👋 Hello, I’m Vibhor, and welcome to the 🌟 free edition 🌟 of my weekly Training Series powered by Winning Strategy. Every week, I answer one reader question and publish 3 posts about Agile Products, Role-Based Skills, and anything else that you need answered about your Career Growth. You can send me your questions here.
“Observation”.
Probably the most underrated superpower, this skill is a prerequisite for Doctors, Creatives, Military Personnel, Journalists, Chefs, Athletes, Architects, CEOs, etc.
Yet no one talks about what it is? why it is? and how it is?
This was the skill that:
Helped Einstein discover the theory of relativity.
Inspired Leonardo da Vinci's revolutionary designs and scientific studies.
Led Marie Curie to the discovery of radioactivity.
Guided Charles Darwin to formulate the theory of natural selection.
Helped Arthur Conan Doyle create Sherlock Holmes.
This is also the skill that can supercharge your career as a Scrum Master, Agile Coach and Product Owner.
You can use it to:
Enhance team collaboration
Improve decision-making
Discover end-user needs and requirements
Handle potential roadblocks
Customize your team’s Agile journey
So, in this post, let’s dissect “observation” as a skill.
Let’s see what it takes to master a skill that can give you superpowers or at least make you super good at your job.
Here we go.
Types of Observation
There are 2 types of “observation” in general.
When you ask people about what comes to their mind first after hearing the word “observation,” they say “mindfulness.”
But that’s not what I am referring to.
When I say “observation,” I mean “situational awareness.”
What’s the difference?
The difference is subtle, but it makes all the difference.
Mindfulness is observing “without any goal” in mind.
Situational Awareness is observing “with a goal” in mind.
That “goal” could be:
to navigate a busy traffic
to correctly diagnose a patient
to prepare a delicious cuisine
to find a business opportunity
to make your team more productive or
to save yourself from a tyrant, as in the clip below
In simple words, “observation” as a skill that I am referring to is more “targeted” towards a particular goal as opposed to “observation” in mindfulness, which is more “open-ended.”
This “goal” is what differentiates Sherlock Holmes from you.
Not in terms of the “mastery” in observation skill.
But in terms of “what” to observe.
This “goal,” therefore, is the prerequisite to learning “observation” as a skill.
How do we find this “goal?”
Let’s find out.
Prerequisite to Observation
When you first join a team, there is usually a 2-week observation period.
During this time, you observe the team, so that…?!
Wait a second!
Why are we “observing” the team?
What is the goal? Who sets the “goal?”
This goal is set by your team and the people who hired you, and it represents their “expectations” of you as a team member.
For a Scrum Master, these expectations usually include:
Suggesting the right process
Improving team productivity/collaboration
Teaching required skills
Mentoring best practices
Helping the team handle impediments and blockers
etc.
The list goes on.
You collect all these expectations within the first few days of your joining the team using “initial team retrospective” and 1:1 meetings with each individual team member and your Hiring Manager.
Once you have the list of expectations or “goals,” you can work on “what” to “observe” in your team to achieve those “goals”
What’s the list of things (the “whats”) you “observe” to “suggest the right process” or “improve team productivity,” etc.?
Every “goal” has its own list of “whats.”
Let’s talk about one such list of “whats.”
One that you can use to “suggest the right process” to your team.
What to Observe?
You “observe” your team’s “current state” for each “what” (factor) in the list.
For example, if one of the expectations of your Hiring Manager is to “suggest the right Agile process” or to “check if the current process is good or not,” then you can use the following list to make the necessary observations about your team’s current state.
You can download the list here.
The Outcome of Observation
The outcome of the observation is a “report” that contains your breakdown of each “what” (factor) and your final suggestions like:
the right process (scrum, kanban, scrumban)
current process with minor customization
fully customized process
the reasoning behind your suggestion
You present the report to the “owner” of the “expectation,” i.e. the Hiring Manager, and obtain approval to move ahead with the next steps.
In this case the next step would be showing the results of your analysis to the team and getting their buy-in to implement the suggestions.
