THE F WORD | 2023
Elephant Rider Community Magazine
Everyone deserves to be heard We all have within us the means to redesign our lives. But sometimes we lack the means to express what we’re experiencing. riders&elephants is the world’s leading prompted conversation starter. Our powerful tools and games give people the words they need to shift work cultures, change the experiences for customers and articulate what wellbeing means personally.
Contents December 2023
Contents Culture 12 Leadership By Dr Nada Al-Moosa 14 Emotions & Change By Andrea Hancox 16 Culture Crafting By Lorissa Garcia 20 5 Best Things By Kate Bacchus 24 Leaders Are Contagious By Joanne Free-Pameli 26 Team Emotional Culture by Roz Duffy 30 Role of Emotions by Celine Sugay Constales
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32 Self Mastery By Kristian Colegate 37 ECD Journey By Danny Kwan 38 Emotional Contagion By Susanne Heiss
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Community 42 Achievements Celebrating our wins 58 Bright Spots From the community 72 In The Wild ECD across the globe
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Insights 84 Emotional Culture Crafting Research Learnings from Jacob Levitt, Wharton Business School 86 Learning Lab Inclusive Cultures & Meaningful Meetings 88 Tomorrows Leaders Talking about their feelings
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92 Education Kindergarten Association & The ECD 94 Sigal Barsade Remembering a Visionary
Tool Box 100 Games What we’re playing with 104 Have A Play Lift your ECD Game 105 ECD Latest Tools New tools
Insider
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109 Shortlisted Elephant Rider Events 111
Elephant Riders All across the globe
113 Certification One continuous learning journey 115 Mentors Spotlight on our community leaders
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Editorial December 2023
Hello, Bonjour, Hallo, Kia Ora, Hola, Ciao, Hej, Welcome! Welcome to our second edition of the F-Word Magazine. Designed to celebrate and recognise our global Elephant Rider Community. This year’s F-Word Magazine brings together stories, expert insights, and bright spots.
Rebecca Barwood EDITOR
We spotlight the journeys of Elephant Riders, from the inspiring revelations of Kate Bachaus in New Zealand to Dr. Nada Al Moosa's leadership insights in the Middle East and the inspiring cross-cultural collaboration between two ECD Certified Consultants from different continents. Their stories highlight the profound impact of crafting emotional cultures in diverse workplace settings. We hope our 2023 F-Word Magazine inspires you on your emotional culture crafting journey and you feel proud as you turn each page and see your fellow Elephant Riders in action across the globe.
CONTRIBUTORS
Dr Nada Al-Moosa, Certified Consultant Pro Elephant Rider Middle East
Roz Duffy, Certified Consultant Pro Elephant Rider United States
Susanne Heiss, Certified Consultant Pro Elephant Rider Germany
Danny Kwan, Certified Consultant Pro Elephant Rider United Kingdom
Lorissa Garcia, Certified Consultant Specialist Elephant Rider Australia
Kristian Colegate, Trainee Pro Elephant Rider Australia
Joanne Free-Pameli Trainee Pro Elephant Rider Canada
Celine Sugay-Constales Certified Consultant Pro Elephant Rider Phillipines
Andrea Hancox, Certified Consultant Pro Elephant Rider New Zealand
Kate Bacchus, Trainee Pro Elephant Rider New Zealand
ridersandelephants.com
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@ridersandelephants
@ridersandelephants
@ridersandelephants
Suzanna Rangi, Specialist Elephant Rider, Certified Consultant, New Zealand
A high-performing culture exists not in the absence of emotions, but in the mastery of emotions. – JEREMY DEAN
riders&elephants Founder Elephant Rider Community 2023 Year in Review At the start of 2023, we set out to make everything we do 5% better. We wanted to slow the pace down a bit in the R&E Lab and hurry a bit more slowly. But as I sit here at the end of 2023 and look back on the year, I chuckle to myself. Wow, what a year it's been. As I read the pages in this magazine, I feel immensely proud, joyful, grateful, humble, and a little overwhelmed. This beautiful magazine showcases how much our Community and the people within it have grown. There was more ECD activity than we've seen before – thanks to the inspiring, generous, and thoughtful contributions of hundreds of Elephant Riders in our new Community Platform. This year, our Elephant Rider Community grew to over 1200 people across 43 countries. We ran two ECD Online Masterclasses and welcomed 200 new Elephant Riders into our Community. Ten inspiring humans unlocked their Pro Elephant Rider Badges and became ECD Certified Consultants. Five Elephant Riders moved onto Specialist Elephant Rider Status. Plus, Steve Hargreaves and Kayleigh Woodings climbed to the pinnacle of our new ECD Certification Pathway and became Master Elephant Riders. We ran 80-odd live community and learning events in 2023. Which wouldn't be possible without our inspiring Elephant Rider Mentors. Thank you for guiding our Community this year. Plus a heartfelt thank you to Lorissa Garcia, whose time as an Elephant Rider Mentor comes to an end. Your contribution to our community over the past 18 months has been immense.
Our community is better because of your presence and contribution. Finally, none of this would be possible without Becky Barwood. She’s simply remarkable. How she balances her tireless work as a mother, alongside her independent professional life as a Government contractor, and within our Community and R&E business, is beyond comprehension. Our F-Word Magazine is her invention. She designs and edits this entire, awe-inspiring publication. She’s the most important and beautiful person in my life. None of what we achieve would be possible without her unwavering love and support. Her contribution is simply remarkable. Thank you, my love. Finally, each year, I say that it feels like we've only just begun. You all inspire me to get better every day. To relentlessly improve. To constantly ask myself what else I can do to increase our collective impact on the people we all serve. The ECD continues to move beyond the deck of cards it started out as. The deck is a universe of self-expression, personal growth, and collective impact. Individually, collectively, and professionally, with The ECD in our hands, and as a community, our impact exceeds what anyone believes is possible. Thank you all for continuing on this journey with me and our mission to rehumanise the places we work and live. Your friend, – Jeremy
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CULTURE 12 LEADERSHIP By Dr Nada Al-Moosa. 14 EMOTIONS & CHANGE By Andrea Hancox. 16 CULTURE CRAFTING By Lorissa Garcia. 20 5 BEST THINGS By Kate Bacchus. 24 CONTAGIOUS LEADERS By Joanne Free-Pameli. 26 TEAM CULTURE by Roz Duffy. 30 ROLE OF EMOTIONS by Celine Sugay Constales. 32 SELF MASTERY By Kristian Colegate. 37 ECD JOURNEY By Danny Kwan. 38 EMOTIONAL CONTAGION By Susanne Heiss.
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Leadership An act of allowing more than doing By Dr Nada Al-Moosa, Pro Elephant Rider & Certified Consultant Middle East
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Culture Leadership According to HBR research, emotional culture influences employee satisfaction, burnout, teamwork, and the company's financial performance. Over the past two months, I was privileged to engage with leaders across different sectors in deep, rich, and meaningful conversations, learning about them and from their leadership journeys so far. Using The ECD cards from riders&elephants, leaders had the opportunity to explore different areas of interest, from employee experience, stakeholder engagement, leading change, value design, and many more, with a purpose to explore the role emotions play in workplace culture, and how they want to lead their people. Key highlights: 1. Emotional Self-awareness is critical to feel more connected to the work you do. 2. Leadership's influence on organizational culture is a driver to better performance and engagement. 3. Leaders help people grow through actions. 4. A company's culture is a significant informer of company performance. 5. Valuing employees, recognizing their worth, and appreciating their efforts are all part of leading with compassion and, Remembering that we are social beings who like to feel part of something bigger; generating a sense of belonging through team identity by creating human experiences, where employees can share ideas as well as feelings helps people feel more invested in their workplace.
There is power in 1:1 discussion; leaders playing the game, navigating through the cards, expressing feelings - the good and ugly- being vulnerable, moving towards a shared purpose, creating self-awareness and understanding, helping self and others recognize emotions at the workplace and how to foster a culture that recognises the importance of emotional well- being in a working environment. My personal main learning lessons: 1. The moments that make you extremely uncomfortable are the ones that truly help you grow. 2. Situational stress can unlock parts of you that will build new potential you never knew existed! and most importantly, 3. Measuring leadership excellence to me is about leadership commitment to what you do not to someone else's.
