Brave and Honorable
Recently I was asked to facilitate a Board Retreat for a wonderful non-profit health organization. The work came to me from a former client who had recently become the President of this Board. I was excited to be working together again.
We rolled up our sleeves! After two exploratory meetings, we had a Zoom meeting with the Executive Committee of the Board. I then designed a strategic Retreat for them. Nine members attended, 3 by Zoom. The session was held on a Saturday from 10-2 pm. Our goal? Refresh and re-focus, ready to serve the clients with kindness and competence.
The session was kicked off by the President giving her reasons for why she felt it was necessary to have a strategy session. I followed with a focusing guided meditation. I was happy that the President saw value in the short-term effects of team meditation. According to this recent Forbes article, “One of the biggest misconceptions about meditation is that you have to really work at it over a long period of time before you can expect to feel benefits. This is mostly false”.
After our group meditation, I then introduced Brene’ Brown’s Braving system. Her book, also titled Braving, goes into the seven elements of Braving in detail. For us here they are:
B boundaries
R responsibility
A accountability
V vulnerability
I integrity
N non judgment
G gratitude
This set the tone for the session. It put a cultural stake in the ground. The participants looked around at their coworkers with new eyes–a refreshed sense of how they wanted to interact. We did the strategic work and when it came time to close the session I chose to use cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien’s Honorable Closing, which asks all members to respond to four questions. They are:
What am I most grateful for from today's experience?
Where was I positively affected?
Where was I stretched or challenged?
Is there anything I need to say or do to feel complete?
Upon reflection of the day's work, unbeknownst to me, not only did the group do strategic planning work but the opening and closing exercises allowed for a culture of kindness and gratefulness to be created amongst the Board members. It is now up to the Executive Committee of the Board to prioritize which items they want to address, when, and in what order. This session also provided roles: a way for everyone to be fully engaged, and for everyone to make their contributions to the organization.
As I navigate the rewards and challenges of my career, I'm still excited to make new discoveries. I stumbled upon an excellent way to engage these people in culture building.I will use these ideas going forward. I welcome your comments and suggestions.