, so I can't say exactly how things had gotten to the point they were at, but it was very hostile when I arrived.

[Podcast Host]

So we've already talked about some of the things that you did. Right. First the one on ones, then the discussions with wider groups. How did you. And of course, the team themselves got to that position where the team was working much better. What were kind of some of the key points in that transition?

[Mike Baller]

Oh, it was a lot of working collaboratively. So this. This is ensemble programming or mob programming, which is not something I was using at the time. But if I were to approach the same team today, that would be my go to. I would be doing a lot of ensemble programming because that is the thing that breaks down those particular problems faster than anything else when we're actively working on the same thing at the same time. Back then, I hadn't been exposed to that yet. So this was. I've been doing ensemble programming for about 10 years, so this would have been earlier than that. And so I didn't have that. But we were doing a lot of pairing. I would pair with one group, I'd pair with other people. We'd. We'd move around trying to do a lot of collaboration, trying to get everybody into the same room. We did get them into the same space at one point, even though it was tense, a lot of conversations, we would meet over lunch. Just eating food together is a great way to break down some of these barriers. Because our brains are hardwired and to differentiate into in groups and out groups. We often overgeneralize this as us versus them, but it's really in groups and out groups. And the more in groups we share, the more we trust other people. So the moment we start to eat with people, we have formed an in group with them. And that helps us build some of this trust that we need.

[Podcast Host]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Mike Baller]

So we did all kinds of things, eating together and doing all these things, working together, collaborating as much as we possibly could. And it took a long time. And ultimately, two people did decide that the damage was done and they chose to leave. But they left on good terms. They recognized that this was not, you know, a horrible thing, that, again, they left on good terms. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

And even if they didn't, they would not have left on good terms. It would still be, you know, a natural process of evolution. One of the things that we can get scared of is that, what if people leave? Well, people leave because they feel they need to.

[Mike Baller]

Right.

[Podcast Host]

It's not in our control to be able to affect that. But what I really like about this story is how you focused through, of course, concrete things like pairing and having lunch together, and all of those things that you said you focused on concrete things that created what you called in groups, therefore, build trust between the people rather than to somehow trying to solve all of the possible existing conflicts one by one. Because that would have just increased the negative and conflicting energy within the team, Right? Absolutely. Great story. Thank you for sharing that, Mike.

[Mike Baller]

Oh, you're welcome.

[Vasco Duart]

Tuesday is team day here on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast. But tomorrow we talk about something that goes beyond the work we do with the teams. We will talk about how to lead change and what our guests have learned from leading and participating in change programs during their career. See you tomorrow. We really hope you liked our show. And if you did, why not rate this podcast on Stitcher or itunes? Share this podcast and let other Scrum masters know about this valuable resource for their work. Remember that sharing is caring.