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Change Leadership Understanding our Emotions By Andrea Hancox Pro Elephant Rider & Certified Consultant New Zealand
Culture Leadership Emotion plays a vital role in helping people navigate change. Change is an inevitable part of life, and it can be both exciting and daunting. Emotions such as fear, anxiety, and uncertainty can arise when people are faced with change. However, emotions can also provide valuable information and motivation to help people navigate change successfully. One of the most significant ways emotions help people navigate change is by providing information about their needs and desires, and that is why ECD is a fantastic tool to help provide that information by understanding how people are feeling. These emotions can provide valuable insights into what the person values and cares about, helping them identify their feelings and make decisions about how to navigate change. Change can be difficult and it requires people to step out of their comfort zone and try new things. Emotions such as open, brave, courageous, optimistic and confident can provide the motivation needed to take on new challenges. In contrast, feelings such as insecure, paralysed, confused and disconnected can cause detrimental consequences if not acknowledged during change. Emotions play a crucial role in how people process and adapt to change. When people understand their feelings, they can process and understand the situation at a deeper level. Being able to process your emotions is essential for personal growth and development. By identifying your emotions through periods of change it is important to identify well-being practices such as exercise, mediation, talking and
understanding support structures in place. It also helps to grow people resilience to change making change a more positive learning experience. Not all change is the same and emotionally people will different emotions. Different types of change people may experience will be felt and experienced based on peoples experience and have their own unique characteristics and challenges. A beneficial way to use ECD during change is by intention setting how you would like to feel, not like to feel. On reflection, emotions play a critical role in helping people navigate change. By acknowledging and accepting our emotions, we can gain a sense of direction, manage stress and uncertainty, connect with others, promote well being, and find meaning and purpose in times of change. Emotions are powerful tools that can help us navigate even the most challenging changes successfully. It is essential to stay in touch with our emotions and use them to guide our decisions and actions during times of change. December 2023 15
The Role Of The Leader In Crafting Culture By Lorissa Garcia, Specialist Elephant Rider & Certified Consultant, Australia
Culture Leadership I have been predominantly working in the space of culture over the last year as we face into challenges like reconnecting our teams, redesigning ways of working for our hybrid environments and resetting our boundaries I was asked on a podcast interview recently ‘what is the role of the leader in crafting culture?’ and considering it cuts across both leadership and culture, I thought it a great opportunity to explore that question here with you. There is a lovely intersection of culture and leadership where an individual and their behaviors and actions can have such impact and influence over not just the organisational culture, but that of the immediate team, the subculture. When it comes to your role, here’s a few ways that you can play a role in crafting a healthy culture;
Understand what your people need: there is a brilliant opportunity cutting across leadership and culture for a leader to understand the individuals within their team – their drivers, strengths, motivations, how they work best and what they need from their leader to work well. Building practices and rituals in the group to ensure that your team are getting their needs met can take some time and energy, but so worth the investment. December 2023 17
Culture Leadership Be an aspirational role model: leaders are responsible for driving a healthy culture by their behaviours and actions, you are literally sending signals about what is accepted and tolerated constantly. Leaders need to ask themselves; is my behaviour leading us toward our desired culture, or away from our desired culture? Go first: A lot of the work I do in the emotional culture space asks people to reveal things about themselves that perhaps they have never articulated, or wouldn’t usually talk about in a regular conversation. That means that vulnerability is at an all time high. Leaders should go first, showing a genuine level of vulnerability to set the tone. Play a bystander: As a leader it can sometimes be difficult to see what is really there and only see what you need to in the moment. Take the time to become an observer – let others run meetings and watch the behaviours, explore how decisions are made, sit yourself among your team during the day and take note of the micro-actions, the emotions that appear to come up, the way people speak to each other. It’s in these moments you’ll get to experience your team culture and get clarity of your role within it.
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Protect the practices: When changing culture, you need to change the practices and rituals that hold you in the past – then protect them to enable people to do their work; making sure commitments are held when decisions are made, 1:1’s are prioritised over other work, the morning stand up still goes ahead even if it take effort to dial people in. Whatever the group feels is important needs to be protected by the leader. There are so many ways to contribute to crafting a culture, some actions are big and time-consuming, others can micromoments that have big impact. It’s showing up as a leader who cares about culture that counts as a first great step.
“There is a lovely intersection of culture and leadership where an individual and their behaviours and actions can have such impact and influence over not just the organisational culture, but that of the immediate team, the sub-culture.”
5 Best Things... By Kate Bacchus, Trainee Pro Elephant Rider New Zealanad In June 2023, I started on the ECD Certified Consultant course using The Emotional Culture Deck. I'd been using the cards for a couple of years, but this was a commitment to me, my learning, my creativity and my ikigai of making a positive difference. The outcome of completing the Certification course was to bring my skills with The ECD up to the next level as I work with individuals and groups; and it has delivered in so many ways! 20 F Word
Culture Leadership Here are the best 5, for me. #1 Doubt, Uncertain and Alone As I started on this course, I had to not just ask and coach others - but truly look inward and ask myself questions. To identify and name my own emotions and feelings; rather than let them run around like an out-of-control pinball machine causing havoc in my brain! I sat on a plane to Christchurch, kicking off my first reflective activity - and worked through The ECD cards. I identified I was feeling "doubt, uncomfortable, uncertain, alone and insecure". Sure in one go, that is a little confronting - but the magic is that 'aha' and ability to exhale and then go ... okay, so what do I think about that? And what actions do I need to take? “Name it to Tame it” - Dan Siegel #2 WTF Using the cards in 1:1s, coffee catch-ups, in the car or plane, in facilitation and training and coaching discussions has really increased my confidence in asking the question, WTF? What's the Feeling? Proactively working with people to identify what they've been feeling or want to be feeling, and the intentional actions, behaviours, and rituals that will support that. This can be with individuals, teams, workplaces - and indeed with families and friends. Asking this question is the heart of any work with The ECD cards from team
building, co-creation of team culture, values design, change management, conflict resolution, self-awareness as an individual contributor or people leader! #3 Above the Line & Below the Line There is much debate over who or where the concept of 'above the line and below the line' thinking originated, but for me, the concepts of using The ECD cards within the work context - are well explained using the above the line and below the line model or overlaying it with growth and fixed mindsets! In identifying, reflecting and understanding our emotions and feelings - we're better able to group, process, and then work on collective actions. I have loved the ability to link the ECD cards and people's thinking with the concept of above and below the line. What are the feelings or emotions that are holding you back? Stopping you from stepping above the line? Supporting you or others in being above the line - in taking ownership and responsibility?
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Culture Leadership
#4 What's in your Circle of Control? E.T.A. (Emotions, Thoughts, Actions) For the most of us, our emotions, thoughts and actions are within our personal circle of control. I have thoroughly enjoyed the ability to share with individuals and groups about Stephen Covey's concept of the Circle of Control introduced in his book 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People'; and in understanding how our emotions are ours to name, tame or fame. We have the control and the ability to make choices. I have woven the concepts around Circle of Control, Influence, Concern with The ECD. #5 There are more than the emotions you can name with your fingers happy, sad, mad, angry, frustrated ... The ECD cards and the variety of coaching and workshop environments have meant that I have introduced the cards to a massive variety of people, from different parts of NZ, including healthcare workers, STMS and Traffic Controllers, nurses, lab techs, managers, administrators, marketers, fundraisers, CEOs and business owners. The cards and the activities that we've used them for, have helped people understand the spectrum of emotions, introduced emotions that they may not have previously known about talk about the meanings, and shared connections to emotions. This has led to meaningful conversations,
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personal growth and certainly increased psychological safety within some teams. That has been my personal highlight for me! It has been an awesome journey of learning to become an ECD Certified Consultant. It's pushed me to try new things, and outside my comfort zone, to reflect and reframe, and to connect in with a wonderful community of people using The Emotional Culture Deck. #beawesome
“In identifying, reflecting and understanding our emotions and feelings - we're better able to group, process, and then work on collective actions. I have loved the ability to link the ECD cards and people's thinking with the concept of above and below the line.”
“In identifying, reflecting and understanding our emotions and feelings - we're better able to group, process, and then work on collective actions.”
Culture Leadership
Attention Leaders, you are Contagious By Joanne Free-Pameli, Trainee Pro Elephant Rider, Canada I’ve heard emotional contagion be described as similar to a sneeze. That just like a sneeze has the potential to come into contact with those around us, a leader’s emotions and associated behaviour can significantly impact members of their team. Okay so the sneeze reference is a bit of a gross analogy though, I do understand the point being made. Just like a caregiver can influence a child or that reference we hear to you “being the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”. It all has an impact. We humans are complicated curious sponges, and we want to belong. It’s natural then in many cases, that we want to (consciously or unconsciously) mimic our leaders when it comes to their mood. It reminds me of church. Or consider an assembly at school or perhaps sitting in a business meeting where you can hear a pin drop as the lead speaker talks. “Great leaders take the time to get to know their teams. They advocate for them; they remain humble knowing they do not know it all and they seek insights, from their team and others around them”.
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Ever get the urge to laugh when someone in one of these settings is chuckling quietly and trying to hold it in? It’s wired in us to be influenced by those around us, to find a commonality, or just a distraction from the sermon, lecture, or speech- many of us have experienced this first-hand. The transfer of emotions between people occurs automatically. We are usually not conscious of it. It’s based on microexpressions and is not dissimilar to a yawn (Are Emotions Contagious in the Workplace- Brandon Smith). If someone approaches us with a smile, we have a natural tendency to smile back. If they approach us with a frown, the tendency is to frown too. Such mimicking of smiles frowns, or other emotional expressions often happen within milliseconds and without our being fully conscious of it (Wood, Rychlowska, Korb, & Niedenthal, 2016).
