Lean-Agile Straight Talk

Groupthink and Fear as Team Killers: A Conversation with Marc Danziger

08.18.2016 - By Jim TrottPlay

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Groupthink and Fear as Team Killers: A Conversation with Marc Danziger Marc Dangizer and Jim Trott talk about the problems teams often face when no one on the team is willing to acknowledge the challenge if others don’t (groupthink) or because they are afraid of what the consequences might be if they do (fear). In either case, the team is far worse off because issues get addressed only when they are unavoidable – rather than early when it might have been easy.   Lean and Agile teams are not immune to this but Lean-Agile practices can make it less likely. And a true Lean-Agile culture can make it never happen.   We cover questions such as: Why it is helpful to a coach to focus on groupthink and fear. And why it is not always bad. As a manager, team member, or senior leader, how top spot groupthink and fear Whether and how Lean-Agile helps to address groupthink and fear. How to address this when you have mixed cultures, some that are happy to challenge and some that seek to preserve group identity. If you are a coach or are engaged in Lean-Agile transformation, I am sure these questions have occurred to you. Recommendations - Reading and Sites You can use the forums on the Net Objectives Portal to ask questions about the webinar.  Note, you will have to register on the portal to do so. The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Some aphorisms on software development methodology The Art of Action: : How Leaders Close the Gaps between Plans, Actions and Results by Stephen Bungay Music used in this podcast: “And So It Begins” and “Easy Lemon” by Kevin MacLeod © Incompetech Inc. Blog Type: Podcast   Transcript Introduction The focus of our discussion is on the problems teams often face when no one on the team is willing to acknowledge the challenge if others don't, which we call groupthink, or because they are afraid of what the consequences might be if they do, which is fear. View Full Transcript [background music] Jim Trott:  It's August 18th, 2016. This show, "A Conversation on Groupthink and Fear as Team Killers" with Marc Danziger. [background music] Jim:  Hello and welcome to another edition of "Lean‑Agile Straight Talk," a regular podcast series from Net Objectives. I'm your host, Jim Trott. In this show, Marc Danziger and I talk about groupthink and fear as team killers. The focus of our discussion is on the problems teams often face when no one on the team is willing to acknowledge the challenge if others don't, which we call groupthink, or because they are afraid of what the consequences might be if they do, which is fear. In either case, the team is far worse off because issues get addressed only when they are unavoidable, rather than earlier when it might have been easier to address. Lean and Agile teams are not immune to this, but we believe practices in Lean and Agile can make it less likely to occur, and a true Lean‑Agile culture can make it never happen. We're going to cover questions such as, "Why it's helpful to have coached a focus on groupthink and fear, and why it's not always bad? As a manager, a team member or a senior leader, how to spot groupthink and fear. Whether and how Lean‑Agile helps to address groupthink and fear, and how to address this when you have mixed cultures. Some that are happy to challenge and some that seek to preserve group identity. What do you do?" If you are a coach or engaged in Lean‑Agile transformation, I'm sure, these questions have occurred to you. Before we get started, I want to remind you that you can explore more about this topic by jumping over to the resources section of www.netobjectives.com. At Net Objectives, we are committed to discovering effective software development methods so that we can assist organizations in becoming more successful. We combine our experience to continuously extend the capability of what is possible and creating effective software development organizations. We provide these approaches to our clients and the community in general so that we can assist peop

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