Team safety usingDeep Democracy

Andrea Blundell and Pru Gell

Team safety usingDeep Democracy

Andrea Blundell and Pru Gell

Acknowledgement of county

Pru GellMy why:

Lit up by people and

groups living their

potential, to enable

positive change

Why I’m talking:

● Facilitator

● Mediator

● Educator

● Deep Democracy

Coach

My why:

Inspired by people and

groups who imagine a

new future and move

towards it

Why I’m talking:

● Agile Coach

● Facilitator

Andrea Blundell

Team safety using Deep Democracy

1) What is team safety and why it is important?

2) Diagnosing safety in our teams?

3) Tools to increase team safety?

4) If there’s a part of you that does not want to be here:

a) What part of you is that? i.e. part of you that has a pressing deadline to meet or…

b) What would it take you to come along and be here?

1) How are you feeling at this point in your day?

2) What are your hopes for this session

3) Do you want to be at this session? Is there anything that makes you want to be somewhere else?

AC

TIV

ITY

The Lewis Method of Deep Democracy

Why do a Check-in?

1. Recognised as humans rather than

mere cogs in a workplace,

humaness welcomed

2. Everyone given opportunity to talk

3. Equalise rank

4. Makes what’s unconscious,

conscious … and more

CONSCIOUS

UNCONSCIOUS

What some people in

the group are aware of

but others are not

What everyone in the

group are aware of…

Group’s Wisdom & Potential

What is Deep Democracy?

NEW WAYS

OF WORKING

UK

Denmark

France

USA

Israel

India

Australia

Lebanon

Kenya

Belgium

South Africa

Italy

Sweden

Ireland

Netherlands

New Zealand

Palestine

Zimbabwe

Turkey

Norway

Germany

Canada

Iraq

Russia

What is team safety and why it is important?

AC

TIV

ITY

Identify/remember a time when you were in a meeting and you wanted to say something but felt a bit hesitant, vulnerable, uncomfortable to say something. Maybe you had a view that was different to the other ones being shared.

1) When have you experienced this?

2) What was happening in the room that didn’t make you feel comfortable or safe to speak?

Share with someone near by

Psychological Safety?

“Psychological safety is a

shared belief that the

team is safe for

interpersonal risk taking”

Google’s Project Aristotle

Psychological Safety = #1 trait

“Team members feel safe to take risks and be

vulnerable in front of each other”

• Conversational turn taking

• Empathy

• Bring real person to work

Detection of threat in the environment

• Calm

• Embodied

• Present

• Open

• Curious

• Relaxed, yet alert

• Competent

Safety

(Social

Engagement and

Communication)

Danger

(Fight/ Flight

mode)

• Increased heart rate

• Reactive

• Increased respiration

• Worry/ panic/ anxiety

• Anger/ Rage

Life Threat

(Freeze/

Collapse/ Shut

down)

• Low heart rate

• Low energy

• Disconnection

• ‘Spacey’

• Under responsive

Porges, S.W. (2004). Neuroception: A subconscious

system for detecting threats and safety.

Diagnosing safety in our teams?

Resistance Line

COVERT OVERT

Inefficient & Ineffective

Sarcastic Jokes Gossip Disruption Strike

Excuses

Poor

Communication/

BreakdownGo Slow War/

Withdrawal

QU

ES

TIO

NS

1) Have you felt yourself using these kinds of behaviours?

2) What was going on that led you to use them?

COVERT OVERT

Inefficient & Ineffective

Sarcastic Jokes Gossip Disruption Strike

Excuses

Poor

Communication/

BreakdownGo Slow War/

Withdrawal

Tools to increase team safety?

Increase safety using Deep Democracy by

Let people feel that it’s safe to express their views

Have people know that their views are heard

Factor in their views

Benefits:

1. People stay off or at least reduce time on the Resistance Line

2. Extra wisdom/insights added into decisions

Good for business and humans within

Well how to do that?How can we increase levels of safety?

List of tools1.Check-in

2.Four Steps

Tool 1. Check-in

1. Recognised as humans

2. Everyone given opportunity to talk

3. Equalise rank

4. Make what’s unconscious, conscious

More reasons for why to do it …

• enables you to ‘read’ the group and gain insight into

the dynamics that will influence the meeting

• allows insight into the Resistance Line

• set a relevant agenda

Tool 2. 4 steps

1. Gain all the views

2. Make it safe to say “NO”

3. Spread the ”NO”

4. Ask the Question:

What do you need to go along?

Step 1: Gain all the views1. With what you say

2. Set tone with how you talk

3. Speak from the ‘I’. Why?

• 2nd/3rd person generalities slow, no

decisions made

• Accountability & responsibility made

when people speak from the ‘I’

Step 2: Make it safe to say the ‘no’

How to do?

• Be aware of tone and ensure

address all sides equally.

• Bring/invite in no view if it’s

not coming in

Step 3: Spread the ‘no’

Ask “Anyone else feel a little bit like this?”

Recognise person with ‘no’ = Spokesperson for all not expressing their views.

Step 4: What would it take you to come along?

Take aways

Team safety using Deep Democracy

1. What is team safety and why it is important?

2. Diagnosing safety in our teams?

3. Tools to increase team safety?

From here practical first steps

• Resistance Line• Check-in• Spread the ‘no’

Learn more about Deep Democracy

Prugell@gmail.com

Blundellandrea@gmail.com

Myrna Lewis’s book ‘5 steps to decisions that last’

www.deep-democracy.net

or using Deep Democracy

in agile environments