Emotional contagion can be positive or negative. When a leader in business smiles, is generally kind and positive toward employees and inspires positive feelings throughout the workforce, this is an example of positive emotional contagion.
We took time playing with the various tools, learning more about their own evolving leadership styles as well as how they influence those around them. Their respective areas of business include Real Estate, Health Care, Personal Insurance, and IT Consulting.
Spreading – positive or negative emotions has real-life implications. A study in Accident Analysis and Prevention found that negative emotional contagion such as anger in the workplace led to more cognitive errors and workplace accidents. Positive emotional contagion led to fewer cognitive errors and accidents (Petitta, Probst, Ghezzi, & Barbaranelli, 2019).
Three insights I’d love to share from these sessions:
Understanding the impact, we have as leaders in business is part of the gig. Great leaders know this, they care about it and take steps to understand how they communicate (verbally and non-verbally), how they are perceived and ultimately the influence they may have good or not-so-good on their teams, their clients, and their vendors and more… Insights from 1:1 sessions with four leaders in business these past few months. I had the opportunity to sit down with four Senior leaders in individualised 1:1 settings to introduce them to The Emotional Culture Deck.
1. Great leaders take the time to get to know their teams. They advocate for them; they remain humble knowing they do not know it all and they seek insights, from their team and others around them. 2. Great leaders are always learning. Each time I shared a tool from the repertoire of tools developed by riders and elephants, these leaders were keen to try them out with their people and see more examples of how this could help their business and leadership style. 3. They want to understand how they are perceived. They care about being a better leader and are always looking to continually evolve. Simon Sinek says, “There is no such thing as a perfect leader”. These four leaders know this, they consider just how contagious they are and take steps toward thriving for the betterment of their team, their business and lastly themselves.
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The Role of Emotional Culture in Teams By Roz Duffy, Pro Elephant Rider & Certified Consultant, United States
Imagine a workplace where every emotion is a powerful tool. Yep, that's the magic of emotional culture, and it can redefine how teams work together. 26 F Word
Culture Leadership
I recently got a front-row seat to this magic with a team of vibrant learning designers. My mission was to guide them through the Mapping Emotional Culture workshop with The Emotional Culture Deck. Why emotional culture? Our emotions shape everything at work — from our decisions and actions to how we interact with others. When we're happy and supported, we're more engaged, collaborate better, and do great work. But when we let stress or negativity creep in, burnout, communication breakdowns, and a decrease in morale lurk around the corner. Emotional culture is not just about individual feelings. It's about the collective mood, the energy that courses through a team or organization. Think about it: if the whole crew finds common ground in how they want to feel as a team, it will light the way to creating a culture that they want to be a part of. Let's break down some truths I witnessed and what I've learned on my emotional culture journey: Emotions Shape Actions. When we're on a high, we perform better. We're more in sync with our team, and we dive into tasks with more energy. The Good Feels Lead to Better Work. A happy employee is an engaged one. They're more likely to brainstorm better, work well with others, and really get into their projects.
Beware of the Bad Days. If someone's stressed or down in the dumps, there's a risk. They might be heading straight for burnout or even thinking about quitting. It's a Team Game. One person's mood can ripple across the team. So, it's not just about how you feel but how everyone feels. Leaders, Step Up. The best bosses and managers aren't just taskmasters. They're emotion-tuners. They tune into the team's feelings and help shape a positive vibe. Ears Open, Always. Companies need to keep listening. Understand your team, tune into their vibes, and step in when needed. Emotions Can Make or Break. Feelings aren't just fluff. They can fuel a company's rise or fall. December 2023 27
Culture Leadership
You see, our emotional culture is like the heartbeat of a company. A positive pulse can motivate us, make us feel like we belong, and increase creativity and innovation. But if that pulse falters, things can tumble — from teamwork to overall productivity. Back to my workshop with these awesome learning designers… When they all shared the top emotions they wanted to feel at work, it was incredible to see an already existing alignment. They were more in sync than even they might have imagined. This allowed for a lively conversation to move through what it looks like when they’re feeling those emotions and when they’re not, and how to shape their culture to uphold their shared vision. Kudos to this group for taking the time to move through this process with an open mind, and many thanks to Joseph McBee for being bold and brave to bring this workshop to his teammates.
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“It's a team game. One person's mood can ripple across the team. So, it's not just about how you feel but how everyone feels.”
Culture Leadership
Emotional Culture Matters by Celine Sugay Constales, Certified Consultant, Philippines Here are my top 3 discoveries of why emotional culture matters. These are a result of the Emotional Culture workshops I've been conducting. I noticed how a lot of the problems my clients encounter at work stem from the lack of awareness of their emotions. We encounter disagreements with colleagues, feel frustrated and disappointed with certain people or tasks, and the workload builds up and contributes to our stress. Eventually, we burnout. I also noticed that something in common among these clients was that they often hear coworkers and managers say statements like, “Let’s just get the work done”, “I don’t want drama”, “Our feelings are getting in the way, let’s put them aside and focus on the work”. While these statements may be valid to a certain extent, the effect it has on us is that we end up suppressing how we feel. Instead of acknowledging what stresses us out, we convince ourselves that nothing is wrong and we are completely fine. The more we suppress our feelings, the more our anxiety, stress, and even resentment grow. I discovered more and more reasons why emotional culture matters, as I engaged with the Emotional Culture Deck and the different culture maps, workshops, and reflection handbooks. 30 F Word
Here are the Top 3 things I discovered from conducting my Emotional Culture workshops. WE EXPERIENCE MORE POSITIVE EMOTIONS When emotions are welcomed rather than repressed, people flourish and thrive (Razzetti, 2020). When we acknowledge our emotions, we give ourselves the opportunity to understand them and what causes them. This in turn allows us to evaluate the situations we encounter that bring about these feelings. Something I often say when I conduct workshops about emotions is, “If we understand how we are feeling, we can do something about it.” May it be to pause and breathe or to have a conversation with the person we had a disagreement with. Fredrickson (2001) states that positive emotions can help broaden and build over time. This means that an increase in our positive emotions can build our intellectual, social, physical, and psychological resources. These then contribute to our capacity to foster better relationships, improve wellbeing, live longer, become more resilient and creative, and even solve more complex problems.
WE BECOME MORE PRODUCTIVE
WE BECOME MORE AUTHENTIC
Studies have shown that stress impairs mental flexibility, memory, attention, and impulse control (Emotions in the Workplace: Why Managers Need to Care, 2022). When stress builds, it tends to lead to burnout, which often means that we no longer have the capacity to deal with the situations and people we encounter, both mentally and emotionally.
People in groups “catch” feelings from others (Barsade & O’Neill, 2016). If a company wants employees to feel grateful, putting in place practices and reminders around gratitude can help employees to feel more grateful. In the case where not everyone follows these practices, having just a few people model this and feel grateful can foster a culture of gratitude, which will eventually spread across individuals and becomes an authentic feeling for them. Barsade and O’Neill (2016) also state that an organization’s culture is likely to be stronger when employees genuinely follow its guiding principles and values. When we truly believe in the emotions that the company desires, we are more likely to feel and experience them, thus increasing the behaviors and practices that are linked to such desired emotions. This creates a snowball effect of more employees authentically experiencing the said desired emotions.
In my personal experience, and based on what I’ve noticed from my clients, ignoring our emotions, especially the negative ones, tends to make us unproductive. Have you ever experienced fighting with a loved one and then trying to focus on an important task at work? Most likely, you found it difficult to get anything done. On the other hand, when something happens and it makes you happy, you most likely find yourself with so much energy to complete several different tasks. We play an important role in creating the environment we want to experience and one that we find most productive (Gagen MacDonald, 2020). When we ignore our emotions and the emotions of others in the workplace, we contribute to an emotional culture that promotes suppression. When we encourage team members to talk about their emotions with each other, it fosters an environment where “emotions drive action and shapes culture” (ECD Workshop Participant, 2022).
