I’m an unabashed fan of Seth Godin and I love a recent blogpost of his in which he outlines the difference in company culture between the contracted risk-averse, and those that commit to the possibility of doing something different – embracing the unknown, change, possibility. It’s understandable in the current climate that so many people, companies, governments, financial institutions are sitting on their hands and waiting for someone else to take a risk first. Companies won’t hire until people start spending again, banks won’t lend until companies show growth again….it’s all a cycle of Fear that has thrown our economy into quicksand. So nobody moves unless someone else moves first.
I’m sure you see the consequences of this in your workplace. An atmosphere of mistrust and uncertainty takes hold and people can’t really say what they think, they can’t hold their ground, because that ground seems to be dissolving around them as they watch co-workers get pink slips and the cost of everything keeps climbing and forget about new ideas – what planet are you from that you can even conceive of innovation at a time like this?
And yet….. Now is precisely the time to pop your head out of the foxhole and look towards the horizon. And if you can be a First Adaptor even in small ways….. you may be positioned to lead once the climate begins to thaw.
Let’s start small…… bring your employees a new way to connect by sharing their true experiences and finding more productive ways to problem solve. Take a look at any of the trainings outlined on this website. SFI has a series of upcoming interactive trainings/coaching series for three companies: a big one – Pierce Atwood, a small one: Maine Meadworks, and a non-profit network: the Institute of Civic Leadership. These enterprises are negotiating the same shaky ground you are – and they have decided to resist contraction and Embrace the New anyway by hiring Short Fuse Interactive, LLC.
And how’s this for something really out there? Portland Playback Theatre Co. has recently joined the Maine Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and is actively promoting storytelling as an innovative tool for stronger employee engagement and productivity. PPT creates a staff development event unlike any you have ever experienced – they get people to tell their true stories and then play them back using specific forms and techniques. This experience becomes a catalyst for both honoring employee experience and facilitating first steps toward productive change. I dare you. Take one peek out of the hole and a baby step toward something New… Check out the link….
You won’t be sorry.
I started working with a new client today – and I’m really excited about this business – Maine Mead Works creates a spirited elixer from the honey produced by Maine bees. There is a story to the process that involves history, geography and ecology. And there is a story surrounding the impact mead has had on the economies of far flung countries….just as it may have a beneficial economic impact closer to home. But the process – the technique, the science of creating mead…is only one of the stories in this business. It’s the one Ben Alexander, as the owner, may be most familiar with, but there are other stories he may want to weave into the telling – depending on the audience. We have set a goal for Ben to present at the Pecha Kucha night in February here in Portland….which story will he tell? And what hidden stories lurk – like undiscovered jewels – in your own business?
I recently started doing some work with my local YMCA. Yesterday we were doing a multi-branch meeting when Helen Brena Foley, the CEO, challenged the group to a contest to see which branch was doing their best to incorporate the mission and values “Living the Cause”, as it were, of the organization. She started with questions like: “What is our purpose, what are we for?” Answer: Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility! She went on in this vein for awhile and each correct answer got a prize: big cheers from the group and their choice of YMCA apparel. And then she threw in a ringer: “Who has read ‘The Switch’?” Surprised silence. Mine was the only hand in the room to be raised. “What are the three main components in the book?” I felt like I was in high school again but I went with it. “The Elephant, the Rider and the Path”. “What’s the function of the Elephant?” At this point people were turning around to look at me….”The Elephant is the part of us that resists change, the Elephant doesn’t want to be healthy, the Elephant wants donuts.” A few snickers rippled around the room- lots of personal trainers present. “And the Rider?” she asked – not letting me off the hook just because I had a strong start. “The Rider has the Map – the Plan, and sees the need for change – but the Rider needs to motivate the Elephant”. More heads are turning around now…there is some surprise here that we are spending this much time on something not on the agenda. I’m feeling some wind in my sails now, so I continue unprompted…”And the Path is the context, the environment, what surrounds the change with various obstacles and supports”. Helen smiles…. the people sitting at my table send up a cheer – and I win my choice of YMCA apparel. But the bigger win for me is that suddenly, people are interested in this book – they want to talk about “The Switch”, which as some of you know – is one of my favorite group facilitation reads. And I discover that the YMCA wants to begin actively and consciously incorporating these principals to promote healthy lifestyle change in their communities, so that next time she asks about who has read the book, many hands will be raised. In my experience, that makes the YMCA a big winner.
