Fellowship As Protest

Relationship-building is an undervalued but vital tool in the arsenal of the modern-day employee. It is not enough to simply march in the streets or hold a sign aloft; building connections with like-minded individuals and fostering a sense of community is essential to creating lasting change. However, many businesses today actively work to undermine relationship-building in the workplace, promoting division and competition among employees at the expense of cooperation and collaboration.

This insidiousness can take many forms, from pitting employees against each other for promotions to encouraging a toxic work culture that values individual achievement over teamwork. But through active relationship-building, we protest against these destructive practices and create a workplace that values fellowship, cooperation and solidarity.

By forging connections with our fellow employees and working to create a sense of community, we challenge the dominant narrative of competition and individualism. This is not just a matter of improving our own working conditions; it is a powerful form of protest that strikes at the very heart of the capitalist system that pits workers against each other for the benefit of the few.

So let us not underestimate the power of fellowship as a form of protest. By standing together and fostering a sense of community in the workplace, we can create a better world for ourselves and for future generations.

Unveiling the Surprising Purpose of Anger and the Sustaining Power of Hope in the Quest for a Better World

Are you familiar with the two flames burning in the human heart? One fueled by anger against injustice and the other by hope for a better world? Discover the surprising purpose of anger and how hope sustains our fight for a more just and equitable society in this thought-provoking exploration of Tony Benn’s powerful quote.

Tony Benn’s quote, “There are two flames burning in the human heart all the time. The flame of anger against injustice, and the flame of hope you can build a better world,” captures the paradoxical nature of the human experience. On one hand, most of us are driven by a deep-seated need for justice and equity, and on the other hand, we are sustained by a persistent hope for a better future.

Anger is often viewed as a negative emotion, one that is associated with aggression, violence, and irrationality. However, anger also serves a surprising purpose: to signal to us that our needs are not being met. When we feel angry, and thereby become conscious of our need for justice and equity, we are more likely to take action to see our needs met, and to work towards creating a more just and equitable world.

The flame of hope, on the other hand, is fueled by our need for belief in the possibility of a better future.

Hope is what allows us to persevere in the face of adversity, to keep struggling for what we believe in, and to continue working towards a more just and equitable society. Without hope, our need for justice and equity can easily be overwhelmed, and our desire for change can be replaced by despair and apathy.

In conclusion, Tony Benn’s quote reminds us that as human beings, we are driven by two powerful forces: the flame of anger against injustice, and the flame of hope that we can build a better world. It is up to each of us to harness these forces and to use them to create positive change in the world. Anger can be a powerful signal, but let’s use it as such in the hope of getting our needs better met.

Aliens Land on Earth: Are We Ready for First Contact?

Managers, in today’s fast-paced world or work, are often tasked with the responsibility of managing teams of employees. However, in their daily routine, they might misplace their “They Live” glasses, hindering their ability to see the true nature of the employees they interact with every day. These glasses, as seen in the classic film “They Live,” have the ability to reveal the true intentions and motivations of the people around you. If managers had such glasses, they would be able to see that the employees they see as mere drones are, in fact, human beings with unique experiences and perspectives.

A manager’s job requires them to manage resources and make decisions that impact the company’s bottom line. In the process, they are often focused on the task at hand, and this focus can often lead to them missing the humanity of the workers they are managing. Without their “They Live” glasses, managers may see workers simply as faceless cogs in the machine, lacking individuality and personal motivations.

However, the reality is that workers are people who have their own dreams, goals, and personal struggles. They bring their experiences and perspectives to the workplace, and it is these experiences and perspectives that help to shape the company’s culture and direction. Managers who are able to see this through their “They Live” glasses will be able to lead their teams more effectively, as they will be able to understand the individual needs and motivations of each worker.

For instance, if a manager sees an employee who is working slowly or lacks motivation, they may see them as lazy and unproductive. However, if they were wearing their “They Live” glasses, they might be able to see that the employee is dealing with personal issues, such as a family crisis, that is impacting their work. By understanding this, the manager could offer support and help the employee get back on track.

Furthermore, when managers are able to see the humanity in their workers, they are able to lead with empathy and compassion. This can create a positive work environment where employees feel valued and motivated, leading to increased productivity and job satisfaction.

In conclusion, managers who misplace their “They Live” glasses are missing out on the opportunity to see the true nature of their employees. By understanding that their workers are not simply drones, but human beings with unique experiences and perspectives, managers can lead more effectively, create a positive work environment, and drive business success. So, it’s important for managers to always keep their “They Live” glasses handy and put them on every day they’re at work.

