Comments on: Feeding each other http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/blog/2010/01/09/feeding-each-other/ A Journal about Collaborative Workplaces Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:48:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Tobias Mayer http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/blog/2010/01/09/feeding-each-other/#comment-9375 Tobias Mayer Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:49:31 +0000 http://www.futureworksconsulting.com/blog/?p=125#comment-9375 The "Do Food" pattern has often (usually, in my experience) been interpreted as "Bring Food", and some manager or team leader or Scrum Master buys beer and pizza for everyone when they are working late, furnishes the team room with treats and snacks, or takes the team out to eat as a reward for a successful review. All of these actions do is create a paternalistic culture, which is not much healthier than a command and control one: it is still hierarchical, and about keeping people in their place. Sounds like your team leader got it right. Feeding /each other/ is the key. On my Welfare CSM classes I request in advance that the participants take care of all breaks and lunches, decide what we will eat and where, and the do this as a team using the specially created Google Group set up for pre-course introductions and discussions. It has worked well 15 out of 16 times now, so I continue to encourage it. Meals have ranched from potlucks to simple brown-bag sharing and sometimes meals at cheap local restaurants. It has also extended to dinner on a couple of occasions. Interesting discussions about food and culture often ensue and occasional recipe sharing through the group follows the course. I highly recommend the "Create and Share Food" variation of Do Food. I seriously warn against the "Give Food" variation :-) Thanks for sharing this story Diane. Much enjoyed. The “Do Food” pattern has often (usually, in my experience) been interpreted as “Bring Food”, and some manager or team leader or Scrum Master buys beer and pizza for everyone when they are working late, furnishes the team room with treats and snacks, or takes the team out to eat as a reward for a successful review. All of these actions do is create a paternalistic culture, which is not much healthier than a command and control one: it is still hierarchical, and about keeping people in their place.

Sounds like your team leader got it right. Feeding /each other/ is the key. On my Welfare CSM classes I request in advance that the participants take care of all breaks and lunches, decide what we will eat and where, and the do this as a team using the specially created Google Group set up for pre-course introductions and discussions. It has worked well 15 out of 16 times now, so I continue to encourage it. Meals have ranched from potlucks to simple brown-bag sharing and sometimes meals at cheap local restaurants. It has also extended to dinner on a couple of occasions. Interesting discussions about food and culture often ensue and occasional recipe sharing through the group follows the course.

I highly recommend the “Create and Share Food” variation of Do Food. I seriously warn against the “Give Food” variation :-)

Thanks for sharing this story Diane. Much enjoyed.

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