I just finished David Brooks “A Social Animal”, a cerebral page-turner written with mind, heart and yes, even a sense of humor. And I was very psyched to discover him on TED X. His basic premise is the engine behind SFI and LegacyMD: the cultural assumption that reason trumps emotion has led to what Brooks refers to as “the Great Amputation” between mind and heart, and this is central to our country’s current political and economic paralysis.
I had to smile – this is not new stuff. But maybe it is for a rational, reason-based, card-carrying Republican. It’s no surprise to those of us in experiential modes of training that emotions, rather than distracting annoyances, are actually at the center of our reasoning and behavioral functions. Brooks refers to instances where stroke victims or those with lesions in the emotion processing part of the brain (the amygdala) are helpless to make even small decisions – (see Jonah Lehrer). Emotions are central to how and where we focus our attention – they are at the very core of our being, and we cannot learn new skills and more effective behaviors, or apply best practice anywhere without paying close attention to how they impact our behavioral decisions. David Brooks, in thinking and researching deeply into the emotional nature of human interaction, has unknowingly lent his respected voice in support of our work.
Welcome aboard Mr. Brooks…
And speaking of TED X …Portland Playback Theatre will be profiled on TED X this coming September 10th – come see us in person or on the web!
In an increasingly impersonal, fast paced global workplace, trust is difficult to achieve and retain. Yet, HR leaders understand that “getting results” depends on people working with each other in trusting and transparent collaborations. How do you build trust when you often know next to nothing about your co-workers as human beings? How can you quickly tap into the best of who you are and stimulate that same essence in others, while staying on schedule and implementing best practices? How can you make sure that the product or service you need to create is not compromised because you don’t trust the work of another – (and they don’t trust you?)
Janice Cohen and I are in the process of creating an experiential training workshop designed to explore and answer these questions. We are happy to announce we will be doing this workshop for the HR Convention at the Samoset in Rockport, ME this coming May 11 -14, 2011.
Trusting workplaces are energy producing, not energy reducing, as is common in a workplace devoid of trust. They are more productive, creative, competent, and self-nurturing. With ever tighter schedules, we can no longer hope for trust to develop over time. Building trust must be an intentional, courageous act built not on status or goals, but on the willingness to reveal one’s authenticity. Storytelling is an efficient and effective vehicle that enables people to build trust within the restricted time frames and fast movement pace of today’s workplaces.
Four Objectives of this Workshop
So what do you think? What are your stories of Trust on the Run? Tell us here and come see us in May!
Story has been stitched throughout my day. And how delicious is that? We had a terrific morning session with David Lee of HumanNature@Work on “Unleashing the Power of Storytelling”….ask him sometime about the Australian Keynote – hysterically funny – I can’t do it justice in print! And it got me thinking yet again about the huge potential of this tool to address so many behavior and cultural challenges. In our work with the doctors, as soon as we created space both in the agenda and In Ourselves – to deeply listen to their stories of work experience – they could enter deeply into the work we wanted them to do. And we are looking into several exciting opportunities to work in education on ways to augment Civil Rights teams in middle and high schools to address a variety of issues (like Bullying) using the powerful storytelling methods in Playback Theatre. Storytelling is a dance between teller and listener that can open hearts and minds so much quicker than facts and figures, incentives and punishments – and can lead to significant culture change. Do yourself a favor, cough up five bucks (it’s on sale right now!) and listen in to this amazing segment I heard on NPR. Human Kind produced this half hour segment titled Bullying Solutions, and Marlene Sandstrom and Susan Engle have ideas about how to combat this – storytelling among them. Also today – I made time to meet with my new friend Liz (isn’t it great to make a new friend as a grown-up? Nice to know we still can!) and she is thinking about hosting retreats for women off-season at the Celebration Barn Theatre, and using story and improv work as a way for women to develop trust quickly and share experiences. Which brings me to the work Janice Cohen and I are developing on Building Trust in the Workplace – of which storytelling is the primary tool. And finally, I’m off to see the latest production at Portland Stage Co., The 39 Steps! There are days when I feel like my life has splintered into 15 parts – but today there is a “storyline” woven through the experiences! Chime in with your stories!
