‘Day in a life’ of the Emotional Culture Deck Workshop - The Good, the Challenges and the Lessons.

I recently had the opportunity to facilitate my first full ‘Emotional Culture Deck Workshop’ . I’ve been using the Emotional Culture Deck (ECD) for a few months as part of my leading change workshops, mindfulness retreat days, one on one conversations and even with my family, round the dinner table.  It’s versatility and simple effectiveness continually surprise and delight me. 

Here is my summary of how the first ECD workshop went.

The back story

A company I’ve been working with for the past few months wanted to look at building their leadership team culture. 

They had a generally positive, enthusiastic and laid-back culture, however they have been expanding fast and wanted to ensure that the cultue wasn’t neglected as a result of this growth. 

The executive leadership team were passionate at preserving the great culture they had started but were intuitive enough to know that this takes continual focus and a bit of assistance and support. 

As businesses expand the team culture can face the strain as the challenges of growing and keeping up with the market, take their toll. Leaders particularly are head down and bum up and the culture can get forgotten about in the process.  Not because it isn’t a priority but because it’s not front of mind and therefore takes the strain bit by bit, without people noticing, until it’s declined to a point where it significantly affects team relationships, engagement, mental wellness and performance. 

ECD to the rescue

After discussing the challenges with my client, I suggested the ECD workshop as a great way to explore, discuss and identify their emotional culture and set them up for a ‘kick ass’ future. The beauty of the ECD is its scalability and flexibility to fit a variety of environments and scenarios.

How the day rocked and rolled

We focused the workshop specifically on the leadership team culture for this initial workshop, rather than the leader’s perspective of the wider business.  The intention was to set up their leadership team emotional canvas and then share with the wider business as a pre-empt to run ECD workshops wider.  

The Good, The Challenges and The Lessons

So here are my takeouts from the workshop split into the ‘GOOD’ and what went well, the ‘CHALLENGES’ faced along the way and the ‘LESSONS’ I took away as a result.

You’ll also notice quotes of feedback taken from the post workshop survey participants completed (*).

THE GOOD

·      Set up– The ECD workshop is super simple to set up and run – made even easier by the great ECD toolkit which had everything I needed to feel prepped.

·      Timings – The recommended time for the workshop is 4 hours (not including breaks) which was a great amount of time to keep people engaged and focused. I ran this from mid-morning to mid afternoon so we could break for lunch in the middle as a good midway recharge.     

*“The timing was spot on - not too short and not too long and it makes sense to revisit the outcome a few days / months later.”

·      High engagement–The participants were fully engaged right from the start through to end, no phone checking or yawning to be seen. Each person having a physical deck made it experiential, tactile and anchored the attention. There was resounding feedback that having the cards as a tool to do introspection was a really helpful, a real point of difference from other workshops they had attended. 

*“The cards were a great prompt and “anchored” the workshop in a meaningful way. I found them really useful when considering the range of feelings everyone experiences.”

·      Working in groups– There were 9 participants, which were split into 2 groups for most of the workshop. The team split was sorted prior to save time and ensure a balance of personality types. (ie introvert and extrovert) so the conversations were balance. 

·      A safe zone for collaboratiive conversations– I was impressed by the quality of conversations I witnessed. There was a display of great collaboration to negotiate and agree the top 5 feelings the groups wanted to feel to be successful and didn’t want to feel. The team showed great maturity in challenging each other in a very constructive way and really taking time to listen to everyone’s point of view. I believe this is the foundation of psychological safety the ECD cultivates. The ECD workshop process is very inclusive process giving the opportunity for everyone to share their viewpoint in an easy, non-threatening way.

*“Great way to get the team on the same page and getting a lens into how people really feel and an environment where they all feel like they can show their vulnerabilities without being judged.”

*“It was a safe environment to share thoughts and experiences”

·      Reinforcing alignment– The team were encouraged by the alignment in the culture that was important to them. They got to the end of the workshop feeling really proud and satisfied that they felt similarly about what a great culture looked like for them and proud they’d done a good job at setting this up thus far. Everyone could see the benefit at looking at this from emotional perspective and making it a priority in how they ran their business, interacted with each other and went about their workday. 

