Some people admire sports figures. Some admire movie stars. I, on the other hand, admire Ken Feinberg.

“Who?” I can almost hear you asking. Feinberg is a guy who takes on huge challenges. He administered the fund to compensate 9/11 victims. He was tapped to be the pay czar for the big financial institutions immediately post-bailout. As of Monday, he’s running the BP oil spill compensation fund.

These are all massive projects, and they’re all projects where you’re guaranteed to be highly disliked by many people (even if you’re admired by others). Agree or not about the politics and the personalities, it takes chutzpah to step up and take that kind of project on.

Of course, I admire others in my day-to-day life who do the same thing, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale. The co-worker who, after yet another weekly meeting, takes the leader (who happens to be her boss) aside and offers suggestions about how to make the meetings better — or to eliminate them altogether. The customer service “escalation” person, who has the job of calling the most unhappy customers of their company to help solve their issues. The brand-new internal learning facilitator who starts with training the executive leaders.

These are also things that take guts. Part of that courage is knowing that you’ll make it work — you’ll figure it out. It’s not confidence, exactly (you realize it COULD go horribly wrong), but maybe optimism. Even if it bombs, it’s still a chance to learn, and it will be better the next time.

I find a lot of this kind of courageous optimism in the VisualsSpeak community. For many audiences, the idea of evoking ideas through images is new. Spending precious time with an immersive image-based toolset? Unfathomable.

But the folks who try out the VisualsSpeak tools press on. They get it. They know that it may seem weird or uncomfortable at first, but within minutes, people will be immersed and engaged. Even the reluctant will be hooked — or at least intrigued. We talk a lot about the “magic in the room” that happens with VisualsSpeak, and part of that magic is the way it just turns people around.

So in addition to the big, globe-changing risk takers like Feinberg, I have to add the VisualsSpeak community to my list of people I admire. Because day in and day out, they’re trying something that may seem hard at first — and they know how great it can be.

Note: This is the fifth and final segment of a multi-part series looking at how VisualsSpeak tools were used in a real-world context. View previous installment.

We get asked from time to time to give examples about how the VisualsSpeak toolset is used amongst the members of the VisualsSpeak community. So over the course of a handful of blog posts, we’re sharing one such example, with the Housing Authority of Portland.

Lessons Learned

What made this session successful?

It is never easy to deliver news to an organization that will result in major changes and an unknown future. The Housing Authority of Portland events were successful for a number of reasons:

• The keynote helped everyone see the big picture and how HAP is not alone struggling to provide affordable housing. In fact, the agency is one of the most successful in the country.
• The executive director talked about the successes, but also acknowledged the challenges of recent years and how hard it has been.
• Both speakers were authentic in their passion for serving those who needed assistance with housing and other services.
• Both speakers used personal stories to talk about the changes. This helped create the sense that everyone is all in this together.
• Asking the question in the form of, “how can I contribute,” created a shared goal for everyone in the room.
• Creating individual images gave everyone a voice in the conversation and a chance to be heard by a member of the management team.
• Creating group images reinforced what the individuals said, and provided a platform to bring diverse ideas together to form a large whole.
• Having each group tell their stories demonstrated how aligned the staff was, particularly in their passion for serving their clients.
• The visual process was fun, generating laughter and engaging conversations which people remembered long after the event.

Final thoughts

• Strategic change initiatives are a team building opportunity
• Giving people a voice in their future facilitates buy-in (even if they don’t have the ultimate say)
• Giving people a voice builds morale and trust
• With the right set-up, change initiatives can be a celebratory event

For more information about the VisualsSpeak ImageSet, VisualsSpeak’s team-building tools, icebreakers, or other products, check out the Products menu above (on our website).

The best part of the VisualsSpeak launch party was seeing so many of our customers that we haven’t seen recently. Sure, we get emails and orders (many thanks for those), so we do have some kind of ongoing connection. There is still nothing, though, like being able to talk face-to-face. Even though most of our business is conducted online, we still love the parts that allow us to work in person, and to feel the energy in the room.

Umpqua Bank provided their lobby, and it was a perfect space for the event. Chef Du Jour served a range of appetizers which were tasty and nicely displayed.

Building Great Teams

A favorite part of the evening was demonstrating the new Building Great Teams to the group. Eight people volunteered to do an exercise while the rest of the group observed. Each participant received an identical deck of cards to work with. They were asked to assemble images in response to the question

What can you contribute to a team?

