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Decolonizing Decisions

An inclusive framework for collaboration

Cordelia Yu @thebestsophist | Tina Ye @tinabeans�Slides & Resources: corgiandbun.com/decolonizing-decisions

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What we’re doing in this workshop

1 /	Talk about power dynamics in groups
2 /	A little theory on how we make decisions

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What we’re doing in this workshop

1 /	Talk about power dynamics in groups
2 /	A little theory on how we make decisions
	Build your own framework for making collaborative decisions.

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Ground rules

1 /	What is said here, stays here
2 /	Be mindful in what you share, avoid names
3 /	Share the floor*
	* If you are from a group with historical privilege, step back and let others speak.

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Preface/ What do we mean by decolonizing?

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Theory: Traits of Colonialism

Sareeta Amrute, Tech Colonialism Today

1/	Hierarchical thinking that privileges dominate powers (usually whiteness)
2/	Extractive actions (minerals, data, culture)
3/	Exploitation of labor & ideas
4/	Uneven consequences (“failing up”)
5/	Malevolent paternalism

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Signs of white supremacy culture

Everyday Colonialism

Reference: http://cordeliayu.com/s/1DY

Perfectionism
Sense of Urgency
Defensiveness
Quantity over Quality
Worship of the written word
Paternalism
Either/Or thinking

Power Hoarding
Fear of conflict
Individualism
Progress is bigger, more
Objectivity
Right to comfort

Wrap by 4:10

Behaviors designed to reinforce existing power structure, dominated usually by those who are white
You don’t have to be white to enforce white supremacy (a lot of it happens subconsciously because of cultural conditioning) - for instance in China you see a lot of advertising that use images of white people to portray status and power
Some of the interesting ones on this list are:

Sense of urgency - “we have to make this deadline so there’s no time to run a more inclusive process”
Quantity over quality - this is about improving only what you can measure (like diversity numbers) and not what’s harder to measure (like whether people from marginalized groups feel heard)
Paternalism - people have have power assume they know the interests of people who don’t have power
Right to comfort - belief that people in power have more of a right to emotional and psychological wellbeing than those who dont

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Active listening

Sidebar

Listening	Just listen, don’t respond verbally beyond “I see” “Go on”.
Looping	Repeat back what you think you heard. “So what I heard you say…”
Dipping	Check in with yourself, note when you get distracted, then set it aside.

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Talk about a time in this newsroom when you saw somebody with relevant experience or insight being sidestepped in a decision or conversation.

Activity 1 — Objective

You + a partner (90 seconds each)

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Share what you heard & discuss:

Activity 1, continued

In Groups of 4 (5 min)�Share with the room (5 min)

Who was involved?
What was the disagreement?
Why was there a clash?

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1/ A model for how we make decisions

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Tool: Focused Conversation Method (ORID)

Objective	What are the facts? What are we sensing?
Reflective	How do we feel about that?
Interpretive	So what? What are the possible solutions?
Decision	Now what? What ought we do?

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The focused conversation method is a facilitation tool designed by the Institute of Cultural Affairs in Ontario that is helps group process and reflect on a shared experience and decide what to do next.

The problem:

discussion meanders off topic without clear direction
uneven power dynamics - some ppl own the floor, others don’t feel they can speak up
People skip ahead impatiently or are left behind, leading to superficial understanding and checking out
There’s no room for exploring feelings, intuition and other forms of “non-objective” knowledge at the table

ORID is a way to make decisions that’s

Inclusive & consensus- driven by design.
Discussion progresses from “easy” to “hard” questions
Allows the group to travel together so no one skips ahead or gets left behind

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How did you feel either observing or being involved in this situation?

Activity 2 – Reflective

You + a partner (90 seconds each)

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Share what you heard & discuss:

In Groups of 4 (5 min)�Share with the room (5 min)

Activity 2 – Continued

How did people act differently based on their place in the power hierarchy?

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2/ Our relationship

to power

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Theory: Power distance & social hierarchy

1/	Different cultures have different relationships to power.
2/	People are rewarded and punished differently depending on their positionality.
3/	Context matters.

And this governs how supported you feel and are. It changes how we interpret what leaders tell us.

A team might be extremely collaborative with lower power distance if you’re a white dude who gets celebreated for failure and for speaking his mind and disagreeing strongly with everyone, but that same boss will tell a black woman she’s being aggressive and stepping out of her lane.

And that means that if we want everyone to be able to contribute equitably, we need to think about what equitable participation looks like. And make sure that everyone is able to contribute to the collective in a way that is safe for them.

Because while unstructured conversation might work when there are two or three people, but the bigger the group and the more complicated them problem, the more thought you have to put into the structure of the conversation to get meaningful value out of it.

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The Focused Conversation Method in Action

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Turning user research into action items

O	Go over learnings
R	Explore personal reactions
I	Identify pain points; brainstorm solutions
D	Prioritize ideas

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Creating an equitable WFH policy

O	Defining needs
R	Reflecting on impact on team
I	Brainstorm options
D	Vote & draft policy

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Talk to Taiwan

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vTaiwan

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Operating at different scales

Sidebar

Photo by Hahc21 on Flickr

Time (single meeting or months-long project)

Group size (individual, team, or entire organization)

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Iterative & fractal

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3/ Applying your

own tools to ORID

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Name the things you typically do when you make decisions:

Activity 3 — Interpretive

Individually, on stickies (1 min)

alone
with others

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Map these practices to ORID by sorting them into 4 categories:

Objective • Reflective • Interpretational • Decisional

Activity 3 — Interpretive

In Groups of 4 (5 min)

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4/ Leaders as facilitators, not managers

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“Social change will not come to us like an avalanche down the mountain. Social change will come to us through seeds in well-prepared soil—and it is we, like the earthworms, who prepare the soil…

Icon by Sergey Demushkin from the Noun Project

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“…We realize there are no guarantees as to what will come up. Yet we do know that without the seeds and the prepared soil nothing will grow at all.”

Ursula Franklin

The Real World of Technology

Icon by Sergey Demushkin from the Noun Project

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Reflect individually:

Activity 4 – Decisional

Individually, on stickies (1 min)

Which of these methods can I apply to better support others in the newsroom?

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Write a letter to yourself:

Activity 4 – Decisional

Individually (3 min)�Letter to be delivered at the end of the semester

How do I hope I will grow to make how I work with others more inclusive?

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Go forth & decolonize!�

Slides & Resources: corgiandbun.com/decolonizing-decisions

Tina Ye @tinabeans | Cordelia Yu @thebestsophist

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As a group, discuss:

Activity 3 — Interpretive

In Groups of 4 (5 min)

If you could go back in time, how would you redo the scenario in Activity 1 using ORID to share power more equitably?

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“Design is no longer about designing the thing, you design the conditions for the thing to emerge, the conversation.”

Indy Johar

Democratizing Cities

Icon by Sergey Demushkin from the Noun Project

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Make a pact with yourself: How will you change how you do this work this semester?

Activity 4 – Decisional

Individually (on stickies, then communication medium of choice)