So in the last few training sessions we have done at SFI Inc., it was not mandated that the attendees be there, but it was strongly encouraged. And by that, I mean that our trainings were offered as a more proactive alternative to anger management interventions, or another round of communication skills training. Our training was an opportunity for them to make a good faith attempt to analyze their own behavior and interpersonal style of communication – with the inherent pluses and minuses. And what we all – trainers and participants – discovered in the sessions, were three key incentives not necessarily voiced prior to the work:
These discoveries through the course of the workshops start to open participants up to the power of Appreciative Inquiry as a management tool - and get them started on a quest to look for what is right – what is already working – in an organization or work team. Then we can start to discuss how to amplify the positive – and even if we can’t eliminate the negative, we can turn down the noise. What do you think? What has been your experience?
Thanks for your question on role play Jean, a few people have asked – what is the future of this tool – especially in an age increasingly dominated by technology? Is is possible to re-create via computer the face time experience between two people? There are many software programs that come close….but is it close enough? We are now working with real-time, intervention experiences, especially focused on increasing communication skills, as a launching pad for deeper engagement via technology – that is to say – so problems raised in a real-time day-long interactive role play experience can be further addressed via advice given in phone consults (Skype!) and tele-conferencing. In my opinion, this is a “best practice” use of technology for a variety of human resources red flags like hostile workplace, sexual harassment and anger management. It’s tech as a tool for deeper human engagement – not a replacement for the human mind. I’d love to hear about your experiences…..tell me more!
We were a little nervous. But that just made us prep harder – and we couldn’t ignore the fact that most of the nerves were a result of our expectations of what our participants would be like. Even with pages and pages of info – the reality of actually meeting someone tilts the gameplan on its ear. Well, as improvisors – we are nothing if not flexible, adaptable and in the moment. No one can accuse us of being wedded to the agenda for the day….even if I did spend way to much time putting that thing together. It was a beautiful day – and what a joy to walk away feeling honored to be a part of this work. Where we expected resistence – they gave us hunger for more. Where we had to gently push – one or two pushed back – but we found middle ground. I watched our team engage with all engines in their uniquely gifted ways and felt extremely proud to have created an opportunity for gifted people to do what they do best in an arena of live minds and charged emotions. We were in our element. All of us. And as long a seven hour stretch as the day demanded – it felt like flying.
Here’s some resources we drew from for this piece of leadership and communication work:
You’ve encountered Switch before on this site, as well as Multipliers, and here’s two more for you: Art of the Possible and that old classic – Peter Senge’s Fifth Discipline. I’d love to hear about your experiential training….experiences! As well as what informs them – Happy flying!
Some of you already know that we have been asked to work with a trio of doctors flown in from a variety of places for an training session next week. This is going to take Activated Scenes to a whole new planet. Imagine being a highly skilled medical professional – marinated in numbers, facts and figures, extremely able in high stress – literal life and death situations, the saver of many lives – every day a star turn – elevated and emulated and…..told by your CEO that you have to fly out and spend a precious Saturday in a hotel with a bunch of actor/facilitators so that you can learn to essentially “play better with others”. … How would you feel? A little cranky, a lot incredulous, and….Who Are THESE PEOPLE anyway? Well. That’s what we have facing us Saturday and we had better be ready hadn’t we? We are collecting some strategies here in places like: Michael Rohd’s Activated Scenes and Hannah Fox with Playback Theatre. A very thin text was given us as a sort of roadmap into the minds we will be encountering, the aptly named Inside the Physician Mindby Joseph S. Bujak, MD, FACP. We are delving into the books Multipliers and Switch and formulating the Ultimate Warm-up Exercise that will get everyone quickly on the same page – Suggestions?
