THA: Meeting: Ingress Router 11/12/2019

[bwinter]

Things to keep in mind:

• Put Streatchly on break
• Silence phone
• Use your curiosity to drive Reactive Listening

Meeting

Summary (TODO: Linksify)

• Introductions
• Description
• Ground Rules
• Voting
• Discussion

Introductions

• Facilitator introductions (name, pronouns, team, title, tha history)
• Introductions (make a list of names to help coordinate round-robin discussion)
  • Name (please correct my pronunciation if I screw it up)
  • Role on team
  • Pronouns (but don't force it)
  • THA
  • [Optional] Something not interesting about self. (to break ice if needed)
  • [Optional] Draw Toast creation process. (helps demonstrate two taco problem)
• If, not remote:
  • Ask folks to write name cards.
  • Possibly put people on white board around virtual table.
• If fully, remote:
  • Ask folks to update their names in the remote conference.
  • Ask folks to close Slack and other messaging tools. (Qualify with common exceptions.)
  • Ask folks to turn off their camera when doing other things.

Description

• I have heard THAs described as a psychological safety tune-ups.
• THA is very much like a retrospective:
  • In that it gives the team an opportunity to identify and iterate on many aspects of the team.
  • It generally runs quarterly and is usually a 2-3 hour meeting.
• I'll give a more detailed description later but the Format is roughly:
  • I read a metric and, its positive and negative statements.
  • Then everyone will take a little time to reflect on what was said.
  • After that we will tally the votes and then I'll read the next metric.
  • After all metrics are done we will do a round-robin discuss of our thoughts on each.
• The goal of a THA is to have a high quality discussion / dialogue.
• We are here to identify pain points - with the long term goal of the team overcoming them.
• Anti-goals:
  • The goal is not to get all green. A THA is not a test. It is not about populating a score card.
  • Feeling comfortable raising concerns is a sign of a healthy team.
• We are taking notes but they aren't used externally and never w/o permission.
• For the sake of time, if we get stuck on a topic, we will use a “Parking Lot” for items that the team can come back to after the THA.
  • (We will make sure there is an owner who will make sure the item gets stored somewhere.)
• [Optional] Tiny retro at end to help the facilitator improve.

Ground Rules:

• The Team Health Assessment only works if we collectively establish this as a space with “psychological safety.” This means that we agree that there will be no retaliation for things discussed, and team members will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.

• During discussion, everyone should try their best to speak using I/Me statements, and should minimize their references to other people’s thoughts and actions. And finally, we all agree to the fundamental rule of retrospectives: we believe that everyone has performed to the best of their abilities with the information they had.”

• Avoid minimizing team mate's statements.

  • e.g. use “yes, and” language rather than “yes, but”s or “no”s.

• 1 voice at a time:

  • Wiggly fingers or knocking for agreement.
  • Thumbs up for praise.

• Use your active listening skills.

  • Be present.
  • Don’t bring devices.

• Listen deeply enough to be changed.

• Any questions about what has been said so far?

• Take a deep breath before we dive into the voting round. (This one is for the facilitator)

Voting:

• Explain (Read checklist.)

  • Voting Round

    • We will be using multiple metrics designed to drive useful discussions.
    • We will read the metric and its positive and negative statements.
    • We will take a moment to ensure everyone understands the meaning of the statements.
      • We will give 1 to 1.5 minute to reflect on how each metric and accompanying statements make you feel.
      • Raise your hand if you need more time or have a question.
      • These questions are intentionally wishy-washy, try to “lean into them”.
      • It is okay for everyone to interpret metrics differently.
      • To help retain novel thoughts, consider creating some notes.
      • Finally we will ask everyone to show how they voted and will record these votes on the worksheet.
        • Use colored post-its to help facilitators see your vote.

  • We will repeat this process for the rest of the metrics

  • After all metrics are done, we will take a deep breath (to help stay relaxed) and then take a short break.

  • Any questions about what has been said so far?

• Collect Metrics (run list above for every metric)

• Request metric sequencing feedback. (anything anyone finds particularly interesting?)

  • Compliment sandwich can be useful for red metrics.
  • Starting with a green metric first can help get physic safety up.

• First deep breath and then 10-minute break.

Discussion:

• Explain

  • I will read each metric and accompanying statements aloud again.
  • We will iterate through the group members, giving every person the opportunity to speak individually about how they felt on a particular topic.
  • During the discussion round, try not to say “pass”. In stead restate what you agree with. You may say it a different way that provides new insight. Or uncover a misunderstanding about the topic as it gives others a chance to say “that’s not quite what I meant”.
  • Once each person has spoken, there will be a final opportunity for any other discussions on the topic.
    • We will ensure there is not a disproportionate amount of time given to any one person (unless of course it’s warranted).
  • (optional) Get a read on whether the team feels like this is getting better (trending up) or getting worse (trending down). Record on scorecard.
  • Repeat with all of the other metrics
    • Choosing the next person in line to begin discussions.
  • TODO: explain how to use vote first technique

• Any questions about what has been said so far?

• Discussion Round

  • Take 10 or 15 minute breaks periodically for refreshments, restrooms and deep breaths.

• Congratulate everyone and thank them for all their input. This can be a very draining meeting.

• Any other Questions? (e.g. how is the artifact used?)

• (If time permits) Show the Optional metrics

• Mini retro (Liked, Learned, Lacked, Longed for)

TODO: add some section about how to leverage the THA into growth.

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For secondaries / shadows

• Summarize discussion
• Help keep track of time
• Counting votes

References

[1]: here Ground Rules and Psychological Safety script

----- TODO:

• If running out of time, switch to round table mode.