Thanks for meeting with me on such short notice. I've got another meeting in 15 minutes, so I'll be quick. I just need an online course about the Soto-Baldwin personality inventory. Are you familiar with it?
[[content focus <- I've heard of it. What are you hoping to achieve with the project?]]
[[why learn <- It sounds interesting. Why do you want people to learn about it?]]
[[content focus <- I'm not familiar with it, but I'm happy to learn more about it. What does it do?]]
Morale is low in my department. People complain a lot. I think it's because managers don't show enough empathy. You know how abrupt tech workers can be.
The inventory helps quantify how people are different. It's scientific, and tech people respect that.
[[skip to goal <- I like the idea of quantifying things. Is morale being measured in some way?]]
[[skip to actions <- What do managers do that isn't empathetic? Can you give me an example?]]
[[why blame managers <- You've said people are complaining. What do they say?]]
Let me think...There are so many complaints. One I hear a lot is that the rules aren't applied fairly, especially the [[alien leave]] rules. For example, one person will get leave and another won't, and it's not immediately clear why.
[[why aren't rules applied <- Do you think it's true that the rules aren't being applied fairly?]]
[[jump to solution <- Is it possible that managers need training on how to apply the rules correctly?]]
[[doubt the scale <- Could you clarify how the Soto-Baldwin scale would help reduce these complaints?]]The scale tells you your personality type. When you know your type and the type of another person, you understand how they're different. That will help managers show more empathy.
I've already got slides on this USB drive. It should be easy to turn them into a course.
[[why blame managers <- Thanks. I'll be sure to look at the slides. Could you tell me more about the issues you're seeing?]]
[[reject course <- First, I'd like us to look more closely at the problem. A course might not be the best solution.]]
[[doubt the scale <- Thanks. The slides could save a lot of time, if we decide the scale is appropriate. Has it been shown to increase empathy?]]There's an employee survey every year. It includes some sort of morale score, but I'm not sure anyone cares. And we don't need a survey to know morale is low. Everyone knows us as a bunch of complainers.
That's why we need this course. It's not just to make work more pleasant, but to improve our reputation in the company.
[[why blame managers <- What do people complain about? Can you give me some examples?]]
[[skip to actions <- What would you like managers to do differently?]]
[[obsess about goal <- Is there some way to measure your department's reputation?]]I think they often have to say "no" but do it too harshly. Maybe they aren't saying things like, "I'm sorry I won't be able to approve your leave" and instead they just say, "No, you can't have leave. Those are the rules."
If they knew their Soto-Baldwin type they'd know how to phrase it for each type of person. I've actually created a table that gives examples of how to say "no" to each type of person. It's in the slides on this thumb drive.
[[why blame managers <- Thanks. I'll be sure to look at it. Could you tell me more about the issues you're seeing?]]
[[reject course2 <- First, I'd like us to look more closely at the problem. A course might not be the best solution.]]
[[doubt the scale2 <- Thanks. This could save a lot of time, if we decide that the scale is appropriate. Has it been shown to increase empathy?]]I'm not following you. I want managers to show more empathy, and the Soto-Baldwin scale will help them do it. How else will they learn about it if not through a course? Do you mean it should be a workshop instead?
Or if you're not comfortable with this project, is there someone else I should talk to?
*You've reached a poor ending.*
[[end1 <- Why did this happen?]]
Peaceful aliens recently arrived on Earth, unable to return to their home planet. They're now being welcomed into Earthling families, often through foster programs.
The aliens have some special needs due to being from another world, so fostering an alien can require extra time at home. As a result, companies have created policies for alien leave.Actually, a couple of my managers have been disciplined by HR. But, really, what can we do, especially with alien leave? It's so new, and not everyone agrees with it.
And of course lots of people in tech want to bring aliens into their families. It's like a dream come true for them.
So we have a lot of alien leave cases being handled by managers who might not be empathetic. As a result, people complain that they've been treated unfairly.
[[other complaints <- That must be difficult for you. Do people complain about other things as well?]]
[[jump to solution <- Is it possible that the managers don't understand the alien leave policy?]]
[[jump to empathy <- So you'd like managers to show more empathy. Are there any other changes that you'd like to see?]]There's already a course on alien leave that everyone took 8 months ago. It had a test and everything. So managers know the rules. The problem must be with how they act when they apply them.
Studies show that understanding the Soto-Baldwin types increases empathy. You can see the studies on the Soto-Baldwin site. The scale deserves a chance here, especially when it would be so easy to make the course. I even have slides already made.
*You've reached a mediocre ending.*
[[end 3 <- Why did this happen?]]I know you're not familiar with the scale, and some people say it's not proven. But the Soto-Baldwin site describes studies that show that the scale increases empathy. Plus knowing my type has helped me a lot in my own life.
I studied psychology, and I know my team. I've already developed slides about the scale, so it wouldn't be hard to make a course. When can we start?
*You've reached a poor ending.*
[[end2 <- Why did this happen?]]
At first, you sounded like you agreed to make a course. Then you too-bluntly questioned Carla's decision.
It would have been better to get Carla to focus on the performance problem and not even mention the word "course." It's too soon to agree to the solution Carla has envisioned, but you don't want to bluntly reject it, either. Instead, steer her into talking about the issues and nothing else.
