February 21, 2019 at 16:18Scrum and Graves' spiral dynamics: how not to run into reefs
Anyone who is even a little familiar with Scrum, probably knows three of his short characteristics:
As a Scrum Master at Hubber, I constantly discover new facets of the latest features.
The Scrum Guide has a paragraph that lists values - involvement, focus, openness, respect, courage. I will quote the great ones - “The success of using Scrum directly depends on how well people adhere to these values . ”
I agree that these very values are one of those facets that make Scrum difficult to master in perfection. Let's see why.
Let us turn to the model of “neurological levels” by Robert Dilts . The people - Dilts Pyramid.
Dilts placed values on the third level. There is a certain logic in this simple pyramid - higher levels determine lower ones. For instance:
There is one important trick in this pyramid. Any changes at the highest levels lead to changes at the lower.
For example: we leave the mission the same, change the second level to - Super Planter . And bam - everything changes below. Or change the values to: “I believe that many people drink coffee. The coffee business is profitable . ” And again, the abilities, behavior and environment will change. Everything will focus on profit, not on people (as in the first case).
In this sense, Sutherland and Schwaber (the creators of Scrum), along with the framework, give excellent values (involvement, focus, openness, respect, courage). Having accepted these values, our abilities, behavior and environment in a team or organization as a whole should change qualitatively. Where are the difficulties, you ask? And here they are!
In neuro-linguistic programming, there is a concept - a complex equivalent. These are the same values. That is, value is a noun that is a shortcut to a set of actions and experiences (verbs). And everything would be fine, only for each value in the form of a noun each individual person has his own set of verbs.
For example:
Both have a Respect Value. That's just showing it to each other, they will get at best a misunderstanding, at worst - a conflict. At the company level, the same story. In addition, in most cases, employees are not aware of the set of verbs that stands behind beautiful nouns invented by business owners.
Tablet. Maximize Scrum values and your own. Explain to everyone what you expect from colleagues when they will exhibit these values. Broadcast values in your actions. Try on successful (and not so) value cases - which ones worked here and which ones you forgot about.
Here we turn to Clare Graves ' Spiral Dynamics model of human values . If Scrum is easy to understand, but difficult to learn, then with Spiral Dynamics and with understanding it is not easy.
Nevertheless, this is a very effective model for diagnosing the stages of development of an individual, organization, society and humanity as a whole. By the way, Frederic Lalu came up with his “Turquoise organizations”, based on this particular model.
Graves claims that we all develop in a spiral, and identifies 8 levels (there is also the 9th coral, but so far it has not been practically described).
Each level has its own values, which are displayed in the figure, and shows what motivates us at one or another level. Important:Each next level includes the previous one. Levels depend on living conditions, i.e., on the environment and context.
A spoiled baby of rich parents gets into orange living conditions and accepts the values of this level - success and ambition. And everything seems to have already happened, but, falling into the red conditions of life, the baby cannot stand up for himself and receives cuffs, does not receive the position, cannot protect the business and lose it.
An orange or yellow organization with an undeveloped violet level (security and traditions) can constantly struggle with turnover and lack of innovation.
It can be concluded that the spiral must be strong from the very foundation, so that, falling into different environments and contexts, a person or company can effectively cope with actual problems based on their values.
Let's try to impose the Scrum values on the Graves spiral and see at what levels these five values lie. But first, we decompose these beautiful nouns into more specific actions.
As you can see, Openness and Respect are completely at the Green Level. Features of this level are:
The Orange level is in second place in terms of quantity and this is not at all strange - all the same, Scrum is used in business to a greater extent. I want to note that a strong orange can only be on the foundation of a strong Red Level, that is, Strength and Power. Here are the features:
In third place is the Blue Level of laws, rules and the supremacy of higher truth and purpose. Scrum also has procedures such as structure and purpose, although many confuse flexibility with complete chaos. Features at this level:
As you can see, the values of Scrum are high enough in the Graves spiral. In the IT industry, many colleagues are already reaching for orange and less for green. Organizations, often at the orange level, interact with the state and competitors more at the blue and red levels.
Remember the Dilts Pyramid and focus with a shift at a certain level? It really works, but the problem is that the higher the level, the more difficult it is to change it. This is a rather long and energy-consuming process.
Tablet.Select people by values, not just technical skills. Detail soft-skills and try on all candidates. Selecting people according to values, you will already form them in the organization. Create the “Living Conditions” (environment) of the level that you want to achieve, and people will learn new values and make them organizational.
The success of using Scrum directly depends on how well people adhere to these values. (Scrum Guide, 2017).
The values of people and organizations are the driving force and goal. They are like the wind in the sails of a ship and like the lighthouse to which this ship is heading. And if you treat them just like beautiful nouns, you can endlessly dangle in calm and eventually run into reefs.
- compact;
- easy to understand;
- difficult to master to perfection.
As a Scrum Master at Hubber, I constantly discover new facets of the latest features.
The Scrum Guide has a paragraph that lists values - involvement, focus, openness, respect, courage. I will quote the great ones - “The success of using Scrum directly depends on how well people adhere to these values . ”
I agree that these very values are one of those facets that make Scrum difficult to master in perfection. Let's see why.
Neurological levels
Let us turn to the model of “neurological levels” by Robert Dilts . The people - Dilts Pyramid.
