Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager People, Careers & Diversity In The Trenches: CREATING SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO BE AWESOME Highland Fling: Sessions Edinburgh, 19 April 2014

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager hNp://www.ickr.com/photos/kodomut/3667608102/

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager WE ALL HATE BAD BOSSES WE DESCRIBE THEM AS Clueless Empty suits Pointless Seagulls

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager hNps://twiNer.com/Caterina/status/6715084157

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager GOOD MANAGERS ARE BULLSHIT UMBRELLAS. BUT THEY ARE ALSO A LOT MORE THAN THAT.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager TradiZonal management beliefs are a pile of crap hNp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elephant_Dung.JPG

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager WHAT DOES WORK? Sooo.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Across industries, across countries, the best performing teams answer certain quesZons posiZvely

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Predictors of High Performance 1. Do I know what is expected of me at work? 2. Do I have the materials & equipment I need to do my work right? 3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? 4. In the last 7 days, have I received recogniZon or praise for good work? 5. Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? 6. Is there someone at work who cares about my development? 7. At work, do my opinions seem to count? 8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? 9. Are my co-workers commiNed to doing quality work? 10. Do I have a best friend at work? 11. In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my development? 12. At work, have I had opportuniZes to learn and grow?

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager UNDERSTAND MOTIVATION Purpose Autonomy Mastery

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager MOTIVATION = + PURPOSE (Do I believe in WHY?) + AUTONOMY (Do I get a say in WHAT?) + MASTERY (Am I proud of HOW?) - ANY NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT DETRACT

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Predictors of High Performance (remix) PURPOSE Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel like my work is important? AUTONOMY Do I know what is expected of me at work? At work, do my opinions seem to count? MASTERY Do I have the materials & equipment I need to do my work right? At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day? Is there someone at work who cares about my development? Are my co-workers commiNed to doing quality work? In the last 6 months, have I talked with someone about my development? At work, have I had opportuniZes to learn and grow?

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager And What Else? OTHER FACTORS: In the last 7 days, have I received recogniZon or praise for good work? Does my supervisor, or someone at work, seem to care about me as a person? Do I have a best friend at work? ESSENTIALLY, AM I RESPECTED & REWARDED HERE? CAN I BE MYSELF AND SUCCEED HERE? I CALL THIS INCLUSION.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager CREATE SPACE FOR YOUR PEOPLE TO BE THE BEST THEY CAN BE Your job as a manager

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager FIND & SHAPE SPACE WHERE YOU CAN BE THE BEST YOU CAN BE Maybe youre not a manager. As an individual, you need to

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager As An Individual, Ask Yourself Do I believe in WHY we are doing this work? How can I shape WHAT we/I do here? How am I genng beNer at HOW I do things? Do I BELONG HERE? (PURPOSE) (AUTONOMY) (MASTERY) (INCLUSION)

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager As A Manager, Ask Yourself Do my people know WHY we are doing this? Do my people get a say in the WHAT? In doing the right thing? Do my people get opportuniZes to do the thing right? And to get beNer at the HOW? Do we do a good job of making all our dierent people feel included & like they BELONG HERE? (PURPOSE) (AUTONOMY) (MASTERY) (INCLUSION)

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager SO WHATS NEEDED?

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager PROTECT PURPOSE BE A TRANSLATOR MAKE PURPOSE, STRATEGY & DIRECTION MAKE SENSE CONNECT WHAT PEOPLE ARE DOING (AND CAN DO!) TO OVERALL IMPORTANT PURPOSE

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager ENABLE AUTONOMY & MASTERY Skills/Knowledge Direction

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Skills/Knowledge Direction Know what to do, dont have all the skills to do it Know what to do and equipped to do it Got skills, need direction Huh? Where are we? What are we doing? CLUE / SKILLS MATRIX

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager hNp://www.ickr.com/photos/8250578@N06/8625641442/

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager hNp://www.ickr.com/photos/provoost/2246718091/

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager SKILL DEVELOPMENT Unconscious Incompetent Conscious Incompetent Conscious Competent Unconscious Competent

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager DELIBERATE PRACTICE You must be moKvated to aNend to the task and exert eort to improve your performance. The design of the task should take into account your pre-exisKng knowledge so that the task can be correctly understood aper a brief period of instrucZon. You should receive immediate informaKve feedback and knowledge of results of your performance. You should repeatedly perform the same or similar tasks.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager IS YOUR WORK DESIGNED IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE DELIBERATE PRACTICE? Ask yourself

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF Autonomy, mastery & purpose cant overrule or compensate for poor tools / environment / lack of inclusion / lack of caring forever

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager CULTIVATING INCLUSION If youve got Purpose, Autonomy & Mastery, then what else maNers? Making sure that all dierent kinds of people are able to succeed as themselves, authenZcally, is what culZvaZng inclusion is about.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager LETS QUICKLY DIGRESS BEFORE WE CONTINUE

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Im A Bit of a Diversity StaZsZc q Woman q Gay q Foreign q Employed (this is a bad thing if youre foreign) q MulZ-lingual q Disabled q Atheist q BUT grew up hugely aware of (unasked & undeserved) privilege I had growing up white in Apartheid South Africa.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager My childhood was FULL of signs like these Horrible & horric but impossible to escape