 

Stepping Away From the Meat-grinder: Joining the Campaign For a Just And Fair World

I don’t have a regular job because I just can’t stand the insanity of it all any more. Is that my loss or the world’s?

The world of work is a meat-grinder, a place where the only thing that matters is ego, violence and stupidity. It’s a place where the only thing that counts is one’s ability to serve oneself, to cosy down and protect one’s own interests to the exclusion of all else. I can’t live like that.

I can’t stand the way that people are treated like nothing more than numbers, like nothing more than cogs in a machine, like so many adjuncts of a Borg unimatrix.

Similar to how Gandhi couldn’t stand the deep injustices and intolerability of British imperial rule in India, I can’t stand the world of work as it is now. He stepped away from his comfortable life to fight for what he believed in. Similarly, I have stepped away from the world of traditional wage-slavery to pursue other avenues, other ways of making a difference in the world.

I don’t know if my decision is a loss for me, or for the world. I just know that I can’t continue to be an acquiescing adjunct to something that I find so deeply troubling and unjust. I have little expectation that in the future, the corporate world will change, that it will become a place where people are valued for the content of their character and their heart, not for how much money they can make. But for now, I know that I need to step away, and that’s what I have done. I suspect I’m not by any means alone.

#work #culture #change #people #justice #insanity

The Author

I write about what I see, and have seen. I don’t write to entertain (excepting very occasionally) or to curry favour.

I write about ways I’ve seen people approaching things, and ways to maybe approach them differently. Ways in which they might see their needs better met.

Purpose

I write to invite people to think differently. To reflect on what they see and maybe reframe their interpretations and responses differently from their defaults. Why do I do this? Because I have a need to see people having a better time at work. A better experience from the countless hours we fritter away doing other folks’ bidding.

I am your author. And I appreciate you reading my stuff.

I’d like to write about stuff that’s relevant for you, topics that matter to you, to make that kind of connection. But I’m mostly going to continue writing about stuff that matters to me. Long may you continue to find insights and inspiration in it.

– Bob

 

Twelve Invitations for Fellowship

1. We’ll have a face-to-face catchup (1:1) at least as frequently as once a week. Either of us can cancel whenever we agree to. It’s our time.
2. Our 1:1 agenda will be in our meeting invite so we remember important topics. But either of us remains free to use the time for whatever’s on our minds.
3. When we schedule each catchup, we’ll state *at the time we schedule it* what it’s meant to be about. We prefer to avoid chatting without an agenda. The agenda can be as simple as e.g. “social”.
4. When we drop into each other’s DMs, we’ll always say hello, and what”s on our minds. No suspense. No small talk while we are wondering what the DM is going to be about.
5. We will share directly any face-to-face news or announcements that significantly impact e.g. us, our several relationships, our teams or our community, not via a big meeting, recorded video or mailshot.
6. We’ll share feedback when it’s fresh. Feeedback is about our needs and the extend to which they’ve been met (or not). There will be no hint of performance reviews or other judgements.
7. We trust everyone to manage their own time. No one is expected to clear with anyone in advance re: their time or place.
8. We will attend to folks’ needs by way of informing them of our whereabout and times of availability – if and when they have a need to know.
9. Things gets done the way we decide is best. Our focus is on folks’ needs, not outcomes or outputs. Once we’ve agreed on where we’re going, how to get there is up to each of us, in agreement.
10. A team is most effective when it has a shared purpose, moves forward together, looks after one another, and takes care of each other and all the folks that matter. We choose to continuously look to our left and to our right for opportunities to help our fellows. We request help whenever we need it. Nobody has to do things in isolation except by choice.
11. There are no reporting lines, chains of command and control, hierarchy, etc. We talk with each other and anyone about anything we feel is relevant.
12. We attribute credit when attribution serves folks’ needs. We will never exaggerate our own roles or minimize others’ contributions.
    

If all of this sounds like it might serve your needs, I invite you to reciprocate by giving of the one thing we all need most. Attention to folks’ needs.

I want to hear your feedback, to know when someone’s needs are going unattended, or are being well-attended to. To know when and how we can bring more joy into folks’ lives.

We always welcome folks’ thoughts, listen patiently, and never respond defensively.

If we attend to each other’s needs, we can learn and grow and bond together. That’s how I need to connect with what’s alive in you.

– Bob

Quickie: Oh, the Irony

The irony of my situation. is not lost on me (although I guess it’s lost on most everyone else).

