FACILITATING WITH EXCELLENCE!

THE CREATIVE CLAY CHALLENGE!

LEONARD KOK

Looking for something novel, creative and constructive for your next teambuilding programme? Try the Creative Clay Challenge!

In this all-weather teambuilding activity, participants make colourful clay pieces which serve as metaphors to describe themselves, their organization and relationship with their colleagues .

What can the Creative Clay Challenge do for your organization?

- Clarify values, roles and identitie

- Integrate new teams and new members

- Integrate diverse cultures

- Stimulate creativity

- Facilitate SWOT analysis

- Improve project leadership

-Surface hidden issue

The Basis of the Creative Clay Challenge

The Creative Clay Challenge is based on the learning theory of Constructionism, which means that one learns through personal discovery of knowledge and its meaningfulness to themselves. Through the Creative Clay Challenge, participants will go through the process of self-discovery through expressing their thoughts, feelings and attitudes in creating clay products that they can identify with and are proud of. What you learn in the process of making things that you care about sinks much deeper into the subsoil of the brain.

The Results of the Creative Clay Challenge

Teams will learn how to:

- work with constraints

- manage change

- leverage on the strengths of the members and work around its weaknesses

- listen and communicate with one another

Teams bring back their masterpieces!

The Creative Clay Challenge enables your key stakeholders to breathe life into text and transform values into colourful clay pieces which they can bring back to their workplace! What better way to imbibe the organization’s values!

Try the Creative Clay Challenge to reap maximum effects from your teambuilding!

The Emotional Bank Account (EBA)

by Leonard Kok

In my course of work, I usually ask participants in my workshops to talk about their personal expectations for the time that they are going to spend with me. Sometimes I also ask them simple questions like “What makes you happy at work?” or “What are your pet peeves at your workplace?” I list them all down on the flipchart, into two columns. Interestingly, the things that make them happy are more often than not, human beings and the collegiality that exists in their offices. Their pet peeves, though wide-ranging, are usually non-human and inanimate. Well, surprised? I think not. When we have warm, friendly, positive relationships at our workplaces, the community increases its effectiveness and the ‘enemy’ becomes paper instead of each other.
What is the Emotional Bank Account?

Stephen Covey (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) uses the metaphor of Emotional Bank Account to describe "the amount of trust that’s been built up in a relationship" (p. 188). This is one of the most powerful and graphic concepts to date on building relationships based on trust. The basic tenet of this simple yet profound principle is that we maintain a personal “emotional” bank account with anyone who works or relates with us. This account begins on a neutral balance. And just as with any bank account, we can make deposits and withdrawals. However, instead of dealing with units of monetary value, we deal with emotional units.

This concept is powerful because it transcends time, space and hierarchy; that is; it doesn’t matter whether you are the office cleaner, middle, senior management, or the boss. Thus, a kind word from anyone in the office to another person of any level is a deposit. When you do anything nice to anyone in your office without expectation of any good in return, that is a deposit. This includes making a nice cuppa for your busy colleague or offering free rides to your colleagues because it’s ‘along the way.’ Also, when you relate to your potential client as a flesh and blood human being rather than your potential bottom line, you are making a deposit.

The deposits do not stop there as it transcends time and space: After work, there are the ‘inner-circle’ people whom we relate to and love. A loving hug and a listening ear for our loved ones is definitely a deposit.
Covey describes 6 major ways of making deposits on the Emotional Bank Account:
- Understanding the individual;
- Attending to little things;
- Keeping commitments;
- Clarifying expectations;
- Showing personal integrity; and
- Apologizing sincerely when you make a "withdrawal"
On the other hand, an unkind word or deed, being disrespectful, being proud or arrogant; or actions that betray the trust of your friend or organisation, is a withdrawal from the Emotional Bank Account (EBA). Trust is needed for a relationship to thrive. Without trust, we may manage to accommodate and endure another person. However, it cannot be mutually satisfying in the long run. It is easy to take another person, a spouse or friend, a relative or anyone we deal with, for granted. Yet, it is the level of goodwill that exists in the relationship which determines the depth and strength of the relationship.

