Out of a meeting to meet people - A new appraoch

A meeting design to make the most of our time!

A few weeks ago I posted on Twitter that I'd had a win with a new meeting approach I'd tested with the OD group I chair. Such was the interest, and feedback from participants, I promised I'd share what it was all about in my first blog for a while (which I hope won't be the last).

The background:

The OD group is made up of volunteers and so it has constantly evolved, and sometimes struggled with attendance as people prioritised other things - like their proper jobs! Also, as chair, I commit to being creative about how we do our meetings so as to model OD themes such as engagement. At the RCP we're recognised by some as a group that gets (the nice, soft) stuff done, but a challenge we often face is not having enough regular input from outside of ourselves and outside of our meetings.

The purpose:

So, my idea was designed to do a few things:

• Do something we'd really not tried already, in the room

• To engage people, external to the group, in what we do

• To make it easier for the members to get OD out of the room, in a way that didn't impact their already limited time in between meetings.

The challenge:

It had to work across multiple sites simultaneously!

The activity in brief:

The thinking how to address these considerations resulted in the 10-3,2,1 activity described below.

Simply put, the group were given

10 mins, to ask

3 questions, in pairs, (so the)

2 people, we're to bring back what they'd learnt to the room to share for

1 minute

Simple enough, yes, but not without thought and the need for a little preparation*.

*Disclaimer: Possibly not even original, though I can honestly say I've not been involved in such a thing before!

The thinking:

The ten minutes was to give people enough time to leave the room and get around our fairly large estate, to find colleagues to talk to. This was purposefully tight as people had to energise quickly or they'd fine themselves at the further ends of the building. Queue the Annika Rice style dash. But I knew some of the nearest teams might be challenging so that was a lesson there!

The three questions were so that people were purposeful and on topic. Thus the questions in themselves had to be clear, relevant and phrased specifically to get quick, useful insights.

Getting people to work in two's meant they were accountable to and supportive of each other. One pair came back and suggested they needed a bodyguard(!) so I can imagine going out alone might have been more of a challenge.

With just one minute to present back, before a plenary looking for themes, the pairs had to work together to agree what the key messages were that they were to bring back.

The learning application:

To do this exercise required people to be willing to do something a little different, to trust the process (and me) to meaningful and to know their way around the place.

The preparation was just the choosing of a meaningful topic, the right questions and documenting them, along with the instructions.

The whole thing was easy enough to act upon, but the purpose and design had to be intentional.

The outcome:

The result was a fun, energised approach to hearing the employee voice in a quick (albeit limited in number) way.

It was certainly enjoyed by the participants who gave great feedback ("I loved it" "Great idea" "Best meeting we've had"), and it was valuable to me in getting feedback on a college project I've been leading on. It also gave food for thought about how/when else the approach could be used... In fact, the CEO has suggested walkabout Wednesdays, and IT and internal communications are thinking of ways they can use it.

Nobody's followed up yet, but watch this space!

Over to you:

If you do (or have done this or similar), how was that for you? If it would help with something you're doing, borrow away but do tell me how it goes!

Thanks for reading,

Denise x

For more:

• Contact me using the 'Contact form' above right
• Follow me at: @DamsonHR (Twitter)
• Call direct on: 07887 643807
• LinkedIn: Denise Sanderson-Estcourt, FCIPD

Oscar does not represent.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly on the Oscar Nominations 2015.

Movies, at their best, have the ability to raise the issue of diversity in a positive way and challenge our thinking - think To Kill a Mockingbird, Crash and Brokebank Mountain as examples. So, whilst it pains me to write this blog, I feel compelled to do so.

Currently film has been a trigger for diversity (specifically race) conversations in the wrong way with negativity about a black Annie, a black Bond and black stormtroopers; and there've also discussions about whether able bodied actors should play disabled characters. And the biggie...

The internet has been full of comment about the 'All white' Oscars acting and directorial nominations with Jessica Chastain making an impassioned speech about the matter of #OscarsSoWhite quoting:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/jessica-chastain-makes-emotional-plea-to-hollywood-to-fight-against-racist-agendas-following-all-white-oscars-nominations-9982237.html

And that's the 'good'. Social media gives us a voice (not always kindly eg in the case of Annie and Bond) that when used well, can ensure collective views are heard. And its also good (great actually) that people are frustrated by the lack of (visible) diversity on the list.

The 'bad' about the situation is the list itself. And it's not just about no black actors, it's also that there are no women on the Directors list (no nods for Angelina Jolie or Ava) for example.
I'm sure Ava DuVernay, would not want to be recognised simply because she is a black woman, she would want be recognised if the belief is that she did a great job making a movie. And given that the film 'Selma' is nominated for 'Best Film', we have our observation about that.

