Core Protocols and Mindfulness — Part 2
In my last blog post, I introduced a set of tools that help self-managed teams communicate and collaborate effectively. These tools are known as the Core Protocols. I also suggested that Core Protocols and mindfulness are connected. By adopting the Core Protocols, an organization can create fertile ground for mindfulness to flourish. Furthermore, mindfulness can act as a catalyst that makes Core Protocols more effective in their application.
Introducing Core Commitments
All of the Core Protocols either explicitly or implicitly require the Core Commitments as a prerequisite. The Core Commitments establish a consistent mindset and behaviour for the team, which in turn creates a sense of security and trust that provides the appropriate environment for earnestly adopting the Core Protocols.
In order to demonstrate the connection between mindfulness and the Core Commitments, I will focus on these three Core Commitments:
- I commit to engage when present.
- To know and disclose what I want, what I think, and what I feel.
- To decline to offer and refuse to accept incoherent emotional transmissions.
The full list of Core Commitments can be found here.
1. I commit to engage when present.
I interpret the word “present” to mean both physically and mentally present. Of course, the latter is not obvious as the former — we often fail to realize whether we ourselves are mentally present, let alone those who we interact with. Continually putting effort into realizing our mental presence is essentially the meaning of “practicing mindfulness”.
Presence and mindfulness are closely and causally related. Mindfulness helps us be mentally present; without it, being present in the midst of certain conversations or situations can be a losing battle. If there’s a conversation about something complex, we may miss a critical piece to understanding the whole picture if our mind drifts for only a few seconds. Our minds can be easily pulled elsewhere when we are anxious about something happening somewhere else, or at some other time (ironically, our mind could be drifting to a later meeting).
We see that, despite its simplicity, to “engage when present” can be hard to adopt.
2. To know and disclose what I want, what I think, and what I feel.
Practicing mindfulness not only involves paying attention to the conversations and interactions around us, it also encompasses a precise awareness of our own thoughts and feelings. For example: I think of proposing a crude solution that would appease the business stakeholders, at the expense of creating more work for those who’d be maintaining it. So why would I propose such a solution? Maybe I’m afraid that the project is at risk of falling behind schedule.
This simplified example demonstrates how I can see that my fear is the driving force behind my idea and my desire to propose it (the thought bubbles above illustrate a few more examples). This Core Commitment requires both my thought and my underlying feeling to be known by me. Practicing mindfulness helps me be aware of the emotions behind my thoughts, so I can stop myself from proposing a fundamentally irrational solution. Hence mindfulness is another valuable aspect that this core protocol both exercises and leverages.
3. To decline to offer and refuse to accept incoherent emotional transmissions.
What kinds of emotions can occur in a professional context? And what do they ultimately lead to? I have worked at five different technology startups, two of which I co-founded. I can personally attest to a few emotionally-charged interactions. It’s understandable — the norm at a tech startup is to build a changing business model on top of unstable technologies while accepting an undeterminable future. But is emotion a good thing? Isn’t “passion” an asset?
Possibly, but only if we’re able to communicate our emotions coherently. An example of an “incoherent transmission” would be if I said, “why are you not being more cooperative?” A more coherent transmission could be, “I feel frustrated that you’re not giving me the answers I was expecting. I’m also under pressure to meet certain deadlines.”
This Core Commitment prevents our emotions from getting the better of us. Emotional interaction can have a positive feedback effect; the emotion is reinforced in the group if enough of the group’s members play into it. Mindfulness once again plays an important role here; when we are mindful of our thoughts, we can refuse to transmit incoherent, negative emotions as soon as we recognize them.
Closing Thoughts
I have only touched on three of the Core Commitments (there are 15 in total). There’s no need to cover all of them, as the value and purpose of many are self-apparent. Especially if you’ve gotten the gist behind the ones that I’ve covered here.
In my next blog post, I will delve into some of the actual Core Protocols. In the meantime, I encourage you to read through the Core Commitments and perhaps discuss them with your co-workers and team members. Are any of them surprising to you? Does your team see any value in them? If so, how easy would it be for your team to adopt them?
