SKILLS FOR THE WORKPLACE AND BEYOND EASY STEPS ~ PROFOUND CHANGE

Transcription

1 SKILLS FOR THE WORKPLACE AND BEYOND EASY STEPS ~ PROFOUND CHANGE Suzanne Aldis Routh Effervescent Concepts crea/vity + asking good ques/ons = solu/ons that work Expert Reflec/ng Team Facilita/on

2 What has not been addressed in current business models is how to begin our connec/on to others. Maureen K. McCarthy, The State of Grace Document

3 WHAT IS SOCIAL ABILITY CURRICULUM? a one- of- a kind curriculum which covers a wide range of social and emo/onal intelligence topics using a highly inter- ac/ve & engaging approach drawing on exercises from team building, leadership development, communica/on skill building, conflict resolu/on and SF therapy, Social Ability begins with building self- confidence, self- esteem & self- awareness Once people make progress in these areas it becomes possible for them to look outside of themselves and begin to develop empathy and understanding of others Social Ability is highly experien/al and works using whole person intelligence; accessing all aspects of a person s ability to learn

4 People are being trained in prac/cal skills, technical skills and intellectual capacity but not how to relate to other people.

5 The Underpinnings of the Social Ability Program ~ Solu=on Focus and Posi=ve Psychology Solu/on Focus model relies heavily on affirma/on and compliments and emphasizes what s already working at the moment SF asks, How can we do more of what s going well? The client is the expert in their own change Posi/ve psychology points out what we all know to be true, learning is much easier when we are engaged and enjoying what we do ~ Social Ability makes the learning fun and varied

6 Profile of the Par=cipants in the Program Many of the par/cipants are long- term social assistance recipients whose lives are oien turbulent and conflicted They can bajle with social workers, the welfare system and with ex- partners in the courts The women were frequently single mothers with several children oien from different fathers The role of the Personal Service Worker (PSW) is to care for vulnerable people which places these individuals in direct contact with suscep/ble elderly clients and ill pa/ents

7 Age range of par=cipants 63 N = under Age range There were only 16 males in the sample as the field of personal service worker tends to be a female dominated one. 3 males were under 20 2 males males male 51-60

8 Course Structure 36 hours of training broken down into 12 x 3 hour sessions Included at the beginning of a year- long PSW training Exercises drawn from my leadership training designed for high- func/oning employed individuals were used with people who were tended to be low- func/oning and unemployed Each session has a similar structure which starts with choosing a meaningful, inspira/onal quota/on for the class that day & a few moments of contempla/on called focusing

9 Course Structure Par/cipants work on their own and in groups Each day people are encouraged to let go of something that they feel is holding them back this is kept private or can be shared All exercises are carefully debriefed even the most shy person is encouraged to respond The day finishes with wri/ng in a journal which can also be kept private or shared

10 .by learning to step back from my ongoing drama to maintain some equanimity in the face of life s ups and downs I ve been able to explore what stands in my way more freely and deeply. What Really Majers Tony Schwarz

11 Uncovering Strengths How did you manage to do that? Several of the exercises were designed specifically for par/cipants to assess their own capabili/es ~ What strengths do you think you exhibited here? As confidence increased among the par/cipants, finding and talking about their strengths got easier and self- awareness improved

12 The mere act of conceptualizing our posi/ve visions moves them a notch closer to reality. The Ar/st s Way at Work Bryan, Cameron, Allen

13 What did you like most about this part (Social Ability) of the program? Of the 120 responses to this 29 people talked about the following posi/ve affects: feel more comfortable now, made me feel be0er, got me out of my shell we were able to open up to each other, ge7ng more at ease, the confidence boos9ng, learning how to come out of my comfort zone, step out of your comfort zone, think about my self worth, believe in myself, felt like a star

14 What did you like most about this part (Social Ability) of the program? 29 people also talked about connec/on: ge7ng to know others (new people), learn about each other, ge7ng to know other students, learning about my peers, learning about classmates 23 people men/oned personal growth: helped people have insight, learning (more )about myself, helped me to learn what I was good at, learned a lot about my strengths, ge7ng to know myself (be0er), allowed me to re- connect with myself, finding out who I truly am, self- discovery 22 men/oned the enjoyment of learning in a group: coming together as a group, team exercises, teamwork, group ac9vi9es, working with others, interact with group

15 The visions don t need to be perfect. They just need to be enough to get started. Presence, Human Purpose and the Field of the Future Senge, Scharmer, Jaworski, Flowers