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager I CANNOT DENY THAT PRIVILEGE In fact, the most useful thing I can do is assess, understand & acknowledge that privilege

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Check out the original arZcle from Peggy McIntosh: hNp://www.amptoons.com/blog/les/mcintosh.html In Apartheid South Africa, ALL systems were set up to acZvely & blatantly give advantage to white folks and disadvantage non-whites. We are less good at sponng this when it isnt so blatant.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager We have to aggressively, and uncompromisingly, aNack the pernicious lie that the technology industry is a meritocracy. PerpetuaZng this myth only serves to bolster the egos of those who have succeeded already, at the expense of saying that people who are underrepresented in tech today arent present because they arent good Anil Dash

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager NOT DISCRIMINATING IS IMPORTANT Legally, if nothing else

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager BUT TOLERANCE IS A TERRIBLE WORD Would YOU want to be tolerated?

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager WOULDNT A FULLY INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENT BE BETTER? PROTIP: Helps Everyone!

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Diversity is a Spectrum AcZve hatred & discriminaZon (*isms) Micro aggressions Indierence AcZve inclusion Tolerance

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager A micro-aggression is telling young boys that they are very smart, and telling young girls that they are very pre(y. - Faruk Ates @kurare

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager So How Do We Move Right Way? 1. STOP allowing underprivileged groups to be pushed away (ac,vely/deliberately OR passively/uninten,onally) 2. START building acZvely inclusive environments

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Some Things That Work (some of these surprised me)

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Reduce Fear Increasing opportuniZes is worthy & important. But reducing fear is equally so. (Zps: reduce impact of failure, risk of humiliaZon, acknowledge risk IS DIFFERENT for those in underprivileged groups)

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager hNp://xkcd.com/385/

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager EDUCATE YOURSELF & OTHERS ABOUT PRIVILEGE & IMPLICIT BIAS If you keep doing what you always did, youll keep genng what you always got

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Privilege 101 The number one thing that privilege gives you is a belief that you CAN. ( go to university work in the industry you want marry who you want to get out of bed each morning) BELIEF YOU CAN IS A PART OF PRIVILEGE.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Privilege 101 The other thing that privilege convinces you of is that you are there because of your skills & abiliZes. BELIEF YOUR INNATE SKILLS GET YOU WHERE YOU ARE IS A PART OF PRIVILEGE TOO.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Implicit Bias Very interesZng Harvard research into implicit bias we dont realise it, are not ACTIVELY but rather PASSIVELY discriminaZng There is a site with tests you can do that reveal your bias: hNps://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Check If Systems are Loaded Companies that assess eecZveness / performance and then AUTOMATE pay rises based on this tend to reduce the gender pay gap. One interpretaZon: Pitching for a pay rise inherently favours men, who tend to be more condent in their abiliZes and more comfortable talking up their results. Shy/humble guys suer too.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Johnny Clegg They taught us to forget our past And live the future in their image They said Learn to speak a li(le bit of English, Dont be scared of a suit and ,e. Learn to walk in the dreams of the foreigner. I am a third world child.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager MOST ADVICE READS AS BE MORE LIKE A LOUD STRAIGHT CIS AMERICAN WHITE GUY Finding a way to be successful and sKll be yourself is important

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Frame Guidance AltruisZcally Advice which focuses on how to do beNer for yourself has a very limited appeal. (a la steal more pie) AltruisZc advice (a la bake more pie) appeals to a much broader audience (including non-individualisZc cultures)

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager When We Reframed Networking

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager The Most Important QuesZon Best predictor of recruitment AND retenZon? Someones ability to agree with: Someone like me can be successful here

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Role Modeling MaNers When a woman presents/represents at recruitment events, more women apply When you present a monoculture, people make assumpZons you wont like

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager Did You Always Know You Wanted to Be So Senior? Men leaders tend to say: Yes, I always knew I could do more. Women leaders tend to say: No, but my mentors believed in me, and I trusted they were right.

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager TELL THE PEOPLE YOU BELIEVE IN THAT YOU BELIEVE IN THEM THAT THEIR SKILLS & THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS ARE VALUABLE If You Only Do ONE Thing Dierently

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager As much as 40% becer Much energy is spent if you have to hide your private life, or pretend to be something youre not

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager PAY ATTENTION TO ENERGY Positive High Low Negative SHINEWHINE toast coast

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager CARE ABOUT PEOPLE And the Most Important Thing

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager SPACE TO BE AWESOME = + PURPOSE (Do I believe in WHY?) + AUTONOMY (Do I get a say in WHAT?) + MASTERY (Am I proud of HOW?) + INCLUSION (Do I BELONG HERE?) - ANY NEGATIVE FACTORS THAT DETRACT

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager GO! FIND/SHAPE/MAKE SPACE BE AWESOME BE INCLUSIVE And thank you for listening J Any quesZons?

Meri Williams, ChromeRose @Geek_Manager