My career has been driven for at least the past thirty years by my concern and compassion for those many millions of folks working in jobs where they have no chance to fulfil their innate potential. Not to mention the unemployed, who also have little to zero opportunity to exercise any of their innate potential.

And now I find myself in the same situation. Oh, the irony.

Quickie: Flying Fucks

How many Agile coaches give a flying fuck about folks’ needs – except perhaps their own?

How many see the direct connection between attending to folks’ needs and their success as coaches?

“Please, just attend to my needs”

This is the silent plea of everyone in your organisation (and everyone in our lives, for that matter).

Silent because of fear of appearing weak or needy. And silent because those in need rarely realise they have unmet needs, let alone realise that their needs could be attended to.

Are you hearing their requests? Are you doing something, anything, about them?

How would you feel if your heartfelt pleas continually fell on deaf ears? Do you care how others might be feeling?

– Bob

Compassion Makes For A Better Developer. Period.

I’m loving the book “Compassionomics” by Steve Trzeciak, Cory Booker and Anthony Mazzarelli. I’m finding oodles of research-based data and information of immense relevance to software development organisations, and to businesses generally. 

Not that research, science, and evidence is going to sway folks much if at all. Yet, for those already swayed, the information in the book might be useful. 

There’s a bunch of terms – terms widely in use in the medical business field – explained in the book. Here’s a brief introduction to some of them: 

Burnout

“Decades of rigorous research have identified three hallmarks of burnout: emotional exhaustion (being emotionally depleted or overextended), a lack of personal accomplishment (the feeling that one can’t really make a difference), and depersonalisation. Depersonalisation is the inability to make that personal connection.”

~ Trzeciak & Mazzarelli

Depersonalisation also results in reduction in empathy for patients, and in treatment with compassion.

Compassion Fatigue

Literally, running our of compassion for patients.

Adherence

In the field of medicine, adherence is defined as the extent to which patients are able to follow treatment recommendations from health care providers. Non-adherence is, of course, the opposite: patients patients not following treatment recommendations.

The most common example of non-adherence is when a patient is supposed to be taking prescribed medication but is not taking his or her pills. But non-adherence can be about much more than just not taking medication. It’s also a factor with other treatments, like patients with kidney failure who do not show up for scheduled dialysis treatments. Or when a physician recommends that a patient modifies a certain behaviour – like quitting smoking, losing weight, or exercising regularly – but that patient doesn’t follow through.

Compassion Satisfaction

Compassion satisfaction is the degree to which a person feels pleasure or satisfaction from their efforts to relieve others’ suffering. Aside: It’s this idea that informs the Antimatter Principle.

Compassion Fatigue

Compassion fatigue (emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation, and, in this case, also taking on stress from taking care of those that are stressed from being sick)

“A lack of compassion leads to increased workforce issues”

“A new field of research is suggesting that when organizations promote an ethic of compassion rather than a culture of stress, they may not only see a happier workplace but also an improved bottom line. Consider the important—but often overlooked—issue of workplace culture…Employees in positive moods are more willing to help peers and to provide customer service on their own accord…In doing so, they boost coworkers’ productivity levels and increase coworkers’ feeling of social connection, as well as their commitment to the workplace and their levels of engagement with their job. Given the costs of health care, employee turnover, and poor customer service, we can understand how compassion might very well have a positive impact not only on employee health and well-being but also on the overall financial success of a workplace.”

~ Dr. Emma Seppälä, “Why Compassion in Business Makes Sense”

Emotional Labour

Emotional labour is the management of one’s emotions (both one’s experienced emotions as well as one’s displayed emotions) to present a certain image.

For decades, researchers in management and organisational behaviour have been studying emotional labour by service workers across all types of service industries. For health care providers, emotional labour includes the expectation of compassionate behaviours toward patients, even if those providers aren’t actually feeling an emotional connection with the patient in that particular moment. (A word of caution here: Please resist the temptation to trivialise emotional labour as “faking it.” It goes much deeper than that…)

Neuroplasticity

Recent advances in neuroscience have overturned the long-held belief that the brain’s structure and function was essentially fixed throughout adulthood, in favour of neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity refers to the human brain’s ability to form, reorganise and grow new synaptic connections, even through adulthood. 

Summary

Are you really telling me the all this research has no relevance to the software industry? That developers, etc., have no need of compassion? That compassion won’t make for a better developer? Tcha!