But the 'ugly' in my opinion is how the race of Cheryl Boone Isaacs as President of AMPAS seems to be being used to dismiss the issues raised. Her position does not change the historical or 'institutional' issues, or the fact that the movie industry is not reflective of the society it seeks to entertain.

I will always argue that diversity is not solely about the differences of race, gender, religion, disability, sexual orientation etc. For example, you could be looking at three white females but there'd still be much diversity in terms of age, sexual orientation, marital status, religion, not to mention a host of different behavioural styles.

Diversity is about different people being not just represented but respected, treated fairly and their differences embraced. Is this how you see it?

However, there is no getting away from the fact that it's soul destroying to look at the Oscar nominations and have to recognise that 'the system' as it stands is biased towards middle-aged white males and that it has not moved on to reflect wider demographics.

Could the  'charges' be levelled at your organisation?

Thanks for reading, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Denise x

For more:

• Contact me using the 'Contact form' above right
• Follow me at: @DamsonHR
• Call direct on: 07887 643807
• LinkedIn: Denise Sanderson-Estcourt, FCIPD

Lighting the flame!

Danny Boyles programme notes for the opening ceremony of the Olympics have been circulating on the internet.... The last paragraph reads:

“But we hope, too, that through all the noise and excitement you’ll glimpse a single golden thread of purpose – the idea of Jerusalem – of the better world, the world of real freedom and true equality, a world that can be built through the prosperity of industry, through the caring notion that built the welfare state, through the joyous energy of popular culture, through the dream of universal communication. A belief that we can build Jerusalem. And that it will be for everyone.”

The amazing view from Karl Brocker's seat!

As talk begins to turn to the closing ceremony, as I continue to enjoy the London Olympics 2012, and as I anticipate the events of the Paralympics – my memories remain of a few Fridays gone as I watched the opening ceremony. Whilst some have debated the political element of the ceremony, I have chosen to reflect on what we can learn from it. Whatever your view about all, parts of, or who did what at the ceremony I think it should be recognised that this was a huge task, well done; and if you’ve ever organised so much as a kids party or a work Christmas lunch you’ll appreciate that you can’t please everybody so you just have to be true to your convictions and go for it!

Here are some of my reflections:

• The first lesson is that of a clear vision, but not just one about the end result – for me the above excerpt evidences a clarity and a passion for the journey.
• I think it is also fantastic that from the outset, this vision was inclusive.
• From this vision (of little value if not achievable) to the ceremony itself, it is clear that this vision was translated into a clear plan and that hours of preparation went into the final show.
• The choice of ‘players’ in the performance was also important. The use of volunteers including children and members of the health service through to high profile cast members such as Kenneth Branagh, JK Rowling and Rowan Atkinson was in keeping with the UK having a range of diverse talent, but with no one professional dominating the show over the non-professionals (which included HM The Queen)!
• And then there is Danny Boyle himself who demonstrated great leadership skills (along with others) – it was his vision, he clearly got a great team around him, and most impressively he shared of the glory, and recognised the role of the volunteers in his post event speech.

Personally, I think it was a great show – it was very British (authentic), gave a nod to history without staying there, celebrated talent and achievement, and was creative and forward thinking but not so much so that we abandoned fireworks!

And when comes time for the closing and Paralympic ceremonies, I hope the handing over of the baton is as innovative, smart and smooth as the approach to lighting the flame...which, to me, was genius.

All lit up... Another Karl Brocker view - Thanks for sharing!

Child's Play!

It is said (and sad) that we hit an age where we have to be all grown up and even the Bible says that there is a time when we should 'put away childish things'. But I've recently found myself at odds with this idea and verse as I have found myself getting childish things out, to turn them into a lesson for grown up's! 

I was asked to come up with a brief in-room activity to take a 'comfortable' team up a gear - with limited time, space and resources (well, it was a charity!). So I set about deciding on a couple of activities to be sandwiched in between presenting some theory and generated discussions. 

In a nutshell I had the team complete a jigsaw puzzle, designed for toddlers, somewhat limited by the blindfolds and rules representing real life challenges.  The aim was to encourage some self awareness and extract some key team lessons... And then I finished by telling the story of 'The three little pigs' (also useful for project management!) to illustrate a few more points.

And the use of kids stuff wasn't where the 'childishness' ended, as I have to confess I did giggle a little watching the team undertake the challenge (which they had been warned might occur*)!

*More real life representation.

The result = The team learnt a lot and laughed a little; I learnt a little and laughed a lot. I got great feedback, and they got a simple activity they can work with again to continue improving as a team. 

To try this in your workplace you will need:

A willing team, with a sense of humour and adventure!
A child's jigsaw puzzle
Some blindfolds
A stop watch
Me! (so you know all the rules and get all the learning!) 

To find out more about using kids stuff to get adults learning - or about my more sensible approaches to training - 

Call me on 07887 643807.