Showing posts with label have. Show all posts
Showing posts with label have. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Love Em or Hate Em Icebreakers Have Value!
Love Em or Hate Em Icebreakers Have Value!
Cari Room has written an article this week for New York magazine titled, "Icebreakers Are Terrible. They Also, Unfortunately, Work Really Well." She interviews former Rice University Anton Villado in the article. Villado argues that icebreakers accomplish three important things for a group:
- They calm peoples nerves about being in an unfamiliar or novel situation.
- They also provide an opportunity for the facilitator to model the behavior that people should expect throughout the session, and/or the behavior he or she would like to encourage. Team members also can model behavior, providing that all-important first impression about themselves.
- Most importantly, they provide an opportunity for self-disclosure. People grow closer to one another when they share about themselves. Research shows that self-disclosure proves more effective at building relationships than simple small talk.
Penn State Professor Susan Mohammed explains in the article that icebreakers can begin to build psychological safety within a group. Room writes,
And even when the bonds it creates are superficial and temporary, both Villado and Mohammed say that an icebreaker can help to foster a sense of “psychological safety,” or an atmosphere in which people feel free to speak up — to question, criticize, say something out-there — without fear of being ostracized. “Having people do weird and crazy stuff, or step out and do something wild — having people feel kind of uncomfortable, basically — would begin to help foster that,” Mohammed says. You may hate every second of it, but you’re not the only one undergoing humiliation. If everyone in the room has to tell their life story in a silly voice, or mime their favorite thing to do on weekends, at least you all look stupid together.
Mohammed stresses, however, that one should set the appropriate expectations for icebreakers. They can begin to build psychological safety, but much more work needs to be done to create a climate where people truly feel comfortable speaking up, asking questions, admitting mistakes, and expressing dissent. I agree wholeheartedly. Ultimately, psychological safety will be shaped by how people begin to engage with one another as they work to solve real problems. Moreover, if the team has a leader, that person will have a substantial impact on the climate of psychological safety. Icebreakers can be helpful, but you have to build upon that "risk-taking" atmosphere with concrete actions that make people comfortable speaking up on real issues.
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Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Long weekend and have a happy 4th
Long weekend and have a happy 4th
Been working. Time to draw the Nina stories have taken a big hit, so the planned book of Paper Biscuit 3 is on hold. Ive worked out the issue and roughed out an outline but have had to leave it alone. Ill get back into it in a few weeks. Be really ahead for next year, eh? I tried to do a little ditty for San Diego -- not Nina based--but even that turned into something larger. I gotta learn to make smaller stuff. 
Drawing done in Photoshop with a customized brush. Image at the top of the post links to a larger image. This detail for those who couldnt be bothered.
Drawing has been opening more aspects of relaxation in the line. When you relax and not put the mind into a performing stance the images appear. I wonder if there are exercises to achieve this with more certainty. Or maybe it is just time. Whatever it is, I am having the best time ever drawing (that I can still say that amazes me no end). And, even though I cant draw for myself every day, I have this kind of hunger I know I can rely on later to bring me to that spot.
Rambling now ceasing. I bring you back to your regular programming. Happy fourth, people!
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