Dilts placed values on the third level. There is a certain logic in this simple pyramid - higher levels determine lower ones. For instance:
- My mission (necessarily unattainable, it's a mission!): So that all people in the world drink only high-quality natural coffee;
- Who am I: I am the Great Barista.
- Values (what I believe in): I believe that high-quality coffee gives people vitality, contributes to pleasant communication and productivity.
- What can I: I am well versed in coffee, I can buy it and cook it deliciously.
- What I do: I make coffee, communicate with interesting people every day.
- What I have in the end: I have 2 coffee houses in cozy parks, several coffee machines, 5 employees, many soft comfortable poufs, pleasant music in coffee houses.
There is one important trick in this pyramid. Any changes at the highest levels lead to changes at the lower.
For example: we leave the mission the same, change the second level to - Super Planter . And bam - everything changes below. Or change the values to: “I believe that many people drink coffee. The coffee business is profitable . ” And again, the abilities, behavior and environment will change. Everything will focus on profit, not on people (as in the first case).
In this sense, Sutherland and Schwaber (the creators of Scrum), along with the framework, give excellent values (involvement, focus, openness, respect, courage). Having accepted these values, our abilities, behavior and environment in a team or organization as a whole should change qualitatively. Where are the difficulties, you ask? And here they are!
Difficulty No. 1 - misunderstanding
In neuro-linguistic programming, there is a concept - a complex equivalent. These are the same values. That is, value is a noun that is a shortcut to a set of actions and experiences (verbs). And everything would be fine, only for each value in the form of a noun each individual person has his own set of verbs.
For example:
- The 1st person under “Respect” means “Give advice, constantly offer your help, come to meetings on time, do not criticize colleagues.”
- The 2nd person understands the opposite - “To criticize colleagues whom you respect (to make them better), to help and advise only, if asked, to make decisions together.
Both have a Respect Value. That's just showing it to each other, they will get at best a misunderstanding, at worst - a conflict. At the company level, the same story. In addition, in most cases, employees are not aware of the set of verbs that stands behind beautiful nouns invented by business owners.
Tablet. Maximize Scrum values and your own. Explain to everyone what you expect from colleagues when they will exhibit these values. Broadcast values in your actions. Try on successful (and not so) value cases - which ones worked here and which ones you forgot about.
Difficulty number 2 - fragility
Here we turn to Clare Graves ' Spiral Dynamics model of human values . If Scrum is easy to understand, but difficult to learn, then with Spiral Dynamics and with understanding it is not easy.
Nevertheless, this is a very effective model for diagnosing the stages of development of an individual, organization, society and humanity as a whole. By the way, Frederic Lalu came up with his “Turquoise organizations”, based on this particular model.
Graves claims that we all develop in a spiral, and identifies 8 levels (there is also the 9th coral, but so far it has not been practically described).
Each level has its own values, which are displayed in the figure, and shows what motivates us at one or another level. Important:Each next level includes the previous one. Levels depend on living conditions, i.e., on the environment and context.
A spoiled baby of rich parents gets into orange living conditions and accepts the values of this level - success and ambition. And everything seems to have already happened, but, falling into the red conditions of life, the baby cannot stand up for himself and receives cuffs, does not receive the position, cannot protect the business and lose it.
An orange or yellow organization with an undeveloped violet level (security and traditions) can constantly struggle with turnover and lack of innovation.
It can be concluded that the spiral must be strong from the very foundation, so that, falling into different environments and contexts, a person or company can effectively cope with actual problems based on their values.
Let's try to impose the Scrum values on the Graves spiral and see at what levels these five values lie. But first, we decompose these beautiful nouns into more specific actions.
As you can see, Openness and Respect are completely at the Green Level. Features of this level are:
- Connections between people;
- The formation of an environmentally friendly environment;
- The right to make a mistake;
- Learning takes place through observation and empiricism.
- Openness both within the community and with the external environment (partners, customers).
The Orange level is in second place in terms of quantity and this is not at all strange - all the same, Scrum is used in business to a greater extent. I want to note that a strong orange can only be on the foundation of a strong Red Level, that is, Strength and Power. Here are the features:
- Learning by experiment, through trial and error;
- It is run by engineers and entrepreneurs;
- The desire for independence;
- Improving life through science and technology;
- Prestige matters.
In third place is the Blue Level of laws, rules and the supremacy of higher truth and purpose. Scrum also has procedures such as structure and purpose, although many confuse flexibility with complete chaos. Features at this level:
- Following the meaning and purpose;
- Order instead of anarchy;
- Consistency and rules;
- Systematization.
As you can see, the values of Scrum are high enough in the Graves spiral. In the IT industry, many colleagues are already reaching for orange and less for green. Organizations, often at the orange level, interact with the state and competitors more at the blue and red levels.
Remember the Dilts Pyramid and focus with a shift at a certain level? It really works, but the problem is that the higher the level, the more difficult it is to change it. This is a rather long and energy-consuming process.
Tablet.Select people by values, not just technical skills. Detail soft-skills and try on all candidates. Selecting people according to values, you will already form them in the organization. Create the “Living Conditions” (environment) of the level that you want to achieve, and people will learn new values and make them organizational.
The success of using Scrum directly depends on how well people adhere to these values. (Scrum Guide, 2017).
The values of people and organizations are the driving force and goal. They are like the wind in the sails of a ship and like the lighthouse to which this ship is heading. And if you treat them just like beautiful nouns, you can endlessly dangle in calm and eventually run into reefs.