Amplify Learning In Your Team With More Double-Loop Learning
A report of the flow, structure, and outcome of a community meetup we hosted for The Liberators Network
In one of my first roles as a Scrum Master, I worked at a web agency whose clients wanted us to build complex web applications. We used a classic project management approach. Acquisition of new clients was the primary responsibility of the sales department. Once a potential client was introduced to our team, many promises were already made. We would discuss the ideas of the client in more detail, and provide ‘sales’ an estimate of how much time developing the product would take. They would wrap everything in a compelling proposal and once the client approved the budget, timeline, and scope, it was time for champagne, a party, and sharing stories on how awesome this project was going to be.
Unfortunately, most projects turned out to be the opposite of awesome. Scope creep, missed deadlines, insufficient budget, unhappy stakeholders, and low team morale was a common outcome. We spent many Sprint Retrospectives trying to find a solution to the problems we faced, but in the end, nothing meaningful seemed to change. It was only at a moment of ultimate frustration that we decided to radically change our approach. It felt like there was nothing to lose, things hardly could go any worse…
So we challenged and changed existing rules & procedures on how to start new projects. Instead of a sales department doing the acquisition of new clients, we made it the responsibility of the Scrum Team. And instead of spending weeks creating a detailed proposal with a scope, budget, and timeline that never proved to be accurate, we only gave the client a range of how many Sprints it probably would take. You can find more details about this experience in the article “My Journey as a Scrum Master”, in short: it was a radically different way of working and we slowly changed the beliefs, rules, and procedures of the entire organization. We challenged the status quo and didn’t accept “this is just the way we do things here” anymore.
In hindsight, this is an example of single- and double-loop learning I personally experienced. Single- and double-loop learning is a concept defined by the organizational theorist Chris Argyris. It is an important part of our book the “Zombie Scrum Survival Guide”. Single-loop learning focuses on solving a problem within an existing system that is defined by sets of beliefs, structures, roles, procedures, and norms. Double-loop learning challenges the system, and underlying beliefs themselves. But unfortunately, as our experience grows, we are often increasingly blinded by it to see new options.
“Single-loop learning focuses on solving a problem within an existing system that is defined by sets of beliefs, structures, roles, procedures, and norms. Double-loop learning challenges the system, and underlying beliefs themselves.”
Although both types of learning are important for continuous improvement to happen, double-loop learning is important in particular for complex work where teams have to constantly challenge not only how they do the work, but also why. Teams affected by Zombie Scrum tend to limit themselves to single-loop learning and can’t benefit from double-loop learning because their existing beliefs about management, products, how to manage people, and how to manage risk remain unchallenged.
We created the do-it-yourself workshop “Amplify Learning In Your Team With More Double-Loop Learning” to make teams aware of how different levels of learning are possible. And to help teams learn more effectively by using double-loop learning to challenge their existing ways of working and the system in which that works takes place.
Recently, we organized a meetup for The Liberators Network in which we explored this topic together. This blog post describes the flow, structure, and outcome of the meetup. We’ll share the key takeaways and patterns that emerged from the conversations the ±50 participants had. Our hope is that it inspires you to give the workshop a try, and invest in the factors that contribute to deep, double-loop learning in your team and organization.
What Prevents Deep Learning In Your Team?
The beginning of the meetup was intended to help everyone reflect on the different levels of learning. In small groups, the participants discussed what could be done to guarantee that their own learning, and that of the team, remained shallow and never got to the root of a problem.
According to Jamie, Eelco, Alessandro, and Karen, deep learning is prevented when the team has a fixed mindset, instead of a growth mindset. A team with a growth mindset believes they can change, learn, and develop their skills and abilities. In a fixed mindset, the team believes their basic qualities, like their intelligence, skills, or talents, are simply fixed traits.
Team members also don’t feel comfortable raising concerns. Problems are ignored or only superficially discussed. For fear of conflict, nobody dares to dig deep into the root cause. So, only the easy problems are addressed, and the difficult issues that really matter remain unchallenged. Everyone knows what problems the team needs to solve, but nobody has the courage to speak up. As a result, the Sprint Retrospective becomes a meaningless session that loses all its value.
Ineffective Sprint Retrospectives are another reason why deep learning doesn’t take place in many teams. Scrum Teams often don’t take enough time for the retrospective. In a 30-minute timebox, they only manage to briefly discuss the obvious improvements that might be useful but aren’t essential. The Sprint Retrospective is used to reflect on the past Sprint only. As a consequence, teams don’t see the bigger picture that becomes visible when they would reflect on multiple Sprints simultaneously. They miss the important patterns and insights that emerge once you reflect on a wider timeframe.
Teams also get stuck in problems that seem too big to solve. Especially in large companies, solving problems that connect the team's environment and the organization's processes and procedures can be overwhelming. Where to start? Instead of challenging the status quo, everyone in the team accepts that some things never change in their organization. So they don’t dig deep anymore to find a solution to their problems, but give up and only focus on the easy improvements. This might feel good, yet slowly these teams are moving towards Zombie Scrum because the important issues remain unchallenged.
How To Make Double-Loop Learning Possible?