– Bob

Further Reading

Trzeciak, S., Booker, C. and Mazzarelli, A. (2019). Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference. Studer Group.

Quickie: Christmas Sentiments

Happy holidays, everyone!

“Life’s most urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’”

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

#AntimatterPrinciple

Quickie: Antimatter Principle Check-in

How much attending to folks’ needs have you been doing of late?

Choices

As a society, and as a species, we have a choice: 

The Domination System, supported by the Myth of Redemptive Violence

OR

Nonviolence, especially an end to violence against women and girls.

It’s either-or time, folks. 

#StopViolenceAgainstWomen means #EndTheDominationSystem

Which in turn means we cannot expect the present Domination System (government, politicians, the retributive “justice” system,…) to do ANYTHING constructive or useful. Action is simply contrary to their interests.

– Bob

Further Reading

http://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk. (n.d.). A different world is possible. [online] Available at: https://www.endviolenceagainstwomen.org.uk/a-different-world-is-possible/.

I Don’t Give a DAMN What You Think

It’s all talk. And no substance.

As they say, “Actions speak louder than words.” In my book, anyways.

Attachment

I have found that some folks are so attached to their thoughts, and their self-image as rational animals, that they fulminate greatly when their thoughts are discounted or dismissed. As if their thoughts were superior to any other’s.

I’m not a great fan of science neither. Cf. Feyerabend (2010). But I’ll take experimental evidence over opinion EVERY day of the week. Cf. Rother (2010)

So, please don’t EVER tell me what you think. It’s only ever pompous windbaggery.

I am however ALWAYS interested in how you’re feeling (and your needs, what’s alive in you).

– Bob

Further Reading

Rother, M. (2010). Toyota Kata: Managing People* for Continuous Improvement and Superior Results. Mcgraw-Hill.

http://www.youtube.com. (2020.). How to say BS in giraffe | Nonviolent Communication explained by Marshall Rosenberg. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtXogwq80vI [Accessed 24 Nov. 2021].

Feyerabend, P. (2010). Against Method. Verso.

* “You manage things, you lead people.” ~ Grace Hopper

Quickie: Love and Compassion

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”

~ Dalai Lama

Found in: Trzeciak, Stephen; Mazzarelli, Anthony. Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence that Caring Makes a Difference (p. 23). Studer Group. Kindle Edition.

Psychological Safety – Oh! The Irony

The march of time seems to have judged “psychological safety” as a passing fad. Not that it’s an irrelevant idea – far from it. 

I suspect psychological safety gained some acclaim because everybody wanted it for themselves. “Yes, please. I feel anxious, exposed and at risk when I speak out, so I’d really appreciate some psychological safety, thank you.”

We’ll skip over the unlikely prospect of any managers being interested in providing an environment of psychological safety (why would they need to do that?) and get straight to the irony.

The Irony

I’ve spoken with some number of colleagues who all attest to feelings of anxiety, being exposed and being at risk of judgement by peers in the software community when they speak out about certain, possibly contentious or unpopular issues. 

Aside : I suspect it’s more often fear of the consequences of speaking out that’s at the root of these anxieties, rather that fear of being judged per se. 

The irony being, of course, that whereas individuals are fine with accepting psychology safety provided by others, they’re far less interested in extending psychological safety in turn.

What are you doing on a daily basis to extend psychological safety to others?

– Bob

Further Reading

http://www.psychologytoday.com. (1 June 2015). Tired of Being Judged? Try This. | Psychology Today. [online] Available at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/longing-nostalgia/201506/tired-being-judged-try [Accessed 13 Sep. 2021].

How Much Do You Care?

In recent times I have noted an upswing in the frequency of conversations about the ethical dimension of software development. Although still early days, many aspects of the social implications of software are beginning to receive more attention.

Effective Software Development

The dog’s breakfast that is Agile in the real world today exemplifies, for me, a key aspect of these ethical questions. Not that ethical questions are at all limited to the software industry.

What am I talking about? I’m talking about how people with a clear understanding of e.g. Agile software development (yes, there are some) tolerate, even support, a pallid, ineffective version in their workplace because their jobs and livelihoods depend on not rocking the boat. I’m talking about how folks go along with an ineffective and crippled approach for an easy life. Although how easy is it to stand by and watch project after project fail or limp along, with the consequent frustration and angst for all concerned?

With the oft-reported woefully low levels of employee engagement in most organisations, it’s hardly surprising that people just let such things slide by with little or no comment, complaint or action.