*“…we are actually quite aligned as a leadership team, and we are motivated by similar things.”

 *”something we would normally do but it was good for us to stop and think about how we want to work together.”

·      Switching context to the customer – After lunch I got the group to open with another icebreaker focused on the emotions of their customers. I asked them to choose their top emotion of how they wanted their customers to feel, and not feel, based on how they did business with them. This was really powerful and a great way to get them back in the zone after lunch. It was also a great way to showcase the value of the ‘Customer Experience Deck’ that has just been launched.

·      A pleasant surprise- at the end of the workshop I went around the group inviting them to pick a card of how they found the day and share (only if they wanted). Here are the words that came up - supported, encouraged, helpful, inspired, motivated, energized, content, grateful and relieved(it was not too confronting or uncomfortable).

*“Understanding more about myself and people I work with. Was a positive experience in building a better team culture”

·     Acing their top 5 – Agreement on the top 5 feelings (positive and negative) in their groups was smooth and seamless. When it came to agreeing the top 5 for the whole leaderships team I got them to vote with sticky dots.  There were a few emotions that were tied on the number of votes but they easily agreed as a group what emotion to choose.

THE CHALLENGES

 ·     Preconceptions and Skepticism – There were also skepticism from participants based on past workshops they’d attended that hadn’t gone well. These included concerns about the workshop being a profiling type exercise or something that might be a bit 'fluffy' for their liking. To reset any misleading preconceptions, I included some myth busting points in my pre workshop comms and also my workshop intro. The ECD workshops pragmatic and hands-on approach soon convinced all particpants of its value.

*“It was more valuable than I had expected it to be. I would recommend this again”

·     Getting Pointy on Actions– Getting specific on actions was the biggest challenge of the workshop.  High-level intentions were easy to brainstorm but they weren’t pointy enough for them to be tangible actions.  There were statements like “Be attentive and supportive” or “Be out best” or “Give trust and empowerment”, “Have other people’s backs”, “Be our best”, “Be grateful”.  While these were all fantastic intentions, they needed more flesh on them to become an action orientated specific statement they could translate to the workplace. This is the benefit a facilitator can bring in helping assist the group turn their thoughts and ideas into actions that support a healthy and high performing emotional culture.

·     Keeping things moving – I knew it would be tight to fit everything in the timeframe, however I was careful to avoid cutting off conversations as this is where the collaboration strengthens. I made sure I kept walking between the groups to keep the momentum up and assist if needed whilst being careful not to over prompt or share my opinions.

·     The homework –The participants were given a copy of the ‘Know Yourself Handbook’ to complete for their homework, I’m sure it wasn’t my imagination that clocked a few looks of dread at the prospect of this. However,  I assured the group this wouldn’t be time consuming or difficult.  The reality is some people will be great at doing this and some people will struggle, so a prompt or offer of support in the way of a coaching session may help. 

THE LESSONS (and top tips)

·     Manage expectations and bust myths upfront – Send out a quick email upfront to give all the deets on the purpose of the workshop, how it will run, what it is and also importantly, what it isn’t. Revisit these points when opening the workshop.

·     Think about the mix of groups– It’s worth talking to the team leader to find out about the participants and sort them into groups beforehand so there is a mix of personality types (particularly introverts and extroverts). This will lead to more balanced, participation and promote collaboration.

·     Build a bit of time up your sleeve–When the session is in flow it’s easy for time to slip away but at the same time it seems a shame to break up good constructive conversations where the teams are learning about each other and organically building their emotional culture. Build in some time for this but also make the call of what is constructive for the workshop and what is just general chit chat or going down wormholes of other topics.  

·     Walk the floor and park the cars – Building on the point above, I recommend ensuring you keep walking between the groups to keep the conversations moving and on point.  It’s useful to have a white board or flipchart that acts as a parking lot for points that are raised but are off topic, and they want to take note of, to be raised at a later time outside the workshop.

