Phoenix Rising

Daniel Breston recently wrote an article on the experience we had co-facilitating Gamingworks The Phoenix Project online (TPPo) for an itSMFUK Masterclass. Please do read his article as he discusses his perspective as the CEO as well as his own depth of IT knowledge and exploits. In this article I explore more deeply the human aspects experienced in the simulation and how this relates to reality.

Yes, there are always different perspectives and the context in which we find ourselves. As Daniel said, “Sims are interesting, you can’t hide, you can’t avoid the truth, you are playing it!” I believe it might surprise people to discover that although each person played different roles, the thinking and behaviours of their one in real life, did creep into the state of play.

“All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” William Shakespeare

The day was invaluable to me in my own learning. As a co-facilitator, it allowed me to focus more deeply on the Humanising IT aspects. It is an amazing experience when you have such a knowledgeable colleague and wide variety of personalities with which to engage.

Chaos Coordination

In the brief get to know you portion, positive, negative and indifferent assumptions are made by each person and as these are not explicit initially, it creates a space of curious awkwardness. There is no doubt this group was there to learn and explore. Perhaps they got more than they bargained for as that uncomfortable subject of feelings comes into play.

Even if each sprint in the game has its goals and specific targets to be met, a little chaos is a norm in the first round. Why wouldn’t it be when you have people that don’t know each other coming together as a team for the first time? Having to learn to find your place in the team, getting to identify different preferences for communication, how introverts and extraverts claim their place in the team. Add to that the pressure this group had due to the headcount being lower than expected making it necessary to take on extra role responsibilities. Somehow this sounds all too real!

There are painful discoveries when some team members do not respond or act as you hoped and frustration rises when even after you feel communication has taken place, the meaning of the message hasn’t quite reached the intended party. Many ‘assumptions’ are made. 

Getting into the flow of DevOps isn’t just about automation, being lean and measuring - it’s the all important culture and sharing. Did you ever notice in DevOps CALMS there is a big C and a big S surrounding the other three?

Below are just a few of the behaviours initially observed that have their pros and cons. Many recognize these behaviors from their daily situations: 

• a lot of the same things being said, but no one actively listening
• plenty of offers to help, but very little taken
• Seeing that somebody is struggling and uncomfortable but not offering help or support
• a good splash of telling what needed to be done with both verbal and visible cues, but no one acting on those requests/demands
• doing the activity on the other person’s behalf ‘just to get it done’ but without that person’s express consent or knowledge and thereby adding to confusion
• tentative questions being asked but a lack of willingness to expressly ask for help
• Questions being asked but left unanswered as people flip-flop between discussion topics and throw questions upon questions
• genuine desire to get things right but unspoken concerns being expressed through long silences, tuts, grunts, groans and agitated mouse movements 

Nothing is ever perfect - 'We have this, BUT…', 'we can’t do that, BUT…!' In my experience, the risk question is, can we ‘live with the BUT’?

My favourite portion of any of the simulation games we facilitate is the reflection board. This is where we solidify the experience into practical learning outcomes, find the opportunity to build our individual and collective resilience and engender growth mindsets. In the back of my mind are always Paul Wilkinson's ABC of ICT scenarios as certain of his cartoons did slide into my mind. Attitude, Behaviour & Culture are linchpins to success.

Sprint 1 key points the team expressed:

• Lack of clear direction. Didn’t clearly articulate how to work together. 
• We need to define roles and understand business impact
• Segregation of duties
• Finance and Retail (Product owner) to focus the team
• Understanding other areas of the business/roles
• Colour coding showed what area something had come from but not the value it would provide so we felt silo’d (need for improved visibility and situational awareness)
• Rushed at the end

Then it’s time to go away for a break before planning what to do to improve. Taking time out to refresh your brain and restore some equilibrium is critical. Too often we find ourselves jumping from one task to the next, in and out of meetings, interactions where we don’t have the mental, emotional or physical space to reflect. During these sprints there is a ‘wear and tear’ and even if we feel in the zone, we can only operate at these levels for a set period of time before our energy levels deplete. We must move into ‘rest and repair’ mode. Each person has their own personal battery - a cycle for it to drain, time it takes to recharge and what fuels the battery and this cycle is different for all of us. Without this understanding and focus, burnout and mental health issues are exacerbated. 

