Shaping behaviors Agile Carolinas June 10, 2010

Shaping behaviorsprepared for Agile-Carolinas, June 10 2010

Prepared by Catherine Louis [email protected]

catherinelouis - twitterhttp://www.linkedin/in/catherinelouis - linkedin

(919) 244-1888Attributions: Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, C. Lloyd Morgan

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.linkedin/in/catherinelouis


Agenda• Introductions• Why studying behavior matters: a short story• Traits you want to see in leaders

– Exercise• Morgan’s Cannon• Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning

– Exercise• Skinner’s Operant Conditioning

– Exercise: GREAT leader!– Exercise: TERRIBLE leader!

2


Catherine Louis

• Specialty: Agile transitions in the scope of large, multi-nodal solutions, high-reliability systems, with large teams of several hundred to several thousand R&D employees.

• Client companies include large power and telecommunication firms, spanning both hardware and software development.

• Product Owner of the Agile Transition at Nortel: enabling the transition of over 2,200 developers from a waterfall methodology to Agile/Scrum.

• Over 20 years of software development experience in complex product development• Focus on Agile methods; Agile R&D; Strategic Planning• Agile Transitions communications: enabling change to build speed, flexibility in business• Extensive operations and business development experience in technical marketplaces• Volunteer: 8 years as SAR II and K9 handler with Wake Canine Search and Rescue

– find me on linkedin at http://www.linkedin/in/catherinelouis

– find me on twitter at catherinelouis

3Wednesday, June 9, 2010




What I want in a leader - lets improve on this:

• career counseling, mentoring• trade-off decisions (when a decision one way

affects the product or business in another)• architectural decisions• resolving impediments• business vision• Information to ignore, to heed

5*If this is hard, pretend you have just started in a new company.


Morgan’s Canon:

“In no case is an animal activity to be interpreted in terms of higher psychological processes, if it can be fairly interpreted in terms of processes which stand lower in the scale of psychological evolution and development.” - C. Lloyd Morgan, British psychologist -1890

6


Examples

“My dog walks around the kitchen at 6:15pm each day to tell me it is dinner time!”“My dog pushes his bowl around the kitchen when wants more food!” (caution...fat dog...)

7


Classical Conditioning: Ivan Pavlov

• Classical conditioning forms an association between two stimuli:

• Pavlov noticed that, rather than simply salivating in the presence of meat powder (an innate response to food that he called the unconditioned response), the dogs began to salivate in the presence of the lab technician who normally fed them.

• Pavlov called these “psychic secretions.”

8


Examples of neutral stimuli

“My dog always knows when I am going for a drive!”

In reality your K9 is being triggered by a neutral stimuli:

• Grab your keys• Look for your shoes• Fill up your water• Run to the restroom• Tie your shoes• Take a deep breath (changing gears)• Holler at someone your intent “Hey do we need anything at the

store?”

9


5 minute Exercise!

• At your tables:–Discuss and list examples of Morgan’s Canon in your

workplace. (Any leadership examples?)–Discuss and list examples of Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning

in your workplace. (Any leadership examples?)

Note: these examples can be from the past, present, or perhaps something that you’re wondering about and want to discuss.

10


Operant Conditioning*:• Forms an association between behavior and

consequence. • Model assumes four possible consequences of

behavior: –Something Good can start or be presented; –Something Good can end or be taken away; –Something Bad can start or be presented; –Something Bad can end or be taken away.

11* B. F. Skinner (1904-1990)


Technical terms:• "an event started" or "an item presented" is positive, as

it's something that's added• "an event ended" or "an item taken away" is negative, as

it's something that's subtracted.• Anything that increases a behavior - makes it more likely

to occur - is termed a reinforcer.• Anything that decreases a behavior - makes it less likely

to occur - is termed a punisher.

• Caution: positive in this context does not mean “good”.

12


Applying terms to the Consequence

• Something Good can start or be presented, so behavior increases = Positive Reinforcement (R+)

• Something Good can end or be taken away, so behavior decreases = Negative Punishment (P-)

• Something Bad can start or be presented, so behavior decreases = Positive Punishment (P+)

• Something Bad can end or be taken away, so behavior increases = Negative Reinforcement (R-)

13


Examples:

14

Reinforced (behavior increases)

Punished (behavior decreases)

Positive (you’ve added something)

“positive reinforcement”

Lever in Skinner box manipulated to receive food

“positive punishment”

Arms akimbo, staring at a k9.

Negative (you’ve removed something)

“negative reinforcement”

Lever in Skinner box to remove loud noise

“negative punishment”

Remove the cell phone after the $400 bill was received..


10 minute Exercise!

• At your tables, jot down behaviors of GREAT LEADERS on sticky notes.

• Plot in the 4 quadrants, debrief

15


If time permits...

• At your tables, jot down behaviors of TERRIBLE LEADERS on sticky notes.

• Plot in the 4 quadrants, debrief

16


THANK YOU!!!

17

Catherine Louis - [email protected] - twitterhttp://www.linkedin/in/catherinelouis - linkedin






Lifestyle

Shaping behaviors Agile Carolinas June 10, 2010