And that’s it!
This is “how” you observe a team.
You just follow a list of “whats” and prepare your analysis.
Observation as a Skill
What I showed you above is the process of making the simplest of observations.
It’s not a skill yet.
The skill is what you saw in the Sherlock Holmes clip above.
Or what you can see in the Jason Bourne clip below.
A skill helps you achieve the “goal” without much effort.
What you saw Sherlock Holmes and Jason Bourne doing is the “final stage” of “targetted” observation skill, also called Situational Awareness.
Yes, they are also using “observation” as a skill. They’re just very good at it and know the list of their “whats” like the back of their hand.
They also have a different “goal” than ours.
To learn how they got to that stage, we must first understand how we, as “human beings,” learn and master any skill.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of books written on the subject.
But all that knowledge can be summarized with 3 Japanese letters: Shu-Ha-Ri.
In Shu-Ha-Ri terms, Sherlock Holmes and Jason Bourne are at the “Ri” stage.
But how did they get to “Ri?”
There’s only one way how any of us can get to “Ri,” and that is through “Shu” and “Ha.”
Well, then, what’s the “Shu” for them?
The “Shu” for them is the same as it is for us, i.e. “follow the rule,” which in the case of learning “observation skill” is to “follow the list of whats.”
Note: This is what we explored above in the section “What to Observe?”
In case you missed it, both Sherlock Holmes and Jason Bourne are following a list of “whats”. They’re just doing it very fast, almost without applying any noticeable effort.
Here’s the Shu for Sherlock Holmes:
Distract target
Block the blind jab
Counter with cross
Discombobulate (Disorient)
Wait for reaction
Block with elbow
Apply body shot
Block reaction
Weaken right jaw
Fracture weakened jaw
Break ribs
Attack solar plexus
Dislocate jaw
Heal kick on tummy
This is the list of Sherlock Holmes “whats” with a “goal” of “saving himself from a tyrant.”
Note: Just like our list of “whats” with the “goal” of “suggesting the right process.”
Here’s the Shu for Jason Bourne:
Check where’s the exit
Check the license plate of nearby cars
What’s the strong hand of people who will potentially interact
What’s the size of the person who can be a potential threat
What’s the best place to find something for self-defence
The geography and his own physical condition to decide the best exit strategy
His “goal” - “protecting himself from potential threat.”
The beauty of Shu-Ha-Ri is that in the learning process, all you have to worry about is “Shu.”
You need to find the related “Shu.”
To learn “observation” as a skill, this “Shu” is the “list of whats.”
How do you find this “Shu (list of whats)?”
Ancient Japanese texts suggest it’s the “teacher” who provides the “Shu” or “rules to follow.”
Sherlock Holmes and Jason Bourne must have gotten their “Shu” from their teachers, whoever they may be.
For you and me, it’s our:
mentors
peers
fellow SMs
or people who have achieved those “goals” (expectations) before.
Note: I will do my best to share such lists of “whats” I got from my mentors as and when required.
What about “Ha” and “Ri?”
In my experience, both “Ha” and “Ri” happen on their own when the time is right as a direct result of consistency in “Shu.”
In simple words, “practice makes perfect.”
Or should I say:
“Targetted” Practice Makes Perfect.
Key Takeaway
In short, you need 3 things to master “observation” as a skill.
The “goal” (expectations) from your team or higher-ups.
The “list of whats” for that “goal” from your teacher, mentor, peers etc.
Practice analyzing those “whats.”
Over time, your brain will remember those “whats” for each “goal,” and the analysis will happen automatically.
And that’s when your “observation” will be a skill.
Further Reading
How to get started with a remote team, as a new Scrum Master with 1 year experience.
1:1 Interviews to Map Your Team's Current State + 11 Templates
10 Mistakes To Avoid In Your First 30 Days As A Scrum Master.
How To Showcase Your Contribution To Organizational Success?
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Sincerely,
Vibhor 👋
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“I share things I wish I knew in the starting years of my career in the corporate world"
Vibhor Chandel