My clients have shared that when they start their day by focusing on the desired emotions at work, they become less critical of themselves and less concerned about what people might think about them. They find that they can express themselves better, share their opinions and ideas with others, and even experience a more psychologically safe environment which encourages them to be who they really are. Organizations have an opportunity to strengthen their desired cultures by also intentionally creating their emotional culture. Through the process of purposely choosing the emotions they want (and not want) to feel at work, they can help their employees to experience more positive emotions, become more productive, and be their true selves. December 2023 31
Culture Leadership
Unleashing Personal Potential: My Key Learnings from The ECD SelfMastery Activities By Kristian Colegate, Trainee Pro Elephant Rider, Australia I began a learning journey this year when my curiosity and desire for growth led me to The Emotional Culture Deck created by riders&elephants. The ECD is designed to help teams and organisations explore and improve their emotional culture, focusing on the emotions that drive behaviour and shape workplace dynamics. So I took The ECD Masterclass, graduated successfully and then jumped straight into the ECD Certified Consultant Course based on the profound and rewarding outcomes I had experienced. In today's crazy world, where professional (and personal!) life can feel like a never-ending rollercoaster, it is essential to reflect on our inner selves and enhance our self-mastery skills. The first stage of the course encompassed completing five selfmastery challenges, an introspective journey that enabled me to transform how I approach
leadership, culture crafting, partnerships, and values design, utilising The ECD through a lens of emotional intentionality to drive behavioural outcomes. In this blog post, I'll share key insights I gained from some of these transformative experiences. Uncovering the Fundamental Truths. The Know Yourself Handbook was the starting point of my selfmastery journey with The ECD, and it provided me with profound insights. I realised the immense value it brought to my personal and professional life: The power of introspection. This handbook guided me through a level of self-reflection that deepened as I progressed. It enabled me to uncover the fundamental truths that underpin my emotional landscape and what I need to feel and not feel to be successful. The benefit of transparency. Completing the handbook unearthed thoughts, emotions, and actions that I might have otherwise kept hidden from myself. It nudged me in the right direction, helping me understand my motivations and fears. December 2023 33
Culture Leadership The value of sharing. Completing this self-mastery activity was not just a solitary endeavour but an opportunity to share my discoveries with those I love, trust, and value. By opening up about what drives or hinders my success, I gave them a deeper understanding of who I am and a chance to connect with me on a profound level.
emotions can boost morale, while negative ones can undermine productivity. Leaders must become emotional role models. By sharing this handbook with those I lead, my fellow leaders, and those who teach me, I offered them insight into my leadership style and what drives or hinders my success as a leader. This sharing fosters a deeper connection with those around me through intentional vulnerability.
The Deeper Level of Leadership The Leadership Handbook took me on a different path, focusing on the emotional culture I want to create for my team as a leader. This activity provided me with a new perspective on leadership.
Navigating the Waters of Change Change is an inevitable part of life, and the Know Yourself Change Handbook taught me how to navigate better the emotional turbulence that often accompanies it.
The importance of understanding the emotional needs of my team. By observing and empathising with their desired and undesired feelings, I discovered the value of becoming a leader who can deliver the desired emotional culture. It's all about perspective. The feelings I arrived at for my team sometimes differ from what they might choose for themselves. This disparity is acceptable because, as a leader, I need to take a broader view, considering factors such as established values, prevailing culture, and work practices. The existence of emotional contagion and the ripple effect. Emotions are contagious, and leaders are emotional "carriers" within their organisations. I realised my emotional state had a ripple effect on my team. Positive
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Change is a profoundly emotional experience. It places human emotions and feelings at the centre of any change journey. This heightened sensitivity to desired and undesired feelings can affect the success of change initiatives. Emotional awareness and regulation are critical. The importance of empathy when dealing with change. By focusing on desired feelings and how to create them during times of change, I gained a deeper understanding of how to lead my team through the process with patience and support. Adapting to change. Completing this handbook encouraged me to explore and reflect on change and the associated feelings. It offered a valuable opportunity to consider methods and techniques to minimise the risks of an "amygdala hijack" during the shift and adjust perceptions toward it.
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Incorporating the ECD Self-Mastery Activities into Professional Life These self-mastery activities have transformed my perspective and understanding in various ways. The Know Yourself Handbook opened my eyes to the importance of introspection and transparency. The Leadership Handbook deepened my knowledge of leadership and the emotional needs of my team. The Know Yourself Change Handbook taught me to navigate change with empathy and emotional awareness. I plan to integrate these valuable insights into my professional life by incorporating regular self-reflection and sharing my discoveries with my team and colleagues. By understanding my motivations and fears, I can better lead and connect with those around me. I will utilise the ECD handbooks and conversation guides to create a human-centred approach to change and improved emotional leadership. The ECD and these self-mastery activities are transformational tools that have the potential to enhance leadership, personal growth, change management, partnerships, and values design. These experiences have shown me the power of introspection, transparency, empathy, and emotional awareness. By sharing these insights with others, I aim to create a workplace culture prioritising emotional wellbeing, leading to more creative, innovative, and productive outcomes in any given activity or task.
“By focusing on desired feelings and how to create them during times of change, I gained a deeper understanding of how to lead my team through the process with patience and support.”
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December 2023 35
Once you have done a workshop, it is often difficult to keep the momentum, energy, and interest of everyone. Usually, I see so much love, care, and attention during workshops and then almost helplessness when it comes to carrying things further and continuing with the first results.
Susanne Heiss, Certified Consultant, Germany
Culture Leadership
How can you sustain the emotional culture work you have started creating with your team? By Susanne Heiss, Certified Consultant, Germany How can you sustain the emotional culture work you have started creating with your team? Once you have done a workshop, it is often difficult to keep the momentum, energy, and interest of everyone. Usually, I see so much love, care, and attention during workshops and then almost helplessness when it comes to carrying things further and continuing with the first results. Here are three ways leaders and teams can continue after a facilitated session: One: Create a small and dedicated subteam to remind the bigger team of agreements, actions, deliverables, and the like. This team can also come up with new ideas on how to keep the desired feelings alive, visible, and experienced within the team, e.g. through fun check-ins or quick trackers.
Two: Have one of the attributes assigned to 1-2 people so that a pair takes forward one desired feeling, come up with proposals on how best to embed it and can become a sponsor, advocate or activist for this desired feeling within the team. Three: Include the desired feelings in team meetings or monthly retro sessions so that you constantly have the attributes present and well reflected in your work and for your learnings. There are a few more things you can do, and let me know when you'd like to explore them with and for your team. I am just a digital doorstep away.
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December 2023 37
Culture Leadership
My Journey to Becoming an ECD Certified Consultant By Danny Kwan, Pro Elephant Rider, Certified Consultant - United Kingdom From last year November 2022, I started this wonderful journey with ECD designer Jeremy Dean, and learnt different frameworks and ideas on how to use the deck in creating a better emotional environment for the organisation. I go on this 8-month pilgrimage in search of how emotional culture could benefit education, specifically school leaders, teachers and pupils. Now to the very end of the journey, I would like to share the top 5 of what I have found. Get your team connected. Once the team started to share how they have felt in the past few weeks (this is the check-in activity for emotional culture crafting), they learnt others' feelings, their work or sometimes their personal stories. This emotional sharing helped connect the team at both personal and organisational levels. Leaders need to talk more. When I had The ECD workshop with them, the common response from the team was 'oh, I don't know you have that feeling' 'I hope to learn more from you' 'I do feel you, but I have no chance to talk with you' 'Thank you for sharing his' ..... They had better understanding 38 F Word
of each other and the breakthrough usually started by leaders. Emotional Culture crafting is a powerful process. It was more powerful to have the Emotional Culture Canvas completed - a large poster with what the team could do to promote their favourable feelings and manage undesired feelings. The canvas was posted where everyone could see, reflect and remind themselves what they agreed as a team. It can be reviewed monthly, quarterly or even annually to fit the need. The conversation is on going. The ECD workshop is not a one-off process. For example, a monthly 30 mins catch up session to follow how the team feel after the workshop and see if there are any adjustment they would like to make. Or the team could arrange internal meeting to do so without my present. They found the tools I provided are useful such as Know Yourself Handbook, Leadership Handbook, Leadership Reflect and Review Canvas and Conversation Canvas.
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COMMUNITY 42 ACHIEVEMENTS Celebrating our wins. 58 BRIGHT SPOTS From the community. 72 IN THE WILD ECD across the globe.
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Leading Europe in Emotional Culture and Compassionate Leadership
Steven Hargreaves, Master Elephant Rider & Elephant Rider Mentor
Community Achievements
Steven Hargreaves stands as Europe's first Master Elephant Rider. Since his journey with The Emotional Culture Deck began in 2019, Steven has led over 65 workshops, numerous one-on-one sessions, and large-scale meetups. His groundbreaking approach, integrating ECD with his Compassionate Leadership Framework, has reshaped emotional culture in the UK. As the director of The Compassionate Leadership Company, he embodies a commitment to rehumanising workplaces with compassion and inclusive leadership. In the realm of emotional culture and compassionate leadership, Steve Hargreaves has carved out a unique and impactful path. Steve’s work, exemplified in his facilitation with diverse teams, has been pivotal in mapping and integrating emotional culture into business strategies. His unique methodology, which combines The Emotional Culture Deck with frameworks like Compassionate Leadership, has enabled teams and leaders to foster environments of genuine connection, inclusivity, and understanding. His effectiveness as a facilitator is evident in the feedback from the people he works with. Participants consistently highlight the actionable insights and the tangible impact of his teachings on their leadership styles and team dynamics. His innovative approach to workshops,
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including a notable 100-person ECD session with The NHS, epitomises his ability to handle complex emotional dynamics on a large scale. As the Founder of The Compassionate Leadership Company, Steve advocates for a compassionate, kind, and inclusive approach to leadership and workplace culture. His belief in the power of compassion as a driving force in organisational success underscores his work. He aids leaders and teams in integrating compassion into their organizational culture, emphasising its vital role in performance and resilience. His extensive experience in various settings, from charity leadership teams to healthcare groups, demonstrates his versatility and the universal relevance of his methods. Through workshops, coaching, and development programs, Steve helps organisations build emotional cultures characterised by compassion empathy, inclusion, trust, respect, and safety.