Coming out of the Chaos

During the Sprint 2 planning, the team opened up their communication into a deeper and wider space, gaining clarity by circling back on a topic when decisions hadn’t been made on how they would move forward. Certainly key aspects of psychological safety were becoming more evident. Some people aren’t good at asking for help because they’re so used to being the helper. It’s an instinct to solve our own problems so it was good to see the personal awareness happen and courage to ask happen.

Sprint 2 reflection and the knowledge board of discovery revealed progress in the human aspects and are based on questions such as, "What will you now DO with the learning?", "What actions will you take away?".

• Raise your voice if you want or need help and support from managers and colleagues
• Discovered a more open mindset in improving product delivery
• Improving collaboration means improving inclusion in my team
• Stronger, more active listening to ALL stakeholders
• Taking ownership is not just about responsibility but accountability
• Realising staff are more important than customers as their engagement is what generates the customer outcome
• Throw away the dead-cat syndrome and include Ops more in the Dev
• Improve my listening, coaching and knowledge sharing skills
• Help the organisation learn more of the cultural aspects in IT frameworks to help remove silos
• Build a common understanding of DevOps across the Leadership (Cxx, Product Owners, etc.)
• Defining better ways of prioritising
• Brainstorm more about the processes involved in delivering our service/product
• Being clear about who places work in the backlog to avoid confusion and overload and improve priority discussions for the sprint
• Doing more reflections as they help make what we do and how we do it clearer

Lead with Purpose, Resilience & Competence

If your organisation purports to have and need transparent communication and open collaboration then it must also require empathy and emotional agility competencies. If you lead with positivity then you must also be ready and know how to deal with the messy emotions too. Want to be in the flow? Then we need to tap into our human flow.

There is a key reason simulation games are so powerful. Movement is the language of the Brain - feeling, sensing, thinking and emoting all emerge. It drives the amazing process of learning, growth, and the formation of self. Experiential learning is how we formed our values, beliefs, behaviours and so it goes that experience new perspectives and ways of thinking and working drive powerful positive brain changes leading to immediate learning and integration of new skills.

Be adaptable. Curiosity is one of our greatest assets when it comes to understanding and moving forward on a journey. We need to be, and remain, fluid in the way we approach change beyond digital transformation. Experience-minded and purpose-driven organisations are able to connect humans with purpose, expand minds, and increase emotional agility and capability. 

When we intentionally create conditions that wake up the brain we tap into this potent process and start our journey into the art of the possible. This is the Pheonix rising. A transformation into discovering our strengths and a renewal as we explore becoming something new born out of a context no longer suitable or viable.

Are you ready to explore how experiencing through simulation can shift the reality of your today into an improved collaborative, innovative and resilient tomorrow?

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Time to become a mixologist and understanding that to be creative and innovate takes more than imagination, it takes synergy between professions and practices. 

Simone Jo Moore's work involves guiding the digital journey of organisations and individuals in adapting to Humanising IT. Blending business and technology approaches and frameworks to help us thrive in an ever-changing, dynamic world. Flourishing humans and exceptional experiences are a result of her active values - people connected, knowledge shared, possibilities discovered and potential realised. Recognised as a Top 25 industry thought leader, Simone is the Editorial Director of 'The Era of HumanisingIT' docuseries. In addition, Simone is also a contributing author to VeriSM Unwrapped and Applied , ITIL4 High Velocity IT , a Lead Author for ITIL4 course content and reviewer to the EUC’s Managing complexity (and chaos) in times of crisis.

Simone takes things beyond technology and provides a deep leadership experience shared through consulting, training, workshops, conferences, podcasts and social media.

Interested in having Simone work with you and/or your organisation? A speaker at your next event? Even a coaching session or workshop/training then come explore with Simone here. You can also catch up with her on KTLO Learn broadcasts