Unlocking Emotional Culture: A Journey through ECD Workshops

In the ever-evolving landscape of team dynamics and corporate culture, the role of emotions in the workplace has taken centre stage; or at the very least my understanding of the importance and significance of emotions in workplace culture has strongly increased as have my skills and confidence in sharing these insights and experiences with leaders and teams!

Intentional emotional culture is not an abstract concept but a vital aspect of fostering a healthy, productive work environment and a psychologically safe one; which in turn converts to a high performing, engaged and productive teams and workplaces.

This year, I have been intentionally facilitating workshops incorporating the Emotional Culture Deck (ECD) game and it has been an eye-opening journey, full of surprises, challenges, and valuable lessons.? Specifically, I’ve used these ECD cards, like a ‘magic game’ in groups of 1 to 30 (and it could be more!) and in covering topics in workshops around:

• team dynamics and culture
• leadership
• navigating hybrid work environments
• navigating change
• mapping stakeholder journeys and experience
• co-creating company values
• communication, conflict and feedback
• and more!

Here are some of the insights from this journey…

Challenging Preconceptions

One of the most striking moments for some people is the realisation that emotional culture is not about "being positive" or an “expectation” to be this way consistently. ?Rather it's a complex interplay of various emotions that shape a team's culture; and that drive personal thoughts and actions which in turn impact the team environment or interactions. ?It’s about what we feel, what we want to feel, and what we might feel but don’t want to – and what we do about this!

For sure, during some workshops, people shared frustration, stress, and even negativity, and as the group listened and heard, it became apparent that these emotions hold significant importance in understanding the emotional culture within a team; and in building trust with vulnerability in sharing these feelings.

Simply put, emotions aren’t ‘good’ or ‘bad’.? They are more like signals, and at times they can be on a continuum. ?The better we become in recognising and being aware of them, the better we know ourselves and interlink with others.

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Evolving Team Dynamics

Some workshops led to awesome transformations in the teams. Initially, some teams were resistant to share their feelings, or joked about how could there possibly be that many emotions when thumbing through the ECD cards (when you can usually list them off on the fingers of 1 or 2 hands i.e. mad, glad, sad type thing). Whilst others embraced it with open arms. However, as the sessions progressed, there was a noticeable shift. Teams or individuals that had been hesitant began to open up and engage more with the ECD, being more authentic, sharing, building trust and raising their psychological safety with one another. It reinforced the idea that teams are capable of change, and knowledge and intentions are powerful in co-creating workplace cultures!!

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Challenging Insights

Often or at least with some teams and individuals their ‘conflict construct’ is to ignore, to sweep problems under the carpet, to ignore it and pile on the positivity but not deal with the ‘stinky fish’.? But the ‘stinky fish’ or the ‘elephant in the room’ are things that need to be dealt with and they will not go away or magically get better if ignored, rather they can worsen.

It's the uncomfortable and challenging emotions and conversations that hold the key to growth. The workshops highlighted to me that teams should embrace and address negativity and frustration instead of avoiding them. These emotions, when managed effectively, can lead to growth, resilience, and stronger bonds within the team – not to mention a happier and more engaged workplace!

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Emotionally Charged Moments

During one workshop, a team member shared that at the start of the workshop they were feeling ‘paralysed’ and by the end of the workshop, when we checked in, they had transitioned to feeling ‘confident’.? The cards helped them open up clearly and articulate with their team how they were feeling, and the lenses that they were looking through.

In other sessions, people have opened up about their struggles with work-related stress and even talked about the ‘crying toilet’ in the workplace, which led to a deep, collective discussion about the sources of stress within the team, wellbeing and a way forward. Witnessing this vulnerability and genuine support from their peers was a powerful and emotional moment. It underlined the profound impact of emotions in group settings.

The authenticity and openness in these moments solidified the importance of creating a safe space for emotional conversations.

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Leaders’ Role

Facilitating these workshops with the ECD cards has just reinforced to me that leaders play a pivotal role in shaping a team's emotional culture. They set the tone for how emotions are perceived and managed. Leaders who are open about their own emotions and encourage their team to express themselves help create and support a culture of trust and psychological safety.

?What's next ...

The insights gained from facilitating these workshops will continue to influence my approach – it’s a continuous improvement learning type of thing!

For me, it's clear that emotional culture isn't something that can be changed overnight or created in one workshop. Instead, it requires ongoing, open dialogue, co-creation and intent. Using the ECD cards is a great starter on the journey, and check in points for conversations along the way.

I will continue to encourage teams, leaders and individuals to use tools like the ECD to periodically assess their emotional culture and make tweaks. ?Facilitating these workshops has reinforced to me the power of vulnerability, authenticity, and trust in fostering emotional literacy. These qualities are at the core of my facilitation work; especially with supervisors training, emerging leaders and management development.? I think, start with “ME”, before we transition to “WE”.

#emotionalculturedeck #proelephantrider #ridersandelephants #emotionalculture #hrbutter #communicationskills #management

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To build maximised teams, use the #1 game for better workplace culture and foster powerful trust within teams – nudge vulnerability, empathy, and connections in situations where no one has ever previously admitted how they are really feeling. Download a Free Emotional Culture Deck to try it out for yourself here: https://www.ridersandelephants.com/the-emotional-culture-deck-pdf-download