Civility in the Workplace

I like the word ‘agile’ so when it showed up in an email, I was interested. As I read about the people who believe in Agile software development, I still liked what I was reading. It is civility in the workplace.

These are some points from the manifesto for Agile software development and the principles behind their work.
We value
Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan

That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.

We follow these principles
1. Business people and developers must work together daily throughout the project.
2. Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.
3. The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation.
4. Working software is the primary measure of progress.
5. Simplicity--the art of maximizing the amount of work not done--is essential.
6. The best architectures, requirements, and designs emerge from self-organizing teams.
7. At regular intervals, the team reflects on how to become more effective, then tunes and adjusts its behavior accordingly.

This is from the group’s history
“…we all felt privileged to work with a group of people who held a set of compatible values, a set of values based on trust and respect for each other and promoting organizational models based on people, collaboration, and building the types of organizational communities in which we would want to work. At the core, I believe Agile Methodologists are really about "mushy" stuff; about delivering good products to customers by operating in an environment that does more than talk about "people as our most important asset" but actually "acts" as if people were the most important, and lose the word "asset". So in the final analysis, the meteoric rise of interest in -- and sometimes tremendous criticism of --Agile Methodologies is about the mushy stuff of values and culture.”

Manifesto for Agile Software Development, http://agilemanifesto.org/

Posted by Lynette Spicer at 06:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I’ve had several instances in person and via email lately that I mentally thought….that was a discussion stopper. I wanted to explain how one person can do that--shut down a discussion that had it continued would have had some benefit to solve a problem or move a group on to accomplishments.

This is from Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen of the Harvard Negotiation Project---

They write about how you can give the impression of being unapproachable. One does it by appearing or being--
Uninterested
Unpredictable
Short-tempered
Judgmental
Punitive
Hypersensitive
Argumentative
Unfriendly

I think those attitudes are a good assessment of how one person can shut down a conversation.

Perhaps people who exhibit those attitudes ask what’s to be gained by discussion. I’d suggest
Ideas
Investment
Uncovering perceptions
--all steps forward with civility.

What do you think?

Posted by Lynette Spicer at 07:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Fear of the unknown is a big fear. People are fearful that a pink slip is coming their way. Or that their organization’s next income and expense statement will be further out of line with the budget. Fears go on and on as far as the imagination stretches. Those fears create stress in individual lives and in the workplace.

My favorite point in an article ‘Manners matter even more in hard times’ in USA Weekend, June 19-21 issue, is “Communicate often”. Authors Peggy Post and P.M. Forni write “Nothing dispels anxiety in the workplace like the flow of candid information.” I think we’d all add: Nothing increases angst like the lack of communication. When there is no communication, gossip and speculation prevail. Productivity declines because people are under stress from all their fears.

Read ‘Manners matter even more in hard times’ which has these points
• Evaluate your behavior and anticipate the likelihood of rudeness.
• Don’t let money woes mess up your relationships.
• Watch out for others who may not be coping well.
• Be a prophet of boom, not doom.
• Make time to reassure others.
• Communicate often.

Posted by Lynette Spicer at 06:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today’s interactive, social and communication tools make it easier for work teams to exist outside the traditional office environment. Coworkers can be virtual or in different physical offices in the same city, on opposite coasts or in different countries.

1. Establish team objectives
2. Remind each person that he or she is a part of the team working on a specific project
a. Each person knows his/her role and responsibilities
b. Anyone can ask a question; it’s open collaboration
3. Establish ground rules which are a code of conduct and help manage expectations
4. Agree on the right technology, obtain it and use it
5. Look for opportunities to socialize virtually but have face to face meetings to establish trust
6. Communicate clearly and often; if people aren’t contributing to the team, communicate more with them
7. Motivate team members
a. Short assignments of several weeks keep the team moving forward
b. Recognize those who are doing good work
8. Be considerate of one another
a. People are in different time zones
b. Cultural differences may be expressed in something as simple as preferred method of communication (telephone, chat, email)

Notes from June 8 presentation by Craig Wood, eXtension content director, and Henrietta Ritchie-Holbrook, eXtension multimedia design leader, at the ACE/NETC conference in Des Moines. ACE and NETC are two professional organizations of primarily communications and information technology workers in land-grant universities.

eXtension, http://www.extension.org, provides objective and research-based information and learning opportunities that help people improve their lives. eXtension is an educational partnership of 74 universities in the United States. It operates by virtual teams.

Sources Craig and Henrietta used
10 tips for managing virtual teams
The Five C’s Of Managing Virtual Teams

I’m struck by how similar this is to today’s teams with members working in the same building or same city. It’s civility in the workplace.

Posted by Lynette Spicer at 06:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

That’s what the blog from the Workplace Bullying Institute has right at the top.

Ruth and Gary Namie are untiring in their work researching, educating and combating bullying in the workplace. I attended a workshop they presented in Sioux City in Oct. 2007. Gary sent an email last week asking if I’d list his blog as a resource on my main page. That is a resounding YES.

Bullying is a terrifically complex problem
I have written about it in the past. It took only one comment on my blog from someone who was being bullied and crying out for help to convince me I should mention it occasionally for awareness but direct readers to experts.

The Workplace Bullying Institute blog started regular posts in Jan. 2009. See it at http://www.workplacebullying.org/

Gary’s email said he’d found my blog through Minding the Workplace, another fairly new blog by a law professor at Suffolk University Law School in Boston. The blog says the professor is founder of the New Workplace Institute (http://www.newworkplaceinstitute.org/), a research and education center promoting healthy, productive and socially responsible workplaces. See that blog at http://newworkplace.wordpress.com/

Bullying is health-harming
Workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable behavior directed towards an employee, or group of employees, that creates a risk to health and safety. Bullying often involves a misuse or abuse of power where the targets can experience difficulties in defending themselves.

If you are being bullied or know someone who is, please pass on the link to the Workplace Bullying Institute.

Posted by Lynette Spicer at 06:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)