In a world increasingly aware of the importance of emotional culture in the workplace, Steven= stands as a leader who redefines how teams operate and connect. His journey is a testament to the power of emotional culture and compassionate leadership in creating environments where people thrive and achieve success. Steve's story is not just one of personal achievement; it's a story that resonates with anyone committed to understanding and shaping the emotional dynamics of their environment. As he continues to explore and expand his impact, his work remains a beacon for those seeking to create more humancentered, compassionate workplaces.
“Steve’s contribution to our Elephant Rider Community is bonkers! As an Elephant Rider Mentor, he inspires Elephant Riders starting out their ECD journey to see the impact the game can have beyond the workplace. I feel grateful and proud of everything Steve brings to our ECD universe.” – Jeremy D December 2023 45
Mastering Emotional Culture and Transforming Workplaces Kayleigh Woodings, Master Elephant Rider & Elephant Rider Mentor
Community Achievements
Kayleigh's journey over the past two years is marked by her facilitation of 65 workshops and her role as an Elephant Rider Mentor. Beginning her path in 2020, she rapidly achieved her Certification as an ECD Certified Consultant and has since worked her way to Master Elephant Rider status. Her work spans various sectors in New Zealand, from financial services to construction and tourism, significantly impacting and rehumanising workplace environments. This diverse influence highlights her essential role in our Elephant Rider community. In the evolving landscape of workplace dynamics, Kayleigh has distinguished herself as a trailblazer in emotional culture. Her recent progression to Master Elephant Rider status with The ECD marks a significant chapter in her career, characterised by transformative impact across New Zealand's varied professional sectors. Kayleigh's work with entities like the Wakatipu Youth Trust and Onsen Hot Pools Team illustrates her profound ability to weave emotional culture into the fabric of business strategies and everyday interactions. Her approach transcends traditional training methods; she creates environments where authentic connection and understanding are paramount, and every voice is valued. The effectiveness of her facilitation is highlighted in the feedback from her sessions, where participants emphasise the practicality and accessibility of her t
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eachings. Leaders and teams consistently note the ease of integrating her insights into their professional practices. Extending beyond individual workshops, Kayleigh has significantly influenced emotional culture within specialised industries, notably tourism. Her insights into crafting memorable customer experiences underscore her deep understanding of the emotional elements that define exceptional service. From boutique hotels to adventure tourism ventures, her emphasis on emotional culture has been pivotal in shaping unique and unforgettable customer journeys. Kayleigh's collaboration with a wide range of teams, including those in financial services and the Christchurch City Council, showcases her adaptability and the wide applicability of her methods. By integrating the ECD with other methodologies like Gallup's CliftonStrengths, she tailors her approach to meet the nuanced needs of various organisations.
As a prominent figure in The ECD community, Kayleigh’s journey is a testament to her determination and willingness to challenge the status quo. She continues to break new ground in areas like tourism and organisational culture scaling, her expertise is set to further influence and inspire the field of leadership. In an era increasingly attuned to the importance of emotional culture in driving high-performing teams, Kayleigh stands as a guiding light in our community. Her contributions reshape teams across New Zealand and inspire fellow Elephant Riders to create new ways to use our games to rehumanise the workplace.
“Kayleigh’s not afraid to tackle big challenges. She’s not afraid to take chances and break down barriers that others shy away from. Her work combining our CXD and ECD games has contributed to a new way of uncovering profound insights that creates value for businesses and leaders. What Kayleigh has achieved with our games showed me there is so much more possible with our tools than I ever imagined. – Jeremy D
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Community Achievements
Leadership Without Borders: The ECD Collaboration Between Malaysia and New Zealand In an inspiring collaboration, two ECD Certified Consultants, Leilanie Mohd-Nor from Kuala Lumpur City, Malaysia, and Suzanna Rangi from Auckland, New Zealand, joined forces to deliver a pioneering cross-cultural leadership programme. This collaboration exemplifies the remarkable synergy within the Elephant Rider Community. Leilanie Mohd-Nor, Pro Elephant Rider, alongside Rosmawati Hasan from BinaPavo, co-facilitated an "Emotional Leadership" workshop with Suzanna Rangi, Specialist Elephant Rider. This workshop was a part of a 5-day event, held on 22 November, with 21 Malaysian leaders participating in the Leadership and Enculturation Programme at the University of Auckland. The day-long session, focusing on The Emotional Culture Deck, was a profound learning and sharing experience, significantly enhancing the participants' emotional intelligence in both professional and personal contexts.
Suzanna Rangi, reflecting on her session titled "Emotional Leadership: Self and Team Success," described it as a day filled with various emotions, reflections, and learnings. Her session, part of the same programme, emphasised weaving together feelings, emotions, triggers, and leadership identities through the use of The Emotional Culture Deck. She highlighted the formula "E + R = O" (Event + Response = Outcome) as a key leadership reminder, emphasising the importance of emotional responses in shaping outcomes. The session with the Malaysian leadership team was described as magical and inspirational, leaving Suzanna feeling profoundly grateful and marking it as a highlight of her career. This collaboration not only brought together two cultures but also underscored the versatility and impact of The Emotional Culture Deck in facilitating emotional intelligence and leadership skills across diverse settings.
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Community Achievements
Leading Change in Emotional Culture Five dedicated Elephant Riders in our Community have achieved the distinguished status of Specialist Elephant Rider this year. This recognition marks a significant milestone in their journey of transforming workplace culture through the power of crafting Emotional Cultures. These consultants have each led over 25 Emotional Culture Deck Workshops, facilitated more than 10 individual ECD sessions, and hosted a series of meetups, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to humanising the workplace. Their journey is marked not just by the number of sessions they’ve facilitated, but by the depth of impact they have made in their respective fields. Congrats to our Specialist Elephant Riders: Lorissa Garcia Jim Dryburgh Denise Hartley-Wilkins Jakub Jurkiewicz Suzanna Rangi
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I had the great joy recently of supporting Nikki Beer, a brand new Elephant Rider through her first full-blown ECD Workshop. We were working with the New Zealand Defence Force Wellington Regional Support Unit, led by Jim Maguire on their annual team retreat, where they take the time to work on themselves, to ensure that they are in a good position to provide the wide range of support they provide in the Wellington area. It was a rewarding day and Nikki did a magnificent job of facilitating her first sizeable ECD Canvas, steering some meaningful and sometimes challenging discussion, culminating in clear articulation of what WRSU seek as a healthy customer experience for their broad client base. – Jim Dryburgh, Specialist Elephant Rider, Certified Consultant, New Zealand
New Certified Consultants: Shaping the future of emotional culture
Community Achievements The Elephant Rider community proudly welcomes its newest Certified Consultants, a group of leaders embodying determination, dedication, and a passion for personal development and emotional culture crafting. Each Certified Consultant has conquered the rigorous and transformative journey to unlocking their Pro Elephant Rider Badge. Over nine months, these individuals dove deep into the complexities of emotional culture crafting. They completed a series of challenges that pushed them outside their comfort zones into unfamiliar ECD experiences. They emerged equipped with the skills to lead and inspire more emotionally aware leaders, teams, and workplace cultures. As these graduates step out into the world as Certified Consultants, they join a tribe of fellow expert emotional culture professionals ready to make significant impacts. Their unique perspectives and experiences will undoubtedly shape the future of workplaces and communities. Congratulations once again to our newest Certified Consultants. We look forward to witnessing the remarkable impact you will make with The ECD in your respective fields and beyond.