16 Measuring Growth Par/cipants fill in self- assessment forms at the outset of the first day of the program. This ques/onnaire asks the par/cipants to assess 17 statements on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 means the par/cipant does not iden/fy with the statement and 10 means the person fully iden/fies with it. The statements are posi/ve and include I have a clear sense of what is important to me ; I find it easy to set goals in my life. ; I listen well. ; I easily understand the needs of others. ; I know my life is meaningful., and so on. The ini/al assessments are collected by the facilitator. An iden/cal ques/onnaire is administered on the last day of the training

17 60 Percentage of increased scores in second self- assessment out of a total of 17 statements Base 59 Base 84 Base 92 Base to 8 9 to to 17 As base size increased so did other variables such as loca/on of training and who was instruc/ng yet percentages did not vary widely. Those whose scores remained the same tended to be at a 9 or a 10 already. When scores decreased it oien was a reflec/on of the development of greater and more realis/c self- awareness second responses represent a more honest and percep/ve introspec/on.

18 Achieving Goals We know that having goals is an important part of moving oneself to a different place. It is hard to get a job or move out of poverty and other difficult circumstances without a goal or a vision. In the book Bridges out of Poverty it is pointed out that individuals from genera/onal poverty tend to exhibit a lack of planning, scheduling or priori/zing skills. They also tend to complete only part of a task and tend not to have any procedural self- talk nor do they see the whole task

19 Achieving Goals When 42 of the par/cipants recorded the answer to the ques/on: What is one small ac9on you can take next week to take a step forward? Twenty of them said something about focus or goals or involvement and par/cipa/on: work harder, be persistent, set a goal for myself and follow it, be more ac9ve, be more focused (focus more), par9cipate more, be more involved, keep growing, set myself up for achievement, speak up more, open up more, build my self- confidence more"

20 I have a clear vision for my life right now. Increases 43% 56 Decreases 19% 25 Stayed the same Decreases Increases Stayed the same 38% 50 N = Change in score from the assessment on the first day and the one on the last day. Those who stayed the same were already at an 8, 9, or 10. Those who went down tended to do so because they developed more insight into who they were. I have learned so much about myself that I have never gave (sic) much thought to before. I have learned a lot of new things about myself I never knew before.

21 Growth in Confidence and Emo/onal Intelligence Students talked about feeling more confident, more open, more willing to step outside their comfort zone and so forth. Individuals wrote some touching statements: I know I am not alone with being nervous and scared to screw up. We all got to laugh, learn and have fun at the same /me. I learned that there are people out there that has had (sic) a harder /me in life than I have had. The par/cipants took part in role- playing and learned about conflict using Non- violent Communica/on and The Karpman Triangle. One tool which students repeatedly noted was useful and important to them is something called The Q- /p Rule, which means quit taking it personally.

22 I easily ask for an explana=on if I don t understand what is being said Increases 47% 62 Decreases 28% 37 Stayed the same Decreases Increases Stayed the same 24% 32 N= Change in score from the assessment on the first day and the one on the last day. I really enjoyed learning how to step out of your comfort zone I liked how it opened a lot of the classroom up, even for those who were nervous and quiet at first.

23 I am happy about the way I handle my emo=ons Increases 44% 57 Decreases 26% 34 Stayed the same Decreases Increases Stayed the same 30% 40 N = Change in score from the assessment on the first day and the one on the last day. I learned how to handle myself be0er in order to be0er myself with others. Learning to control myself. Learned posi9ve a7tudes that can help me in my future job.

24 Growth in Empathy When asked what they liked most about the program 63 of the par/cipants made some men/on of: - learning about others, group ac/vi/es, understanding others, learning to listen to others bejer, hearing other s stories, interac/ng with others bejer, respect. Students also talked about being bejer prepared for the workplace and about having skills which they could take forward with them in their life.

25 THE REAL VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY CONSISTS NOT IN SEEKING NEW LANDSCAPES BUT IN HAVING NEW EYES

26 In Their Own Words I understand that we need to understand people and our feelings. It makes us think deeper into our feelings and other s feelings. It helped me learn what I was/am good at and believe in myself. I liked the confidence boos9ng, recognizing things about yourself good or bad and feeling good about who you are. I enjoyed learning more about myself and finding that I wasn t as shy as I thought. I liked building my teamwork communica9on skills, working with others, expressing feelings.

27 I liked being asked what my dreams are, I never had that chance before. Social Ability Student