So far, the group explored what shallow learning looks like, and how it contrasts to the deeper learning of double-loop learning. In the next step, we invited everyone to share personal stories and experiences with double-loop learning, and what contributed to making it possible. We used the following invitation and encouraged the small groups to use Conversation Cafe as the guiding structure.
“When did you, or your team, experienced a moment of double-loop learning where the existing system was challenged and then changed?
What seems to be important about creating an environment where this deep learning is possible?”
Robert, Oleg, Ivaylo, and Thorsten emphasized that double-loop learning takes courage. With double-loop learning, you challenge the existing system of an organization. The rules, believes, structures, norms, procedures, and roles that have been in place for years within an organization, are questioned and reconsidered. This impacts not only the teams but the entire organization. So it takes courage to question the existing system, challenge the status quo, and make proposals for adaptation.
Although it isn’t the sole responsibility of a Scrum Master to make double-loop learning possible, (s)he does play a key role. It’s up to the Scrum Master to help remove impediments in the environment of the Scrum Team that impede empiricism and agility. The least a Scrum Master should do is to make the impediments that matter transparent, and to create awareness. With the Product Owner, Developers, and the supporting organization, (s)he can work together to resolve the issue.
A practice every Scrum Master should use is to ask the right questions, at the right time, in the right environment, with the right people. A good question can ignite the conversation to drive change within the organization. Scrum Masters should work together to pick the ideal moments & questions.
Powerful questions to consider are:
- “What is a conversation we currently don’t have within our organization but really should have?”
- “What is a belief or an assumption that has shaped or guided your professional journey, but that you are starting to question?”
- “What needs to happen to make this team your best team ever?”
- “From whom do you receive the best and most valuable support, outside our team?”
- “If you could start over with this team, what is something you would do differently?”
In order to have the conversations that matter and to make deep learning possible, it’s crucial to have a high degree of psychological safety. Put differently: without psychological safety, there won’t be any double-loop learning. Psychological safety is one of the most important contributors to successful teams. Amy Edmondson defines psychological safety as “a shared belief about the consequences of interpersonal risk-taking”. It’s not at odds with having tough conversations, it is what allows teams to have tough conversations.
You can encourage psychological safety by inviting people to connect on a personal level, rather than just as professionals. Psychological safety is not about always agreeing with each other, or about giving compliments all the time. It is much more about encouraging people to speak up when they have worries, uncertainties, or doubts. If you’re interested in learning more about how to improve psychological safety in your team, check this do-it-yourself workshop we created.
So, How Can You Challenge The System More Effectively?
Even though everybody probably sees the value of double-loop learning, it is also true that this is difficult to do in practice. Unfortunately, people with more experience tend to struggle here as their experience blinds them to see new options. In the final step of the workshop, we invited everyone to identify small first steps they can take to create an environment where double-loop learning is more likely to happen. Steps that would help them challenge the system more effectively. We used the Liberating Structure 15% Solutions to ensure the improvements were both small and personal.
Karen, Oleg, and Diana suggested increasing the timebox and structure of the Sprint Retrospective. So, not only take sufficient time but also select a format that makes deep-learning possible. For an example, check this do-it-yourself workshop. It offers a fully prepared string of Liberating Structures to improve the quality of the Sprint Retrospective and turn it into an engine for continuous improvement. Also, Karen, Oleg, and Diana suggest that the Sprint Retrospective should include an “implementation plan” for the upcoming Sprint. The improvements should be made part of the Sprint Backlog to increase the likelihood it actually gets done.
Another idea was to not limit learning to the Sprint Retrospective only. It should be an ongoing activity. Not the Sprint Retrospective, but the Sprint itself is the #1 event for the team to reflect, learn, and improve. Sure, this is also the purpose of the Sprint Retrospective, but Scrum teams should improve continuously, not only at a fixed date and time. For example, create a virtual learning space with tools like Mural or Miro. Give everyone access. Each Sprint, ask one of the team members to pick a question, challenge, or impediment, and add it to the workspace. During the Sprint, everyone includes their thoughts and ideas. Whenever the person that picked the question thinks enough ideas have been added, it’s up to him/her to start a conversation, or simply ask someone else to pick the next question.
With double-loop learning, you challenge the existing system of an organization. This means it not only affects your team, but also the environment. Such as supporting departments, management, or stakeholders. To make double-loop learning effective, it’s important to involve everyone that is affected by the desired change. Without support from their environment, and from management, it will be exceedingly hard for Scrum teams to be effective. Managers often have the power and the means to change the environment and to take away those impediments. But if that support lacks, morale tends to decrease as teams discover they can’t really do what Scrum teams do. At the same time, we see that many Scrum teams limit their improvements to what happens within their team, and don’t actively use formal and informal networks to leverage the support that is available in their environment. If you’re interested to learn more about how to effectively involve the supporting organization, check this do-it-yourself workshop.
Closing
Our intention with the meetup was to introduce the concept of single- and double-loop learning. To prevent it from being too abstract, we offered some personal examples as well. We hope our efforts inspire you to give this workshop a try yourself. It helps your team and organization to challenge existing beliefs about product development, how to manage people, and how to mitigate risk, in short: how your organization operates. Just make sure to not only use single-loop learning but to frequently dig deeper with double-loop learning. That’s when you’ll uncover the improvements that matter!