Satyagraha

We might take a leaf out of Gandhi’s nonviolent campaign playbook. He placed the idea of satyagraha at the heart of his toolkit of civil resistance. What is satyagraha? Online references describe it as “truth-force” or “the force that is generated through adherence to truth”.

Note: In this context, I choose to regard “truth” as referring to ethical imperatives such as justice, fairness and righteousness, and not simply factual truth. And yes, everyone has their own “truths” a.k.a. assumptions and beliefs. As do groups, such as organisations.

At the core of satyagraha is the willingness to suffer for the truth. Spiritual, emotional and physical suffering, borne in public, serves to emphasise the degree to which the satyagrahi care about the issue upon which they are campaigning.

Do You Care Enough to Suffer?

In the case of Agile, as with other aspects of how organisations run themselves today, it’s fair for folks to ask:

“Is it any of my concern? Don’t senior people with much higher pay grades than me hold the responsibility for these things?”

How is this any different from the old defence “I was only following orders?” 

Do you care? Do you care enough to start to say “No.”? In a civil and polite way, of course.

Are you prepared to suffer to see things become better for all concerned?

– Bob

What is “A Decent Conversation”?

Decent conversations have been front of mind for me for many years. Mainly due to my need for them, and for their conspicuous absence in most cases. Sure I get to have many interactions with people, but are those conversations? And moreover, are they “decent”?

Decent

In my most recent quickie I borrowed the term “decent” from the headline of the linked article.
Admittedly it’s a little vague. Let’s see if we can’t disambiguate a little.

For openers, a circular definition: For me, a decent conversation is one that meets my needs.

Which of course begs the question “What are my needs of a decent conversation?”. (Please prefix all the below with an implicit “For me…”).

A conversation is more that just two (or more) parties talking to each other. Or more often, at each other.

Conversations or exchanges involving simple assertions – for example “dogs are so cute” – fall short of “decent” conversations. Ditto for expression of opinion – for example, statements beginning “I think…”. I need interactions that involve supportive and mutual sense-making, not just airing of opinions.

While the word ‘sensemaking’ may have an informal, poetic flavour, that should not mask the fact that it is literally just what it says it is.

~ Karl Weick, 1995

Decent conversations must involve skilful listening, on the part of all participants. Expressly, listening for what’s “going on” with each other. Marshall Rosenberg describes this as “focussing on what’s alive, right now, in those participating”.

How often do you feel people are listening to you? That they’re interested in how you’re feeling and what you have to say? That by listening they’re connecting with you as a person? How often do you listen well enough that others feel that same way about you?

More than Listening

Decent conversations involve more than (NVC) listening. They involve empathy, compassion, and a desire to help participants evolve their understanding. To come together in reaching a deeper or more nuanced shared understanding. I sometime refer to this as “shared mutual exploration”.

Yes, that’s a high bar. But with practice and motivation – and yes, support – one that most people are capable of clearing.

Is there value in decent conversations? For me, absolutely. For others? Maybe we can have a decent conversation about that.

– Bob

Further Reading

Rosenberg, M.B. (2015). Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. Puddledancer Press.
Kline, N. (2010). More Time to Think: A Way of Being in the World. Fisher King Publishing.
http://www.skillsyouneed.com. (n.d.). Active Listening | SkillsYouNeed. [online] Available at: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/active-listening.html [Accessed 7 Aug. 2021].
http://www.psychologytoday.com. (2013). It’s Not Enough to Listen | Psychology Today. [online] Available at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/encountering-america/201303/its-not-enough-listen [Accessed 7 Aug. 2021].
Cordes, R. (2020). Making Sense of Sensemaking: What it is and what it Means for Pandemic Research. [online] Atlantic Council. Available at: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/geotech-cues/making-sense-of-sensemaking-what-it-is-and-what-it-means-for-pandemic-research/ [Accessed 7 Aug. 2021].
Trzeciak, S., Booker, C., Mazzarelli, A. (2019). Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence That Caring Makes a Difference. Studer Group.
Bohm, D. (2014). On dialogue. London: Routledge.
Rodriguez, C. (2013). “On Dialogue” David Bohm. [online] Carmen Rodríguez A. Available at: https://carmenrodrigueza.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/on-dialogue-david-bohm/ [Accessed 7 Aug. 2021].

Quickie: Compassion

How do you feel about compassion in the workplace? In your team? For others? Does compassion matter? Even in the caring profession (specifically, health) compassion gets short shrift. Compassionomics shares the science that shows compassion boosts the bottom line. And see the book.