Granted, we are all mortal. We make mistakes. That’s part of life and learning. Knowing when you are wrong and admitting your mistakes prevents the wounds that you’ve might have caused in others from festering and allows them to heal. When appropriate, sincere apology will keep accounts in the positive, allowing you to maintain the balance in the account.
What can we learn from the EBA?
What can we take away from the concept of the EBA? We are reminded that people, not material possessions, are the real deal. Walt Disney is right when he says: “You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality”.
Secondly, the EBA reminds us to be ‘other-centred’. Being other-centred is the first step to ‘seeking first to understand, then to be understood.’ (Covey, Effective habit #1) If we constantly make deposits into the accounts of everyone whom we interact with everyday, the account (trust) will be healthy and so will the relationship.
For those who work in the banking sector, you cannot take an overdraft if your EBA with your colleague is zero or in the red. But you can freely deposit goodwill and trust into another person’s account and it won’t cost you a real cent; just sincerity, honesty and, yes, love.
Some of us who grow up in an environment jostling and fighting for the survival of the fittest might perhaps find this entire concept bordering on the regions of naiveté. These hopefully small category of people might also constantly draw from other people’s accounts. We have heard of the phrase ‘give and take.’ However, this minority just take, take and take. They drain the account. We call this person a ‘very draining person’ (VDP). Positive Psychology teaches us to stay away such people because they drain the lifeforce from any body and organisation.
There is a movie which illustrates the concept of the EBA. I draw our attention to the critically acclaimed 2001 movie, Pay It Forward. Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded. In fact, what started as a movie ended up as a real movement in the United States and in other parts of the world. Check out this website: http://www.payitforwardmovement.org/. There is a lot of milk of human kindness going around the world indeed. The basic principle of paying it forward is the desire to top up the EBA of people around us, especially those who need it.
So, the next time you relate to another person, think of your own account with that person. Is it credit or debit, in the black or in the red? Don’t despair if it is down south. You can do something about it. Top up the person’s account. Do it today. Do it NOW.
References:
- Covey, Stephen R. Seven, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (2004). Free Press, USA.

-  http://www.payitforwardmovement.org/

The Art of Listening (We hear everyday but do we listen?)

by Terence Tan

Communication has always been a key factor of how people, teams and organizations operate. But what are some of the things that we as individuals can do to help create that environment of openness and where we don’t stereotype or judge other?

Here is a consolidation of examples and questions on communication to ponder about, which we can use for our own development as well as for debrief during our programmes, especially for facilitators.


Part 1 – I wonder how well I listen…1) Do I withhold judgment until I hear the entire story?
2) How many of the important facts do I usually remember?
3) Do I listen from the other person’s point of view?
4) How many questions do I raise to clarify an issue I know vaguely of?
5) What efforts do I make to check out disputed points with other sources?

Part 2 – I wonder why my communications breakdown…
1) Do I close up or open up when a misunderstanding occurs?
2) How often do I resist new ideas because they don’t fit my style or pattern of doing things?
3) Do I talk to people, but ignore their reactions and behaviours?
4) Have I always insisted on having the last word?
5) Do I listen and think before I act?
6) Do I use too many words to present a simple idea?


Part 3 – I wonder how interpersonal conflicts get started…
1) Do I think first before discounting others’ ideas?
2) Have I always commanded rather than invited ideas or actions?
3) Am I interested primarily in self-promotion… or just appear to be?
4) Do I frequently procrastinate when a decision is needed?
5) Do I expect others to read my mind or to understand what I am thinking?
6) Do I tend to make others think I am rubbing them the wrong way?
7) Am I often misunderstood?


Part 4 – I wonder what I can do to be a better listener…
1) Don’t pretend to know it all?
2) Avoid telling people what and how they should think
3) Admit your mistakes without the excuses
4) Encourage each other to keep the best interests of the group in mind
5) If you think you disagree, ask the other person to explain or clarify
6) Find out if the disagreement is about the details or the conclusion drawn
7) Find out exactly what the problem is before trying to work out the solutions
8) Make it easy for everyone to “give in” or to contribute a little
9) Use other examples or hypothetical situations as a case study to solve a hot problem or issue
10) Lastly, show your appreciation and thank others for really listening to you

Ladder of Inference by The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organisation by Peter Senge.

