Psychopaths at work • Michael Wood • PlatformCon 2022

Summary

In this insightful talk, Michael Wood, a Field CTO at HashiCorp, discusses the impact of organizational culture on individual behaviors, particularly focusing on psychopathy in the workplace. He explores how hierarchical, siloed environments can inadvertently foster psychopathic traits, and contrasts this with cultures that encourage empathy and collaboration. Wood suggests that by adopting developer platforms, automation, and open communication, organizations can reduce spaces for such behaviors to thrive. He emphasizes the importance of aligning organizational structures and incentives with desired cultural outcomes, advocating for a balance between empathy and the drive for excellence.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Culture plays a pivotal role in shaping an organization's productivity and behaviors, with a focus on reducing spaces for psychopathic behaviors to flourish.
• 📚 Reading books like 'Snakes and Suits' provides insights into psychopathy and its manifestations in siloed and hierarchical organizations.
• 🔍 The speaker emphasizes not to hunt for psychopaths but to understand the organizational incentives that may inadvertently support such behaviors.
• 🧐 Personality types like empathy and sociopathy are discussed, with the aim to leverage them appropriately within an organization.
• 🤝 Empathy is linked to positive behaviors, while sociopathy and psychopathy can be detrimental, with the latter treating others as prey for personal gain.
• 🛠 The importance of aligning organizational structure, incentives, and team collaboration with the desired culture and outcomes is highlighted.
• 🔑 Terms like 'anchor' are suggested to promote sharing and context passing within teams, rather than creating hierarchical power structures.
• 🔄 The shift to DevOps and test-driven design is presented as a way to reduce counter-incentives and promote balanced teams focused on value delivery.
• 🚀 The speaker advocates for innovation through empowered teams that can question decisions and experiment, contrasting with a focus on strict delivery timelines.
• 🛡 The use of platforms and automation to manage complexity and cognitive load, allowing developers to focus on value-adding tasks, is discussed.
• 🌐 The myth of the 'unicorn' developer is debunked, with a call for specialization, sharing, and systems of coordination to manage diverse technological demands.

Q & A

What is the main topic of Michael Wood's talk?

The main topic of Michael Wood's talk is the impact of organizational culture on the flourishing of psychopathic behaviors within a company and how to cultivate a culture that promotes productive and positive behaviors.

What does Michael Wood suggest can be learned from the book 'Snakes in Suits'?

Michael Wood suggests that 'Snakes in Suits' provides insights into psychopathy, how to identify it, and how it can manifest in organizational settings, particularly in siloed and hierarchical structures.

What are the key elements that Michael Wood believes allow psychopathic behaviors to flourish in enterprises?

The key elements that allow psychopathic behaviors to flourish in enterprises include siloed organizations, extreme hierarchy, opportunities to manipulate teams for personal gain, and environments where individuals can hide and not produce actual results.

What is the purpose of discussing psychopathy in the context of organizational culture?

The purpose of discussing psychopathy in the context of organizational culture is to examine the incentives created by organizational structures that may inadvertently support or reduce psychopathic behaviors, and to explore ways to cultivate a more positive and productive organizational culture.

What does Michael Wood define as the difference between empathy and sociopathy?

Empathy is the ability to feel deeply for other people and understand their emotions and experiences. Sociopathy, on the other hand, is characterized by a lack of connection to others' feelings, viewing individuals as abstract and detached, often leading to a lack of emotional investment in others' situations.

How does Michael Wood describe the behavior of a psychopath in a human environment?

Michael Wood describes a psychopath in a human environment as someone who treats others as prey, to be manipulated for personal gain, and who may engage in deceitful behaviors such as playing both sides against the middle to gain power or resources.

What is the role of an 'anchor' in a team according to Michael Wood?

The role of an 'anchor' in a team is to share the context and knowledge they have gained from being with the project or product the longest. The anchor is responsible for grooming a future anchor and is encouraged to move between teams, sharing ideas and contributing to the development of others.

What does Michael Wood suggest as an alternative to traditional team lead roles to encourage a more empathetic culture?

Michael Wood suggests using the term 'anchor' instead of 'team lead' to establish roles that are more focused on sharing knowledge and context rather than establishing authority or hierarchy within the team.

How does Michael Wood relate the concepts of empathy and sociopathy to incentives within an organization?

Michael Wood relates empathy to incentives that promote transparency, sharing, and collaboration, while sociopathy is linked to incentives that encourage individual excellence, competition, and a focus on personal achievement and recognition.

What is the significance of the 'build it, you build it, you run it' mantra in the context of DevOps according to Michael Wood?

The 'build it, you build it, you run it' mantra signifies the DevOps approach where development and operations teams are merged, and individuals are responsible for the full lifecycle of the application, from development to deployment and maintenance, promoting a more balanced and collaborative team dynamic.

What does Michael Wood propose to reduce the cognitive load on developers and encourage a culture of innovation?

Michael Wood proposes the use of a developer platform that abstracts developers from the complexity of downstream automation, allowing them to focus on value-adding tasks at the application tier, while other teams handle compliance, governance, and other complexities through systems of coordination.