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Bright Spots
Community Bright Spots
Using The ECD to Rapidly Build Rapport I'm part of a small community group that had its first meeting recently. As it was the first time the group was getting together I took along the ECD to use as an icebreaker and did the weekly retro. I was amazed at how quickly it felt like we all knew each other. We spent over half the meeting using the ECD! We've agreed we'll use the ECD to kick off each meeting going forward. - Matt Verrell, Elephant Rider, UK
LAUNCHED MY OWN BUSINESS I launched my own business this month after 17 years with my previous organization. This has been both exciting and terrifying. I'm currently planning my first free workshop to introduce emotional culture to my contacts. I worried that I might not get enough people to run it, but with still over a week until the day, I have a nice collection of people. I'm pumped to talk feelings. - Renee Eaton, Elephant Rider, Canada
ECD Success With Coaches. Today was great!!! I facilitated the ECD with a bunch of coaches, who wanted to shape how they wanted to feel and work together going forward. There were some great conversations, but I particularly loved a conversation around: if we feel this, how are we likely to act, and how will this shape what others think and feel when they work with us. - Anna Clayton, Pro Elephant Rider, Certified Consultant, Australia 60 F Word
A Natural Fit with DISC Flow I am a certified trainer of DISC Flow which combines the traditional DISC model with an emotional intelligence element. As a participant I have found that these strengths/talents based models can be sometimes superficially presented and don't really dive into the impact of the behaviours on the team and the work. Off the back of the frustrations in these experiences, I focus my work heavily on 'application', spending less time of our face to face time on theory and concepts (through the use of prework) and more time in meaningful discussion about what it all means in the context of their work/family/business and building the language for ongoing conversation. I have found this to be easier on the DISC behaviour side of things as there are lots of facilitation exercises around this, but in searching for effective activities to embed the emotional intelligence side of things I hadn't yet found something that made me go "yes!"..... until I come across ECD. I was soooooo excited to find something that fit sooooo welll, was soooo easy to use and was something I could leave with them to continue to work with. I am still in crush mode . -
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Kasmin Brotherton. Elephant Rider, Australia
Emotional Culture Success with a University Sports Team I was asked to work with a high level university sports team that was not that To create your own, choose a topic functioning well as abe team. They from were interests you. It can anything playing individually and and not the fashion very and beauty to travel supporting other.your Thisoverall translated to news. Onceeach you have theme, loss afterstart lossbrainstorming after loss for the I you can the team. content. was to come inatomemorable work with the Just asked starting? Design team to help them build a strong masthead with an equally memorable emotional name. Thisculture. goes onThe theteam coverwas andnot sets up excited aboutfor theyour activity at magazine. first. Once the branding entire they got into it, the change in the players was visible. They started talking, sharing, showing empathy. They built a plan during the session and are holding each other accountable. They have begun to support each other. Their first game back after the session, they WON!!! It was their first win of the season. The university has now hired my company to work with EVERY team during orientation week to help them each define what feelings and emotions are integral to their success as a team and how they can cultivate those emotions with their teammates. Coaches will do regular follow ups and check ins and each team will have a clearly defined emotional culture. - Kari Chiappetta, Elephant Rider, Canada
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December 2023 61
Kirstin Murray & Andrea Hancox, Pro Elephant Riders & Wellington Chapter Leads
Community Bright Spots
THE THRILL OF AN ELEPHANT RIDER CATCH UP I had to share this as a bright spot. I’ve been part of the ECD community for nearly 4.5 years and met so many wonderful people of which some of blossomed into values friendships. Often without having met in person. One of these was with fellow certified consultant Sonja Montague MacKay (Gibson) . Sonja is based in Scotland and I’m in NZ but we’ve chatted away regularly over the past 4 years since we connected. on my recent trip to london Sonja travelled all the way down to london so we could meet in person. We went to a show, saw some sights and had a good old yarn. Thanks Sonja for making the time. - Lotty Roberts, Master Elephant Rider, New Zealand
FIRST ECD WORKSHOP COMPLETE This week I facilitated my first ECD workshop using one of the ECD plans for remote teams. it was absolutely brilliant! I got a load of really positive feedback about how helpful the tool was, and I had comments such as “this was the best and most practical workshop I’ve ever been to”. I was genuinely so blown away, especially given that this tool is best used face to face I cannot wait to get into some more teams and businesses and help them using this tool! - Cameron McDonald, Elephant Rider, Australia December 2023 63
Community Bright Spots It’s Official, I’m an Elephant Rider A wonderful week of ECD magic, last week I ran what was my second workshop at Mars (the organisation not the planet!) with our UK Tesco Petcare Sales & Customer Team, with some amazing feedback. The session focused on building trust and creating conversation within quite a large and in some parts fragmented group to help empower their high-performance conversations. The ECD was actually quite a difficult sell in advance, but honestly could not have gone better with some really great comments on how it helped open people up and be confident in sharing their frustrations and ideas in a safe way, as well as being easy to grasp with the cards. Probably the best one for me from the leader in the room below ... awesome to know I am able to help her and her wider team using the ECD format and it really does work! - Ed Hall, Elephant Rider, United Kingdom
“It helped open people up and be confident in sharing their frustrations & ideas in a safe way”
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ECD and Change Last week I had the pleasure of running ancreate ECD session withchoose a change team for To your own, a topic that an organisation who going through a interests you. It can beare anything from big merger. I think to merging organisations fashion and beauty travel and the is one of the biggest, most emotionally news. Once you have your overall theme, charged events an organisation can go you can start brainstorming the content. through...queue a safe space to talk Just starting? Design a memorable about ourwith emotions! masthead an equally memorable name. This goes on the cover and sets up The ECD was perfect to a the branding forthe your entirebackdrop magazine. conversation about how the change team shows up for the business (and each other) as they navigate a complex time. We started by defining success (to make sure we were all answering the same question when considering "our success relies on...", before moving on to look at the feelings we do and don't want. Before finishing on how to we take actions that make those feelings more or less likely to occur. The team loved the session, and we're already planning the next steps! I'm interested to know, when you're answering question "our success depends on people feeling..." do you define success first, or am I overcomplicating?
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- Beverley Simpson, Elephant Rider, Australia
Workshop Mapping Emotional Culture of The C Suite I recently ran an insightful session with a group of leaders, where we mapped their leadership team's emotional culture. What surprised me was how self-conscious the (very congenial and inclusive) group felt when casting votes on their top five, in front of their peers. The discomfort they showed in declaring their position was a signal. As a facilitator, I learned that anonymous voting helps address such feelings and allows an authentic position to emerge and show a truer set of results. - Angella Clarke-Jervoise, Elephant Rider, Australia
And There’s More These cards just keep on giving. I was thinking about team meetings and how to create ones that are of value (not the weekly waste of time). Often people are asked: ‘Tell me what would be useful’ and people don’t always know. However, using the cards to understand how people do and don’t want to feel in and after the meeting might be a more useful conversation starter as to what should go into a meeting (and what it should be left out). I’m sure I’m not stating something that hasn’t been discussed before, I just wanted to share my aha moment! - Lucy Day, Elephant Rider, United Kingdom Auckland Elephant Rider Chapter Meet Up So much fun connecting with like-minded professionals Simon Murcott, Rebecca Frazer, Michelle Kennan, Kate Birch this morning who share the same vision of transforming workplace culture through the ECD We all recognise the immense potential of the #emotionalculturedeck as a powerful tool to drive positive change in organisations.
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- Jo Van Der Wale, Elephant Rider, New Zealand December 2023 65
Community Bright Spots
I AM Jacob (11 Years, Hobart, Australia) I am joyful and courageous I wonder how the poor are surviving I hear the thunderous storm rising I see the seven seas intensifying I am joyful and courageous. I pretend my vocals are the chorus I feel the politics building tensions I touch the consistent flow of water I worry about our future I cry when bad news comes I am joyful and courageous. I understand people are struggling I say we need to become better people I dream to have a cheerful world I try to make a change where I can I hope our world will make peace I am joyful and courageous.
Written by Jacob, the son of an ECD workshop participant. She took the cards home to help her son express his feelings. He reflected and wrote this incredible poem. The power of language can never be underestimated. Thank you Katherine Riddoch for sharing this profound story with us all.