·     Prep work because it’s all in the details –Think about all the little details of what you will need as a facilitator to keep things running smoothly and save time. This is bread and butter for an experienced facilitator but still worth mentioning. The 'ECD workshop plan' lays out what you need including one deck per participant, a large printed or mocked up ECD canvas, pens, post its and sticky dots if you are using that kind of voting system. If you are using an online polling app, like PollEv, make sure you test it and it works up front for everyone as this can be a real time waster – so much so I made decision to go old school and just use sticky dots. Think about the space needed to run the workshop effectively – make sure there is enough table space for each participant to lay out decks (this is so important – I added extra tables at last minutes as there wasn’t despite making this clear to the venue). Ensure there are either breakout areas or room for the groups to huddle and chat without distracting other groups. This may sound obvious or pedantic, but if someone is actually engaging a facilitator to run this, they will expect it to be slick, well thought through and seamless rather than a ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ approach.

*“Very well run and such a great tool to use that hits the mark “

·     Don’t skip the ice breaker –The ‘ice breaker’ exercise in the workshop plan kicks the workshop off to a strong start and gets the group really clicking with the ECD and it’s point of difference early. If you have time halfway through do this again from a customer perspective, it shifts the focus and is also a great way to minimize fatigue halfway through.

·     Quote some science or research– Particularly for the cynics in the room and those who like logic and proof to back up value and purpose, it’s worth having a few little bits of research or stats to quote in the intro. The articles shared by Jeremy have lots of great material. I found referring to some key points from the research a compelling way to engage people in up front both emotionally and logically.

·     Providing options when it comes to homework – If time allows give people the option at the end to start to complete their ‘Know Yourself Handbook’. I actually didn’t do this but will in future workshops. This suggestion came through in the feedback from the group, so they get started on it while they are in the ‘zone’. I’ve also been asked if I can meet with a few others in the group to do a bit of further coaching through the handbook to help facilitate their thinking. It’s important that it comes from them, but some may need more help than others and their personal introspection is an important part of the process.

*“Re the homework - I think its best if there was 15 mins for silent time……for people to reflect and complete the personal information before they leave the environment”

·     Follow up to keep the momentum going– The ECD is a great tool and this is a great workshop, but the proof is in the pudding, and that pudding takes a while to bake. I believe the key to ensuring positive change in the emotional culture is keeping the focus on this and what the team does differently after they leave the workshop. This is what can set the ECD apart from being a one stop shop tool, to facilitating ongoing positive culture change that endures and evolves with the organisation. I have a follow up session booked in the diary for 4 weeks later. My focus for the follow up as well as being a retrospective, will be confirming the top 5 actions and what happens next and ongoing as part of making those actions a part of how they operate and behave.  The group commented on how they liked me pushing them along to keep them accountable post workshop.

*“The fact that we actually come away from the workshop with things we can use and work on (rather than lots of high level concepts etc that get lost in the real world).”

In summary

The ECD tool is so clever, that in the most part, the workshop runs itself, however having a neutral party who is a trained facilitator definitely adds to teams getting the most out of the pack. For organisations that don’t have (or can’t afford) a facilitator, a great alternative is have access to a trained pro-rider who can be consulted to provide advice and support on how they set themselves up for success and get the most value out of the ECD so it doesn't become just another tool that lurks in the back of a drawer or gathers dust on a shelf.

 I witnessed the extreme value and magic the ECD delivers first hand through the engagement, enthusiasm and connection of the group, which was clearly evident on the day and in the post workshop feedback. It’s a real pleasure to be part of the Pro-rider facilitator programme. I've already got a few more workshops booked in and can't wait to get stuck in to spread the love (or insert other emotion of choice that drives your success mojo).

*“It makes you think differently and highlights the importance of little everyday interactions.”

Do you want to learn more about The Emotional Culture Deck? There are a few ways you can you learn more about the deck:

• Visit www.theemotionalculturedeck.com
• Download a free Lo-fi PDF version of the deck at the website, click here
• Download the #emotionalcultureworkshop for free here (yes for free but I can also facilitate this workshop for you and your teams if you wanted some help).

You can go through The Emotional Culture Masterclass (like I did), click here for more info

If you still have questions, feel free to contact me on [email protected]

#theemotionalculturedeck #proelephantrider #ridersandelephants #emotionalculture #emotionalculturedeck