Each person had the opportunity to tell us the story of their image. Since each one of them had the same photos to choose from, we saw several of the pictures over and over again. Each person interpreted them quite differently, which gave us insight into their unique way of seeing. Even better, we learned about the things they thought were really important and got insight into their values. We saw little details about what motivates them and what they are truly passionate about.

Even though I knew all of them to some extent, I learned things about each one of them that would help me work with them better. If my job was as the team leader, I would have a lot of new insights into what excites each one, and how to inspire them. They also learned a lot about each other that they could apply if they were in an actual work group. After hearing about each other, they were ready for a project and wanted to know how they could work together. How many times have you seen that after going around a table stating your name and job title?

What’s a party without prizes?

Everyone in attendance was eligible for several prizes, from the new Visual Icebreaker Kit to gift certificates.

I’m glad we have a whole bunch more new products in the pipeline, so we can do this again soon!

Note: This is the fourth of a five-part series looking at how VisualsSpeak tools were used in a real-world context. View Previous Installment.

We get asked from time to time to give examples about how the VisualsSpeak toolset is used amongst the members of the VisualsSpeak community. So over the course of a handful of blog posts, we’re sharing one such example, with the Housing Authority of Portland.

Time for action

After the keynote, executive director’s message and a break, each table received a VisualsSpeak ImageSet. The ImageSet is a collection of 200 tested photographs used for facilitating significant conversations to build teams and solve strategic challenges. Individuals were asked to quickly select photographs and assemble them on a piece of construction paper in response to the question, “how can I contribute to the dreams of the agency?”

People in turn described their images to the table. The energy in the room was very high, and everyone was engaged. The executive director kept saying, “I can’t believe they are talking. My staff never talks like this.”

After each person told their individual story, the table was challenged to come up with a group image. Each person had to contribute something. They could choose to use the images from the individual selections or use new ones. One person at each table was assigned to take notes for future reference.

When all the groups were finished, each table selected someone to give an overview of the group image to everyone in the room. The stories were upbeat. There were lots of creative ideas about how everyone could align to do what was best for the clients, and yet the stories were consistent across the groups. Each had awareness that there would be lots of hard work, but focused on a willingness to do whatever it would take. The theme was largely on how to serve more clients more effectively.

The next morning

The other half of the staff arrived the next morning to go through the same process. Once again, the group was engaged and excited. The stories from the groups were not only consistent across the room, but they were very similar to the groups from the day before.

The following months

The executive team was very pleased at how smoothly the two meetings went. What could have been very disruptive to team morale was instead a galvanizing force for rising to the challenges that lay ahead. Each member of the executive and management team had the opportunity to hear from twenty-two staff members over the two days. They participated alongside them, and shared their stories with them.

The staff meeting experience stuck in the minds of the participants. People still talked about it many months later. The photographs from the day’s events were uploaded to the HAP intranet to further reinforce the good memories.

Patsy, who was responsible for the idea to use VisualsSpeak, had this to say.

In our final segment, we’ll debrief the lessons learned and talk about why this was such a successful intervention. Stay with us!

Note: This is the third of a five-part series looking at how VisualsSpeak tools were used in a real-world context. View previous installment.

We get asked from time to time to give examples about how the VisualsSpeak toolset is used amongst the members of the VisualsSpeak community. So over the course of a handful of blog posts, we’re sharing one such example, with the Housing Authority of Portland.

It’s about the question

On the call, there was a lot of concern about creating a forum for a giant gripe session. After all, these changes could mean more layoffs and lots more work. To avoid this, the team focused on the question to ask people to respond to. If they steered people toward a supportive stance, they could offer attendees the opportunity to get behind the effort—rather than to worry about things that might never happen.

The team settled on, “How can I contribute to the dreams of the agency?”

On the day of the meeting

The first day began with lunch at an off-site location. Attendees sat at tables with people they don’t normally work with, giving them the opportunity to have informal conversations with the executive and management staff.

The keynote speaker, Jim Stockard, had a PowerPoint presentation, but didn’t show many slides. Instead he mostly told stories. His stories centered on the history of the affordable housing movement, how the industry was constructed to serve a client base far from what it currently served. He talked about his decades on the Cambridge Housing Authority board, and shared his frustrations of trying to make a difference on the local and national level for many years.

