Building an Agile Culture - with Vladimir Bushin

Introduction:

On this episode of De-Escalation Conversations, the topic of negotiation and agile coaching is discussed. Vladimir Bushin shares his belief that having a coach can lead to continuous improvement and growth, referencing successful individuals like Michael Phelps who have coaches to maintain their success.

The Negotiation Practice Community is also introduced as a resource for personal and professional development. The conversation then shifts to the topic of de-escalation, with the speaker sharing their admiration for the high standards of the police in the United States.

The use of the word "why" in communication and the importance of curiosity and gratitude as executive state emotions are also discussed.

Vladimir Bushin, is an expert in building an Agile Culture and improving organizational performance. The importance of effective communication, de-escalation tactics, and the alignment of purpose between citizens and law enforcement are also touched upon. Finally, the speaker shares their own effective negotiation tactics and approaches, including hotline listening and an apology framework.

GUEST BIO:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladimirbushin/ 

Vladimir Bushin is an expert in building an agile culture and improving organizational performance, with over 20 years of experience in corporate environments. He spent eight years practicing and teaching SCRUM principles, and is the founder and active facilitator of a community of over 400 practitioners, the Negotiation Practice Community.

Vladimir is passionate about helping professionals from various fields improve their influencing skills and build an accountability culture that improves performance, quality, and inclusivity.

He is a certified Crucial Conversations trainer, and even though his focus is not on law enforcement or education, his skills and knowledge can help organizations in any industry. Vladimir is a dedicated and respected professional who strives to make work more enjoyable, sustainable, and effective.

Key Topics and Bullets:
- Introduction to the importance of negotiation and agile coaching

- Deescalation and the importance of high standards for law enforcement

- The brain's two states: executive and survival

- Curiosity, gratitude, and the executive state

- Explanation of an agile culture coach

- Tactical empathy, practical curiosity, and tactical curiosity in negotiations

- The use of "why" in negotiations and triggering defensiveness

- Effective communication and the importance of De-Escalation

- Agile culture and traditional corporate culture

- Trust-based policing and measuring interactions with citizens

Timestamped Overview:
[00:04:48] Building a healthy team culture involves handling conflict and difficult people, while maintaining effective communication and avoiding escalation. De-escalation is about creating collaboration and balancing emotions to find solutions.

[00:09:30] Negotiation skills are learned from childhood, but not everyone is taught effective techniques. Leveraging relationships through silence or violence is a common but toxic approach. Effective negotiation relies on constantly learning and growing, including skills like hotline listening and crucial conversations. The importance of apologizing correctly is also highlighted.

[00:18:21] Tactical empathy is an important concept, but practical curiosity is even more important in negotiation as it allows negotiators to stay curious and not be affected by their emotions. The use of the question "why" in negotiation can be risky and trigger defensiveness from the other side, so the way it is framed is important. Other questions like "what" and "how" can be leading and imply certain assumptions, while "why" is an open-ended question that allows for deeper exploration of reasoning. Children use the question "why" to learn and explore, and it can be a valuable tool in negotiation if used correctly.

[00:25:04] Agile culture promotes high performance through empowering teams and delegating decision-making power, leading to a flatter hierarchy and higher accountability. It requires strong interpersonal skills, empathetic communication, and the ability to address interpersonal issues. A traditional corporate culture relies on a hierarchy of power, leading to less autonomy for teams and a longer time to resolve issues.

[00:30:57] Trust is a combination of purpose alignment and integrity. Maintaining integrity is critical for trust, but it can be difficult and requires constant effort.

[00:40:32] Average individuals settle with their communication skills, while successful individuals strive to improve and set higher goals for themselves, seeking out coaches and challenges to aid in their growth.

[00:44:39] Practice is essential to retain knowledge gained from books, videos, or classes. Join low-stakes practice sessions, get feedback from a more experienced practitioner, and join a negotiation practice community.