14 OpenOakland Leadership Hacks for 2015

OpenOakland leadership 14 Volunteer Experience choices you might see at OpenOakland Civic Hack Nights in 2015 Phil Wolff"@evanwolf, OpenOakland.org, [email protected]

Geeky, digital DIY, service minded, "Civic Hacker volunteers

Builds apps like a studio"Fosters innovation like an incubator

Geeky, digital DIY, service minded, "Civic Hacker volunteers

Builds apps like a studio"Fosters innovation like an incubator

We build apps for the public •  About six a year

"We host civic innovation events •  Hackathons •  CityCamp Unconference •  Regional Confabs

Startups – Lean, Fast, Growth Maker Culture – DIY; Small, local, groups Civic NGOs – Change that matters Enterprise Tech – Adult supervision Design Thinking – Empathy, Evidence Occupy Oakland – Consensus, Action

Flavoring our culture

What will you see at a hack night?

We host 50 hack nights a year!

Buddy Leadership. • People come and go. So it's a great idea to

share jobs. • Especially leadership roles where others

depend on you. • We've had co-captains from the start and

other roles have been shared.

Do-ocracy. • We give respect and authority to those who

do something, to those who produce results. • Very OccupyOakland (the other OO).

Adhocracy. Swarming. • We'll form new teams at the drop-of-a-hat

(instantly, as needed). • And disband just as fast when the need

passes.

Wirearchy. • Adding new connectedness to our minimal

hierarchy. • People connected by interests, by informal

relationships, by Community of Practice. • Podularity.

Forgiveness. • With a very few exceptions, we've stayed out

of trouble. • When we do muck things up, we're a kind

and forgiving bunch. Error is part of learning. • This lets people dive in without much fear,

tolerating risk.

Director of Joy. • The person who makes everyone welcome,

who makes sure people are having fun, that teams are clicking. • Not a formal role (yet) but several of us

actually talk to newbies. #tummler

Goad. •  You know the guy behind you at the craps table

shouting in your ear to bet it all and roll the dice?

•  We like those people.

•  And the gamblers who roll the dice.

•  We need volunteers to make lots of calculated bets. "This leads to learning and winning. "Sometimes to loss (see forgiveness).

•  Even better when tests produce actionable knowledge. When learnings are shared. "See institutional memory and community of practice.

Less. Big believers in doing less. •  We're volunteers, nearly all of us giving less

than three hours a week (one hack night). Even together, that's not much time.

•  So we're attracted to simple and small projects, with clean edges and defined releases. Something that can be finished.

•  We appreciate teams saying “not now, some day” to wishlists. So focus.

Caring more. We respect the fervent.

•  You may not be able to code but you have passion for the subject matter, enthusiasm for solving problems, and a strong will to make a difference.

•  We love these people on teams; harnessed to a work process, they keep projects going through the rough patches when others might abandon hope.

Design the role around the person. •  Everyone is so different; nearly impossible to fit

someone into a predefined job description. •  So help them craft the role to suit their own idea

of the job, to exploit their strengths, sidestep their weaknesses, pique their interests, and build their professional capacities. •  They are happier, do more, and their work makes

more sense.

The volunteer is the customer.

•  to make a difference as an Oaklander, •  to belong to something larger, •  to learn through action, •  to accomplish and feel proud, •  to amplify their hopes and dreams, •  to build relationship capital, •  to be more effective together than on their own, •  to have fun doing it.

What they're “buying” with their time and talent is the ability…

The volunteer is the customer.

Designing the volunteer experiences – our meetings, our projects, our ways of working – for the volunteer ensures we're able to help Oakland innovate, solve problems, and do the other lovely things we accomplish together.

We compete for volunteer time every week. • We’re not the only place in town. • Minecraft beckons. So does every other way

to volunteer. Or entrepreneurial side projects. • We must be a more convenient, productive,

enjoyable, meaningful way to spend scarce disposable time.

Minimize volunteers’ "cognitive burden. •  Be the High Signal organization. •  Avoid adding too many communication channels "

(or communications). •  Avoid wasting time on less-productive activities. •  Hide organizational sausage-making unless they

express a strong desire to know. •  This makes backchannels and private email/slack

threads the norm for project, functional team, and organizational work.

Feed the people. •  You can’t meet for hours after work without

feeding the volunteers. •  Pizza, burritos, tacos, and candy on the menu.

Mostly pizza. •  Eating is social, vital for newbies, "

great for informal statusing • Our Pizza Pro Forma calculator.

This is just part of our truth •  Still learning • Not consensus •  Stream is never the

same twice • We’re very f2f for a

tech/innovation group

• We’re affected by changes to Oakland •  Economy •  Culture •  Government

To recap… • Buddy

Leadership • Doöcracy • Adhocracy/

Swarming • Wirearchy •  Forgiveness • Director of Joy

• Goad •  Less • Caring More • Design the role

around the person

•  The Volunteer Is The Customer • Compete For

Volunteer Time/Attention • Get Out Of The

Way •  Feed the people

OpenOakland leadership Phil Wolff "@evanwolf [email protected] OpenOakland.org Caveats lector: My observations alone, may not represent the opinions of OO.