HAP’s executive director, Steve Rudman, continued in the next segment, telling stories about how the larger industry picture had affected the work in Oregon. He talked about how hard it has become to effectively serve all the people who desperately need service. Given the level of challenge, he started offering possibilities for solving them by aligning resources with other city, state, and county agencies. At the end, he answered a few questions and sent everyone on a break.

The stage is set, and now it’s time for VisualsSpeak to kick into gear. Next in the series, we’ll see how it all happened. Tune in!

Note: This is the second of a five-part series looking at how VisualsSpeak tools were used in a real-world context. View previous installment.

We get asked from time to time to give examples about how the VisualsSpeak toolset is used amongst the members of the VisualsSpeak community. So over the course of a handful of blog posts, we’re sharing one such example, with the Housing Authority of Portland.

The Approach

All Staff Meeting

This was an important message, so a face-to-face meeting was the best choice for delivery. However, the agency needed to continue operating, so only half of the 250 staff members were able attend a meeting at one time.

The staff meetings were to be held on consecutive days. The first one would start with lunch, and go through the afternoon. The second one would be the next morning, ending with lunch. The management team would be present at both sessions. When people arrived, they would be assigned to large tables, along with a member of the management team and people they don’t usually work with.

James Stockard Jr, a leader in affordable housing from Harvard Design School was invited to be the opening speaker. He would tell the story of the housing authorities across the nation, helping people to understand the history of challenges affecting them. The executive director would follow, announcing the intention to merge with other agencies. It was too early to know any of the specifics of what it would mean for jobs or anything else.

What comes next?

How do you engage 125 people at a meeting? How can you gather constructive feedback that you can use? The executive director issues a message on behalf of the management team, and no one knows what the implications are—including management. With managers sitting at each table, the ingredients for an explosive meeting are present.

What about having a discussion? People don’t know each other. How do you get them to talk about something with so much potential to affect them? How do you engage the segment of the staff that doesn’t like to talk or sit in meetings.

Are there alternatives?

What is the alternative to management handing down decisions from on high? A collaborative discourse with an experiential process!

Brenda Carpenter, Director of Human Resources, enlisted Patsy Nedrow, HAP’s Training Coordinator, to come up with ideas for an exercise to help people give feedback in a constructive manner. She immediately thought about using VisualsSpeak™.

Patsy explained the product and how VisualsSpeak™ had worked in an earlier program exploring respect in the workplace. She shared the overwhelmingly positive evaluation results from the sessions in their diversity sessions. Still, it seemed a little risky to the team who needed to ensure that the staff meeting would be successful. They arranged a conference call to find out more about how the VisualsSpeak method could help them achieve the results they were looking for.

In tomorrow’s installment, we’ll look at how that call went, and what pre-event planning was needed to effectively implement the VisualsSpeak tools. Until then…

Note: This is the first of a five-part series looking at how VisualsSpeak tools were used in a real-world context.

We get asked from time to time to give examples about how the VisualsSpeak toolset is used amongst the members of the VisualsSpeak community. So over the course of a handful of blog posts, we’re sharing one such example, with the Housing Authority of Portland.

The Setting

The Housing Authority of Portland, Oregon (HAP) is a public corporation founded in 1941 to provide affordable housing for individuals and families challenged by income, disability, or special need. From 1991 to 2009, HAP grew from serving 8,500 households and 20,000 residents to nearly 14,000 households and more than 33,000 residents.

Despite that expansion, the agency had been dealing with years of continual budget cuts resulting in five years of layoffs, reducing the staff by 25%. Even with rising demand for services, the remaining staff had risen to the challenges over and over. But how many times can you ask for change without people getting discouraged?

Federal budget cuts combined with regulations and a growing need for housing serving those with less than 30% of the median family income forced housing authorities across the country to get very creative. Federal funding provides just over 80% of what the agencies need to keep the doors open for the housing authorities across the country.

Steve Rudman, HAP’s Executive Director, worked with his management team and board to form partnerships with over 100 organizations in the area, enabling HAP to become one of the most successful housing authorities in the country. But the need continues to grow while funding becomes scarcer. In a bold move, HAP began considering the opportunity to join forces with five other agencies to better serve the housing needs of Portland and surrounding counties.

Joining agencies under different jurisdictions is not an easy task. It takes strong support from staff as well as the public. If this proposal became reality, it would mean significant changes for HAP and its staff. How to present this news to staff and get them onboard?

In our next installment, we’ll share the approach HAP chose to take. Stay tuned!