By Terence Tan

This model is taken from The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organisation by Peter Senge. I guess its quite similar or rather an adaptation of the experiential learning cycle as well as success reinforcing engine model.

Most of the time we use the experiential learning cycle as an introduction to our programmes, but perhaps using this model for our educational and developmental programmes as a process of debrief or reflection for each activity or at the end of the programme, we can draw more  learning and stronger emotions of what participants go through.

Office Gossip: One Bite, One Kill

We’ve all experienced it. You step into the lift on your way to the 38th floor where your office is and overhear two co-workers talking about someone else in a hushed tone. You know the person they are discussing. You wince. That’s setting number 1. Setting number 2: It’s lunchtime and all of you are in the building cafeteria. Talk and chatter centers on your other female colleague whose marriage is reportedly in shambles.
Gossip in the workplace is about as common as office lunches. Most of us have engaged in it at one time or another. But workplace gossip causes a great deal of harm and affects both the individuals involved, and the organization as a whole. While at times the office grapevine can be a useful source of information, we have also participated in some conversations in which the details are too gory to be preserved on your mobile or recording device.
What can gossip do?

1.	Undermines the reputation of the people involved
2.	Causes lost productivity and wasted time
3.	Erodes morale and trust
4.	Festers anxiety among employees as rumors circulate without any clear information as to what is fact and what isn’t
5.	Widens the divisiveness among employees as people may “take sides”.
6.	Hurts feelings and reputations, sometimes causing severe damage
7.	Jeopardises the “gossipers” chances for their own advancement because they are perceived as unprofessional
8.	Cause good employees to leave the company due to the unhealthy work atmosphere

According to a survey, staffing firm Randstad USA (www.randstad.com) and pollsters Harris Interactive recently asked more than 1,500 employed adults to name their biggest pet peeves about their jobs. Workplace gossip was the clear winner, cited No. 1 by 60% of respondents.
"Gossip can ruin people's lives," says Sam Chapman, CEO of Empower Public Relations (www.empowerpr.com), who started his Chicago PR firm two-and-a-half years ago after leaving another firm where, he says, vicious gossip was endemic.
It tends to snowball, because people start projecting things onto the person who's being talked about," Chapman explains. "If you say something like, 'Joe's not pulling his weight around here lately,' that rumor not only spreads, it gets worse, because everyone will start finding new 'evidence' that Joe's not pulling his weight."
Why do people gossip?
People who engage in workplace gossip may do so for several reasons.

1.	They may have an overwhelming need to ‘fit in’
2.	They have low inferiority complex and gossiping gives power
3.	They perceive that the only way to get ahead is to kill the competition

What can your company do?

1.	The senior management must lead the way by practising a zero-tolerance policy towards backbiting and gossip
2.	Put this policy into your company’s HR manual and explain this to new employees
3.	Don’t listen to groundless chatter
4.	Seek for facts by approaching the person with tact
5.	Practise an open-door policy whereby employees can approach the boss in an open way without fear or undesirable consequence(s)
6.	If necessary, engage a coach to teach staff to quit sniping at each other
7.	Don’t do it yourself!

A large part of our working life is derived from the satisfaction of being able to put in our level best and having our strengths leveraged for the benefit of our company. A happy working environment contributes a lot to this desired outcome. With conscious effort and commitment, your working environment can be a warm and cordial one where colleagues empower and encourage one another.
All the best!

References:

1.	Harmless office chitchat - or poisonous gossip? (November 12 2007) By Anne Fisher, Fortune senior writer, in CNN Money.com. Retrieved 18 March, 2008, fromhttp://money.cnn.com/2007/11/02/news/economy/gossip.fortune/index.htm
2.	http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/ (2008) Retrieved 18 March, 2008, from www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/feap/newsletters/workplace-gossip.pdf

SCAMPER - A TOOL FOR INNOVATION