Support values enablement

This 3 part optional series is designed to ensure that as a team, we have a common vocabulary and understanding for upholding our Sourcegraph values. New team members complete the series as part of initial onboarding.

Part 1 is a thought-sharing session.

Our team member facilitating the session opens by sharing why we have values, what purpose they serve
Our new team member(s) share what the values mean to them
Our new member facilitating the session initiates a discussion about what the new team member(s) think the pros and cons could be of each value, as well as initial reactions/impressions the new team member(s) have. This open thought-sharing is meant to allow for a constant consideration as to whether our values are having the impact we want and allow our new team members to ask questions, consider our values with a critical eye.

Part 2 - Deep dive on Be welcoming and inclusive

A seemingly simple value that requires deep work to constantly confront biases we likely don’t fully realize we have. Part 2 goes deep on this by reading, completing the workbook within, and discussing Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias over the course of 5 sessions. This training give all members of our team a shared vocabulary and starting framework to truly live the value. This training honors what we say to be true in the value, that the work to truly make those around us feel welcome and included is never done. It spans 5 weeks. You will need to block out 4 hours each week for reading/reflecting, in addition to the 90 minute group sessions. You can block this out however you know is best for you (all at once vs smaller increments). You will also need to purchase (and expense) the book at least a week in advance of the first session so you can complete the pre-work.

Part 2 - Session 1

For our first session, please do the following in this order before the first session:

Write down what you think the terms “bias” and “unconscious bias” mean. Don’t look them up, don’t Google, don’t open the book for this course … just based on what you think to be true right now, write down your thoughts.
Read the introduction in Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias
Now look at what you wrote down for #1 … make note of what aligns with the definitions offered in the book vs what differs.
Reflect on what you hope to take away from this training and also reflect on what makes you feel even a small amount of discomfort or uncertainty.

The purpose of this session is to get the cohort comfortable working together and also for the facilitator to make notes to be supportive of each cohort member.

Agenda for session 1:

(10 min) Introduction round robin: Name, role at Sourcegraph, something from the last week that brought you joy
(10 min) Framing: Facilitator walks through the reason why we do this training and sees if anyone has any questions
(15 min) Sharing round robin 1: Did you find that you were defining bias and unconscious bias the same or different from the definitions Fuller offers?
(15 min) Sharing round robin 2: What do you hope to take away from this training? (Facilitator shares they will write these down so we can review in our last session)
(15 min) Sharing round robin 3: What makes you feel even a small amount of discomfort or uncertainty?
(20 min) Open Q&A – anything goes; if the facilitator doesn’t know the answer, they own following up after
(5 min) For session 2 (this is also posted in the Slack channel and the facilitator posts a reminder a few days before the next session, too)…
- Read Part 1 of Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias (chapters 1–4) and make note of any questions that come to mind as you read.
- Complete the worksheets at the end of each chapter (pages 30–33, 44–46, 57–60, and 69–71) and again make note of any questions that come to mind as you complete the worksheets.
- Reflect on what you feel you gained from reading these chapters. Make note of 2–3 things you gained.

Part 2 - Session 2

Pre-work to be done before session 2:

Read Part 1 of Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias (chapters 1–4) and make note of any questions that come to mind as you read.
Complete the worksheets at the end of each chapter (pages 30–33, 44–46, 57–60, and 69–71) and again make note of any questions that come to mind as you complete the worksheets.
Reflect on what you feel you gained from reading these chapters. Make note of 2–3 things you gained.

The purpose of this session is to reinforce the reading, allow for group discussion, ensure folks are getting questions answered, to help normalize talking about such things that often feel heavy, and for the facilitator to identify any follow-up conversations needed

Agenda for session 2:

(10 minutes) Transition into safe place of cohort round robin: Something from the last week that brought you joy
(15 minutes) Framing round robin: Share one way you feel what you read in Part 1 of Fuller’s book relates to our values/culture/purpose
(15 minutes) Sharing round robin 1: What do you feel you gained from Part 1 reading and worksheets?
(30 minutes) Sharing round robin 2: What questions came up for you during the reading/worksheets that are still open and you’d like to discuss?
(15 minutes): Open Q&A – anything goes; if the facilitator doesn’t know the answer, they own following up after
(5 minutes): For session 3 (this is also posted in the Slack channel and the facilitator posts a reminder a few days before the next session, too)…
- Read Part 2 of Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias (chapters 5–8) and make note of any questions that come to mind as you read.
- Complete the worksheets at the end of each chapter (pages 91–94, 103–105, 115–118, and 132–135) and again make note of any questions that come to mind as you complete the worksheets.
- Reflect on what you feel you gained from reading these chapters. Make note of 2–3 things you gained.

Part 2 - Session 3

Pre-work to be done before session 3:

Read Part 2 of Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias (chapters 5–8) and make note of any questions that come to mind as you read.
Complete the worksheets at the end of each chapter (pages 91–94, 103–105, 115–118, and 132–135) and again make note of any questions that come to mind as you complete the worksheets.
Reflect on what you feel you gained from reading these chapters. Make note of 2–3 things you gained.

