Ditch the Pros/Cons List and Implement a Plus/Delta to Transform Mindset

When I started my Lean journey, I learned about the "Plus/Delta" and fell in love with it. It is tool similar to a pro/con list but so much better. "Con" can have such a negative connotation.

Plus/Delta was presented to me as...

• Plus - something that went well
• Delta - something that could be improved

My engineering brain thinks of "delta" as a "difference" or "change". It doesn't feel negative. When I was first taught about this concept, I was told that it is supposed to be an environment people are safe to give "feedback"...it wasn't even described as "constructive criticism"."Criticism" also can feel negative.

When we first started using this tool, it took a little time for us to feel comfortable and know that it was a safe space to talk about the deltas. I don't know about you, but I can be terrified about hurting someone's feelings or rubbing someone the wrong way. If I'm slightly awkward in a situation, it can haunt me because I think that I might have given the wrong impression. This new concept of the improvement allowed our teams to go into a conversation knowing that everyone means well. There shouldn't be any hard feelings, we are in it together to learn and improve.

I admit that at first it feels a little cheesy to end a meeting and say "Okay, let's do a plus/delta" but I got over that and find it one of my favorite parts of a meeting. Sometimes when I implement this tool with new people, they will say "Oh like a pros/cons". I make sure to clarify and say, "It is different because the delta isn't bad, it is supposed to be something that can be improved or we might want to do differently next time". It seems silly to make such a small correction, but each time my team emphasized that, we slowly saw more comfort in opening up with what we were feeling.

We use this tool after meetings or sometimes as the format for entire meeting. They can be done mid-project or at the end of the project to find the lessons learned and how the team would like to apply that to future projects. I have implemented in my coaching sessions with mentors/mentees so that we can improve and build that trust with each other. I probably get more out of the deltas than the pluses. I am thankful that my teammates of all levels are comfortable voicing their opinions on what can be improved. I think the Plus/Delta mindset is one tool that has helped transform our culture.

Have you ever implemented a plus/delta? What is a tool that has helped transform mindset with your teams?