(Link-goto: "Start over","Home") and make sure you learn about alien leave!You've too-bluntly challenged the tool that Carla is so fond of, and now she'll cling to it even more.
Instead, get Carla to talk about on the performance problem, not the course or its content. You need a clearer idea of the issues before you can consider a course or its content.
(Link-goto: "Start over","Home")Some people complain about not being able to work from home. You can't just fill out a form and expect to work from home -- your manager has to decide if you'd be productive off-site. So people who are denied complain about favoritism.
Usually it's people who come from startups. They don't understand that a mature firm expects more accountability.
I'd bet most startup workers are Red Runners on the Soto-Baldwin scale. If managers knew that, they'd communicate with them better.
I need to get to my next meeting soon. Is there anything else?
[[deadline <- When are you hoping to have a solution in place? ]]
[[imagine happy place <- What could your department accomplish if people were less distracted by complaints? ]]
[[jump to empathy <- What else might improve if managers showed more empathy?]]
Nothing that I can think of. Most complaints are about alien leave and working from home. Those are the decisions that managers have to communicate with empathy.
Of course, everyone complains about having to complete time sheets and TPS forms.
So when do we start on the course?
*You've reached a mediocre ending.*
[[end4 <- Why did this happen?]]
You made a good choice when you tried to get Carla to describe the issues she's seeing. However, you too quickly offered training as a solution. It's too soon to say why the managers are being seen as unfair. It would be more helpful to keep Carla talking about the issues she's seeing, so you have a clearer picture of the possible problem.
(Link-goto: "Start over","Home")I know you're not familiar with the scale, and some people say it's not proven. But the Soto-Baldwin site describes studies that show that the scale increases empathy. Plus knowing my type has helped me a lot in my own life.
I studied psychology, and I know my team. I've already developed slides about the scale, so it wouldn't be hard to make a course. When can we start?
*You've reached a poor ending.*
[[end5 <- Why did this happen?]]You accepted her diagnosis of "they need empathy" without enough discussion of the problem. Then you too directly challenged her favorite solution, the Soto-Baldwin scale, which will just increase her commitment to it. Now Carla will resist considering other ways to solve the problem.
Instead, try to keep Carla focused on describing the issues she's seeing. This will give you insight you can use to prepare for the more in-depth discussion in the action mapping meeting.
(Link-goto: "Start over","Home") and make sure you learn about alien leave!I'm not following you. We've established that managers need to develop empathy, and the Soto-Baldwin scale will help them do it. How else will they learn about it, if not through a course? Do you mean it should be a workshop instead?
*You've reached a poor ending.*
[[end6 <- Why did this happen?]]You too quickly accepted Carla's diagnosis of "they need empathy" without enough discussion of the problem. Then you too directly challenged her decision to make a course, which will just increase her commitment to it. Now Carla will resist considering other ways to solve the problem.
Instead, try to keep Carla focused on describing the issues she's seeing. This will give you insight you can use to prepare for the more in-depth discussion in the action mapping meeting.
(Link-goto: "Start over","Home") and make sure you learn about alien leave!No one has ever asked me that!
It's actually hard to imagine what we could do without all the complaining...but what I'd love is for us to pull this company out of its slump.
''We're'' the ones who interact the most with the market. ''We'' see which features sell and why they sell. We know what people want, and R&D should listen to us.
But we're marginalized as just some sales people who bicker all the time. And it's true. But if we weren't bickering, we could put together some incredible ideas for new products. We could be ''innovation leaders.''
*You've reached the best ending.*
[[end-best <- Why is this the best ending?]]As soon as possible! I think it should be pretty easy to create the course, since I've got slides already.
*You've reached a mediocre ending.*
[[end8 <- Why did this happen?]]You started well by having Carla focus on the problem. However, you accepted her diagnosis that the problem is a lack of empathy. As a result, she's likely to assume that you've agreed to create a course to improve empathy, and she'll probably resist considering other solutions.
(Link-goto: "Start over","Home")You gathered a decent amount of information about the problem, but you let Carla stay fixated on a lack of empathy being the issue. You also started talking about a delivery date too soon, before deciding what the best solution might be. That reminded Carla about the proposed course and now she can assume you're willing to produce it.
(Link-goto: "Start over","Home")First, you kept the conversation focused on the performance problem, not the course. This shows that your job is to solve problems, not create courses on demand.
Then, you helped Carla imagine the happy world that would be possible once her problem is solved. This shifts her goal from "make this course" to the much more inspiring "stop the bickering and become innovation leaders."
Carla is now emotionally committed to ''solving the problem,'' not just building a course. She'll be more open to analyzing the problem and finding the best route to that happy ending.
You've also uncovered some useful angles to research before the action mapping meeting, which you'll schedule with Carla in the next step.
(Link-goto: "Start over","Home")I'm not sure I understand. Why do we need to measure the department's reputation? I just want to improve empathy with this course.
*You've reached a poor ending.*
[[end0 <- Why did this happen?]]It's too soon to set a goal for the project. You have only 15 minutes to talk to Carla.
Focus instead on getting her to clarify the problem, which is still too vague to be useful. You need a better idea of the problem so you can prepare for the action mapping kickoff and manage that meeting well.
(Link-goto: "Start over","Home") and make sure you learn about alien leave!