How do you show self-leadership in disruptive times?
Not an easy question. At a fascinating “Deep Democracy” event held on Wednesday morning 15 June 2022 at Breakk, the new premises of KAEMPFF-KOHLER, in Kirchberg, we attempted to provide an answer.
Hosted by the People and Leadership Group of the British Chamber of Commerce for Luxembourg (BCC) the purpose of this highly interactive event was to encourage BCC members and guests to discover different views by taking on different roles. The participants collectively decided that a relevant question was whether the current challenges also gave great opportunity.
Photos by Dalboyne (Ian Sanderson)
The purpose of this interactive event was to encourage the BCC members to guide themselves towards desired goals despite uncertainty. Disclosing your thoughts, in an informal environment, amongst a circle of acquaintances helped the participants to regain confidence and to adopt the right mindset: Rising through these challenging times whilst never underestimating energetic group dynamics!
This so called “Deep Democracy” approach has been defined as “a facilitation method for everybody who works with groups or individuals and aims for a greater group dynamic while allowing the participants to intervene actively.”
After a welcome from Andrew Notter, Vice-Chair of the BCC, Virginia Anderson of Matrix Consulting, facilitated the process and ensured a lively and fun spirit in the room as she talked participants through various steps.
The idea was that one participant opened with a statement related to an idea or a thought around the topic. He or she took a particular perspective perhaps as a CEO or an individual employee. Following the statement, other participants reflected on it and rather than answering directly, they stepped toward that person, if they shared the same viewpoint, or took a step back if they disagreed. As more people stepped forward to speak, building on themes or taking opposing views, the body of people gradually moved around the room.
Creating such a lively gathering over breakfast is unusual, to be sure, but it led to powerful and honest statements, terrific group interaction and a lot of movement. It left people feeling they had reached a positive outcome.
The event itself, which included BCC members working in finance, real estate, law, recruitment and a host of other functions led to an impressive range of viewpoints.
Powerful words and catchphrases emerged: opportunity – resilience – happiness; and the discussion soon became very meaningful. Topics arose as people took on various positions and shared views such as the importance of self-improvement and continuous learning during a career transition, or the role of recruiters today.
Conclusions were drawn and statements made – sometimes contentious but always interesting, such as: “While recruiters are not always responsive towards applications, or simply reject them without further comments so we should maybe empower our circle of friends by building our own company and hiring more people we know!”
When it came to having the courage to take risks, start a new business and become your own boss there were mixed feelings, with some strong proponents for the idea while others were more inclined to work for an organization. Views were mixed on whether every employee in the company needed to share the same values or was diversity the key to success?” A strongly supported idea was that if a company advertises its values then it should legitimately implement them in practice. At times strong emotions filled the room to jostle with interesting perspectives and insights.
In closing there did appear to be one thing everyone agreed on. The event had left them feeling empowered and more willing to listen to others during these challenging times. The general message on self-leadership was that one should aim to move toward opportunities and away from fear.
The BCC People and Leadership Group regularly holds events and would love to have you join us. Find out more HERE
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