I’m so excited!!! ..the biggest sales pitch I’ve ever done! So, I got phone call from my boss on Friday… The best call ever!! Our CEO wants to discuss with me how we can embed ECD into our organisation.I’ve been running workshops across our organisation in addition to leading my team since I joined the community. I’ve created a community of practice (lunch and learn sessions) which has seen people and leaders across the business come and participate, learn and be vulnerable. I’ve led my teams using the ECD. I use it to have conversations, create team engagement and to improve wellbeing of individuals. I would love any ideas or pitches to help me convince my CEO that equipping leaders with training and ECD tools is going to not only enable them to be an employer of choice but also create amazing leaders! - Kristin Murray, Certified Consultant, New Zealand
Product Managers Third ECD session with a wonderful group of folk, who have slightly different reporting lines though do work closely together. We started with a shared lunch before we kicked off the workshop & this awas a great To create your own, choose topic that segue into connecting with each other. interests you. It can be anything from From the get-go we had some and vulnerable fashion and beauty to travel the conversations and ‘buried issues’ were news. Once you have your overall theme, surfaced which allowed & frank you canearly starton brainstorming thefree content. conversations a psychologically safe Just starting?inDesign a memorable space. Tensions smoothed out & there masthead withwere an equally memorable was mutual respect forthe each other. name. This goes on cover and sets up the branding for your entire magazine. Some tangible actions (3-4) came out of the session for the team to work on & more importantly the team had lots of fun & laughter during the session. We even had some ‘stays’ peering through the glass wall trying to figure out what we were up to! I enjoyed the experience of seeing them open up to each other - no voice was left unheard. Another manager reached out to me yesterday asking me to run the session with her team as the feedback was very positive from this group. Loving the impact this is having on teams’ & it’s also great for my mental health. - Mahesh Parmer, Elephant Rider, New Zealand December 2023 67
Introducing the Weekly Check in As I navigate my journey with Riders & Elephants, I look for opportunities to practice what we learn in the Master Class. I borrowed the 15 minute weekly check in for virtual classes in order to assess a current online class I am facilitating. We only had 30 minutes to check in, so, I chose to take the first few minutes explaining Riders & Elephants and asked permission to take them through the first round of black and white cards. The results were positive. Individuals previously reluctant to share their feelings were more open to express themselves. It also uncovered how several students shared the same feelings and words. The experience created an additional connection within the group of 5. This experience also opened the door to creating space as an elective to continue the R&E experience. - Ryan Strong, Elephant Rider, United States
ECD SUCCESS WITH THE POLICE Just closed out a 6-week Authentic Leadership series with Western Australian Police. We used the ECD and the change canvas on week 4 (Leading Change) and participants also finished a mini know yourself today. We used the deck for check in's at various points in the program, and also as a final check in at the end of the course. They enjoyed using the cards with some comments like 'I have more patience for others now' - I have reduced my overwhelm at the inbox every morning with a change in focus - I feel more calm. Nice way to close out the year. Thank you ECC members for all your support throughout the year! – Wendy Wilson, Elephant Rider, United Kingdom
ECD in Hong Kong Had a great discussion with Dr Cheung from The Education University of Hong Kong in preparing workshop for pupils in department of Early Childhood Education - another Hong Kong project aims at training soon-to-be teachers for ECE. – Danny Kwan, Pro Elephant Rider, United Kingdom 68 F Word
Community Bright Spots Feeling Proud and Inspired As I come to the last few weeks and workshops of my working year I’ve been looking back over this year and am feeling gushes of inspired and proud emojis. Firstly as much as I don’t post here heaps I do read the stories and posts. It’s been so inspiring watching this community grow and invoke - it energises me and motivates me in the daily and I feel so proud. I’ve been using the deck for 4.5 years now and I can really see what started as seedlings it’s now like a forest. So much amazing mahi going on across the globe around emotional culture. I realised looking at my year that the ECD and my work with emotions makes up a huge part of my bright spots: I launched my ‘leading through change’ programme (which consists of 3 workshops and a follow up Checkin and strongly features the deck) - it’s now been rolled out to a few orgs and the largest one has renewed it again for next year. I tipped over the 150 workshop count for workshops featuring the ECD. I developed a new 3-hour rituals workshop as part of my emotional culture journey offerings which has been super popular.
I’ve had several of my coaching clients have huge life and work breakthroughs using the deck. I’ve brought the deck to a woman’s mid life wellbeing community who have embraced it and it’s added a new To create your own, choose a topic that dimension to their well-being and interests you. It can be anything from journey through midlife (which is a fashion and beauty to travel and the rollercoaster in itself) news. Once you have your overall theme, Last week I was a keynote speaker you can start brainstorming the content. presenting to my biggest live audience Just starting? Design a memorable to date on my new improved ‘change masthead with an equally memorable and the word’ talk (as Lorissa Garcia will name. This goes on the cover and sets up know I was not looking forward to this the branding for your entire magazine. but thanks to her cheerleading and relentless support) I did in fact enjoy it which goes to show unpleasant emotions are not necessarily a sign to go the other way they are a sign ‘something is happening that matters to us’ I’m putting it out in the world that next year 2024 is the year I want to finally start my book. My bucket list intention I keep shirking away from - I want to feel inspired, attentive, brave, and motivated - I don’t want to feel but I know it will come up diminished, disheartened, distractable (prob not an emotion but I’m putting it in there) overwhelmed. - Lotty Roberts, Master Elephant Rider, New Zealand
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From Work Group to Team I got to work with a library leadership team. I have been working with them on a long-term teaming journey over 2023. The learning framework is the 5 Behaviours of an Effective Team (aka 5 Dysfunctions of a Team). The ECD is used in every learning module. What went well? The team are used to the ECD and use it with ease. The module was focusing on results. As an intro I asked them to think about a time when they had seen a personal agenda distraction - ego, career advancement, money, my department coming into play in a team; how did they feel? This promoted immediate reactions from people. Whittling their cards down to the top 3-5 was surprising for some. The stories they shared behind their cards were enlightening for people in the room. I kept it safe for the leader in the room by explaining that these distractions can come from any team member. Then I asked them to think about their team, “imagine a time when conversations, actions, behaviours are firmly centred on collective results, how will you feel?”
To create your own, choose a topic that We shifted you. into aItgroup interests can becollective anythingbuild from around how as a team they wanted to fashion and beauty to travel and the feel and Once not feel inhave results centred news. you your overall theme, conversations. People shared thatcontent. they you can start brainstorming the were more openly than at the Justsharing starting? Design a memorable beginning ofwith the program, using the masthead an equallythat memorable ECD wasThis helping to learn name. goesthem on the covermore and sets up about each other at a deeper level. the branding for your entire magazine. One learning was take time to ensure every knows what is needed in the activity. One person hadn't understood they needed to select both black and white cards. They heard only white. Next time I will hold cards up when I guide them in what's needed. Take out insight for the day was a team member sharing “when we started on this journey we were a group of people who worked together, now we are a connected leadership team”. – Denise Hartley-Wilkins, Specialist Elephant Rider, New Zealand
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Community Bright Spots
Last Wellington Chapter Meet Up for 2023 Wonderful to see everyone on Tuesday evening for our last Wellington Chapter Meet-Up for 2023. Thank you for your facilitation and timekeeping tips and learning. I’m incredibly humbled to know you all. I can only describe Tuesday’s Meet Up as one of the most beautiful moments I’ve experienced in my life. You are all incredible and thank you for your authentic sharing, giving and supporting others and holding space. Much Aroha to you all. - Andrea Hancox, Pro Elephant Rider, Certified Consultant, New Zealand
Third Workshop Done At last I’ve managed to get my third workshop done, and continue to feel inspired and excited. I’ve put a lot of time and effort into clarifying my understanding of the tools, watching and rewatching content from the masterclass and other info R & E generously puts out, and that has certainly helped me to feel more confident about delivering culture workshops. This one was for the board of a small local football club (yes the only real football there is - you use your feet to kick a round ball) and we focused on the culture of the board, helping them to uncover and address some challenges they are facing and giving them some clear actions to work on in coming months.
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- Jonathon Bedloe, Elephant Rider, New Zealand
Succesful Second ECD Workshop Last week I was super stoked to spend the day with the First Foundation team and working through their collective emotional culture. We also wanted to link these emotions back to their values and have the team walk away with tangible micro changes that they can make in how they work together - so being able to identify the rituals to start or amplify was super useful for this - Quote of the day was 'Lets be brave and courageous, and put uncomfortable in our top 5 desired feelings'. It was super interesting to hearing the conversation around uncomfortable as a desired feeling come out and why the team felt it was important it was there. Roll on the next one! - Hayley Smith, Elephant Rider, New Zealand
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ECD In The Wild Some of our favourite ECD snaps of the year, from the United Kingdom to Romania. The ECD has been making waves across the globe. Where will it show up next!
Tag us in your snap using #emotionalculturedeck and we’ll feature our favourites every year. ridersandelephants.com
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@ridersandelephants
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Community ECD In The Wild
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Community ECD In The Wild
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Lili Mesesan - Romania
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Community ECD In The Wild
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INSIGHTS 84 EMOTIONAL CULTURE CRAFTING RESEARCH Wharton Business School. 86 LEARNING LAB Inclusive Cultures & Meaningful Meetings. 88 TOMORROWS LEADERS Talking about their feelings 92 EDUCATION Kindergarten Association & The ECD 94 SIGAL BARSADE Remembering a Visionary
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Leadership's influence on organisational culture is a driver to better performance and engagement. Jacob Levitt, PhD Candidate, Wharton School of Business
Insights Learning
Emotional Culture Crafting Research Summary: In a recent online Learning Lab, Jacob Levitt, a PhD candidate at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, presented his ongoing research on shaping emotional culture in organisations. Levitt's work, which carries forward the legacy of the late Sigal Barsade, zeroes in on "emotional culture crafting" as a pivotal tool in reshaping organisational dynamics. A New Perspective on Emotional Culture Levitt's research marks a departure from conventional views of emotional intelligence, which typically focus on individual emotion regulation. In contrast, emotional culture crafting involves teams collectively defining and shaping their emotional norms. This approach transforms emotions from being perceived as obstacles to functional tools within a professional context. This notion resonates with the principles underpinning The Emotional Culture Deck, advocating for open emotional expression in workplaces. Field Experiment: A Shift Towards Collective Emotion Regulation A key highlight of Levitt's presentation was a field experiment that he recently conducted. The study randomly assigned teams to engage in either collective emotion culture crafting or individual emotion regulation exercises. The results were telling: teams involved in collective crafting aligned more closely with their desired emotional norms, exhibiting heightened team effectiveness and member well-being.