Agenda for session 3

(10 minutes) Transition into safe place of cohort round robin: Something from the last week that brought you joy
(15 minutes) Framing round robin: Share one way you feel what you read in Part 2 of Fuller’s book relates to our values/culture/purpose
(15 minutes) Sharing round robin 1: What do you feel you gained from Part 2 reading and worksheets?
(30 minutes) Sharing round robin 2: What questions came up for you during the reading/worksheets that are still open and you’d like to discuss?
(15 minutes): Open Q&A – anything goes; if the facilitator doesn’t know the answer, they own following up after
(5 minutes): For session 4 (this is also posted in the Slack channel and the facilitator posts a reminder a few days before the next session, too)…
- Read Part 3 of Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias (chapters 9–13) and make note of any questions that come to mind as you read.
- Complete the worksheets at the end of each chapter (pages 148–149, 158–160, 172–174, 185–187, and 196–199) and again make note of any questions that come to mind as you complete the worksheets.
- Reflect on what you feel you gained from reading these chapters. Make note of 2–3 things you gained.

Part 2 - Session 4

Pre-work to be done before session 4:

Read Part 3 of Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias (chapters 9–13) and make note of any questions that come to mind as you read.
Complete the worksheets at the end of each chapter (pages 148–149, 158–160, 172–174, 185–187, and 196–199) and again make note of any questions that come to mind as you complete the worksheets.
Reflect on what you feel you gained from reading these chapters. Make note of 2–3 things you gained.

Agenda for session 4

(10 minutes) Transition into safe place of cohort round robin: Something from the last week that brought you joy
(15 minutes) Framing round robin: Share one way you feel what you read in Part 3 of Fuller’s book relates to our values/culture/purpose
(15 minutes) Sharing round robin 1: What do you feel you gained from Part 3 reading and worksheets?
(30 minutes) Sharing round robin 2: What questions came up for you during the reading/worksheets that are still open and you’d like to discuss?
(15 minutes): Open Q&A – anything goes; if the facilitator doesn’t know the answer, they own following up after
(5 minutes): For session 5 (this is also posted in the Slack channel and the facilitator posts a reminder a few days before the next session, too)…
- Read Part 4 of Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias (chapters 14–16 + Conclusion) and make note of any questions that come to mind as you read.
- Complete the worksheets at the end of each chapter (pages 224–225, 235–236, 246–247, and 255–256) and again make note of any questions that come to mind as you complete the worksheets.
- Reflect on what you feel you gained from reading these chapters. Make note of 2–3 things you gained.

Part 2 - Session 5

Pre-work to be done before session 5:

Read Part 4 of Pamela Fuller’s book The Leader’s Guide to Unconscious Bias (chapters 14–16 + Conclusion) and make note of any questions that come to mind as you read.
Complete the worksheets at the end of each chapter (pages 224–225, 235–236, 246–247, and 255–256) and again make note of any questions that come to mind as you complete the worksheets.
Reflect on what you feel you gained from reading these chapters. Make note of 2–3 things you gained.

The purpose of this session is to reinforce the reading, allow for group discussion, ensure folks are getting questions answered, to help normalize talking about such things that often feel heavy, for the facilitator to identify any follow-up conversations needed, and to reinforce that this work is always ongoing

Agenda for session 5

(10 minutes) Transition into safe place of cohort round robin: Something from the last week that brought you joy
(15 minutes) Framing round robin: Share one way you feel what you read in Part 4 of Fuller’s book relates to our values/culture/purpose
(15 minutes) Sharing round robin 1: What do you feel you gained from Part 4 reading and worksheets?
(25 minutes) Sharing round robin 2: Share what you wrote for the Conclusion worksheet on page 255
(15 minutes) Sharing round robin 3: Look at the list from session 1 of what folks hoped to get out of the training, did they… if not, what next?
(15 minutes): Open Q&A – anything goes; if the facilitator doesn’t know the answer, they own following up after

Part 3 - Having difficult conversations

Sometimes things go wrong or something happens where a conversation that feels difficult needs to happen. This training is delivered over one 2-hour session and is meant to offer everyone our team a starting place when such conversations are necessary. The agenda is:

(10 minutes) Introduction round robin: Name, role at Sourcegraph, something from the last week that brought you joy
(10 minutes) Framing: Facilitator walks through the reason why we do this training – highlighting that we know most folks never get any kind of formal training in having difficult conversations and this meant to help with that
(15 minutes) Ask cohort to quietly read the code of conduct, our company page about conflict resolution, and this about difficult conversations and see if they have questions
(15 minutes) Sharing round robin 1: Share 3 examples of conversations you find difficult and what makes them difficult for you (facilitator takes notes while this is happening to show the depth and scope at the end, summarizing that this stuff can run deep and touch on things that often have nothing really to do with the conversation itself – for example, past trauma)
(15 minutes) Facilitator shares a scenario. Ask cohort to quietly write how they would initiate a hard conversation about it, using the guidance in the (revised) code of conduct
(30 minutes) Pick one or two drafts from the last section and as a group, imagine how someone might respond, and in turn, how you could respond
(25 minutes) Open Q&A – anything goes; if the facilitator doesn’t know the answer, they own following up after