Collective Emotion Regulation: Levitt's research underscores the importance of collective emotion regulation in establishing an effective emotional culture. By empowering teams to customize their emotional norms to suit specific scenarios, a sense of collective responsibility and shared emotional expression emerges. The research suggests this approach is more impactful than leaving individuals to navigate and adapt to implicit emotional norms on their own. Addressing Modern Work Challenges: Insights from the Pandemic During the COVID-19 pandemic, Levitt's research proved particularly relevant, offering practical solutions for enhancing team dynamics and mitigating feelings of burnout and isolation, especially in remote or hybrid work settings. THis work continues to highlight the effectiveness of emotional culture crafting in re-engaging and rejuvenating team members, particularly those feeling disengaged. Crafting Emotional Culture for Organisational Success Jacob Levitt’s presentation represented a significant leap in our understanding of emotional dynamics in the workplace. It compellingly advocates for the intentional, collective crafting of emotional culture as a key component of organisational success. As businesses navigate the complexities of modern work environments, these insights and his ongoing research are crucial in building more resilient, adaptive, and emotionally intelligent organisations.
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Insights Learning
Learning Labs Expert insights
Unlocking The Secrets of Meaningful Meetings
Creating An Inclusive Culture In our August Learning Lab, we had the privilege of hosting Dr. Liz Wilson, a renowned behavioural scientist and organizational transformation expert. As the founder of Include Inc, Dr. Wilson shared her insights on 'Creating an Inclusive Organizational Culture.' She delved into effective methods and toolkits for achieving inclusive outcomes, highlighting the barriers organizations often face. Dr. Wilson offered a deep dive into the architectural and leveraged strategies for driving inclusive transformation. The session also explored building inclusive behaviours, providing attendees with practical guidance on embedding these into their efforts to foster a truly inclusive organizational culture. www.theincludeinc.com
Facilitator and Experience Designer, Jan Keck presented an innovative approach for revitalizing virtual meetings. Titled "Ice Melters Method," this technique diverges from traditional icebreakers, focusing on a progressive engagement strategy. Keck’s approach emphasizes setting clear expectations, employing intentional language, and instilling confidence in facilitators. Advocating for a blend of empathy and humor to deepen connections. This approach is particularly relevant in today’s remote work culture, providing a practical framework for transforming mundane digital interactions into dynamic, inclusive experiences. www.jankeck.com
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“You don't cry; you're supposed to be really objective and stand back, whereas I'm trying to say, well, actually, that's not the best way to be. If we can understand how we need to feel to be at our best and how we don't want to feel, then we can actually create environments that work for us individually and then we amplify that out into our teams” – Professor Sarah Leberman MNZM
Insights Learning
Empowering the Leaders of Tomorrow: The ECD and the Whanake o te Kōpara Programme Leadership doesn't happen overnight. It is nurtured, honed, and continuously developed. This is the ethos behind the Whanake o te Kōpara Programme — a comprehensive leadership development programme delivered by Women in Sport Aotearoa and Shift. Designed for young women aged 19-25, the programme is more than just a series of workshops and discussions. It's an investment in the leaders of tomorrow, specifically for a group that has often been overlooked: young women, particularly those involved in sport, active recreation, and wellbeing sectors in Aotearoa, New Zealand. “I feel proud and inspired of this initiative we've been silently involved with for the past two years. It's a true game-changer in nurturing leadership among young women. Sarah Leberman MNZM, it's such an honour to support this incredible work, and be able to support the waves it creates within young people and future leaders in our world!” – Jeremy D
Why It Matters In a world increasingly cognisant of the need for strong, well-rounded leaders, the Whanake o te Kōpara Programme plays an instrumental role. It doesn't just aim to fill a professional skills gap; it strives to fill an emotional and mental one, too. Young women emerge from the programme with newfound skills, certainly, but also with an emotional intelligence that enriches not only their professional journeys but their personal lives as well.
Sarah Lebermann beautifully summed up the importance of focusing on emotional well-being in leadership: "You don't cry; you're supposed to be really objective and stand back, whereas I'm trying to say, well, actually, that's not the best way to be. If we can understand how we need to feel to be at our best and how we don't want to feel, then we can actually create environments that work for us individually and then we amplify that out into our teams."
R&E and The Emotional Culture Deck For the past two years, R&E has been proud to support this Programme. At the heart of our involvement is The Emotional Culture Deck, a tool that is as innovative as it is impactful. Led by Sarah Lebermann MNZM, Professor of Leadership at Massey University, The Emotional Culture Deck plays a vital role in the programme's curriculum and the development of young leaders on the Programme. It serves as a conduit for young women to navigate their emotional and social complexities, often for the first time. And the results speak volumes.
Expanding the Ripple Effect The real beauty of the Whanake o te Kōpara Programme lies in its ripple effect. The participants, empowered and enlightened, return to their communities, creating further ripples of change and development. The Emotional Culture Deck has proved invaluable in this, used not just in professional settings but personal ones too. One participant even mentioned using The Emotional Culture Deck to enhance her communication with her less talkative partner—a prime example of The ECDs universal applicability and impact beyond the workplace.
The Voices of Leadership: An Insight into the Programme In our recently released video, we've captured poignant insights from Sarah Lebermann and three remarkable participants: Brittany Hastings-Kutty, Shuari Naidoo, and Shayal Ram. Their stories serve as a testament to the immense power of the Whanake o te Kōpara Programme in shaping leaders who are emotionally resilient, self-aware, and fully equipped to impact their communities in meaningful ways.
Where We Go from Here R&E remains proudly committed to the Whanake o te Kōpara Programme, and we couldn't be more honoured to contribute to this noble cause. If there is one thing that's clear, it's that leadership is far from a onedimensional construct. Leadership is an emotional tapestry. It's woven with threads of experience, emotional intelligence, and the courage to act. As we continue our partnership, we look forward to the growth, transformation, and leadership that will undoubtedly emerge from these inspiring young women. December 2023 89
Unlocking Emotional Culture How Senior Teachers Used The Emotional Culture Deck at the National Kindergartens Association Hui with Specialist Elephant Rider, Suzanna Rangi
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Insights Learning The recent Hui for Senior Teachers from the National Kindergartens Association was a phenomenal success, thanks to the incorporation of The Emotional Culture Deck. This unique tool proved to be a game-changer for 50 passionate educators looking to advance both personally and professionally. The workshop began with a "selfbranding" exercise, allowing each participant to identify key traits they wanted to be recognised for, as well as traits they wished to avoid. Following that, The ECD Deck served as a reflection tool for the teachers, helping them evaluate their emotional state over the past week and set intentions for the upcoming week.
Perhaps one of the most powerful applications was its use as a astrategy to To create your own, choose topic that manage relationships. interestschallenging you. It can be anything from Teachers were encouraged identify fashion and beauty to travelto and the the feelings triggered when interacting news. Once you have your overall theme, with someone they find difficult and to you can start brainstorming the content. come up with an actionable plan to reJust starting? Design a memorable approach that without bias. masthead withperson an equally memorable name. This goes on the cover and sets up The ECD alsofor aided inentire facilitating change the branding your magazine. within the organisation. The tool helped set expectations, mark milestones, and ensure a positive approach toward adaptation and transition. The session concluded on a high note— participants were so engaged that they expressed their gratitude by gifting a little Kiwi mascot and singing a traditional waiata. The ECD is more than just a set of cards; it's a catalyst for meaningful dialogue and transformative change.
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Sigal Barsade: Remembering a Visionary in Workplace Emotion and Culture Sigal Barsade, a trailblazer in organizational psychology, passed away at 56 from a brain tumour last year. A professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Barsade revolutionised how emotions shape workplace culture and impact organisational performance. Her research inspired Jeremy to design The Emotional Culture Deck. Our game exists because of her work which argued that emotions are crucial data for understanding thoughts and behaviors. Barsade demonstrated that emotions like companionate love - affection, compassion, friendliness - are key to a healthy work environment. She worked with major organizations, teaching them to foster positive emotional cultures. Her studies also highlighted the significance of managing negative emotions and the need for cultural fit in workplaces. Barsade's legacy lives on through her profound influence on the study of workplace emotions and through our Elephant Rider Community.
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Photography New York Times via Jonathan Barsade
Sigal defined emotional culture as "deep basic assumptions, values and norms a social unit has about which emotions they should – or should not – express as they work together." Her research argues that emotion culture crafting, which is the process of proactively designing and adjusting emotional norms for a group, is beneficial for teams as it improves psychological safety, mood, engagement, teamwork and team viability. The study was conducted with 133 fourperson teams in a laboratory setting, with teams either engaging in emotion culture crafting or a control condition. Results showed that teams that engaged in emotion culture crafting reported significantly more empathy, better communication, higher psychological safety, pleasant and energetic mood,
Insights Research greater teamwork and more engagement compared to teams in the control condition. Additionally, teams that engaged in emotion culture crafting were more satisfied with the negotiation outcome and process. What the study went on to show was that team members who crafted their emotional culture were more likely to sign up for a later study working with the same team again. Although this is only a laboratory study, it does provide empirical evidence for the positive impact of emotion culture crafting on team processes and viability. It highlights the importance of managing collective emotions and proactively designing emotion norms in a group setting, which can lead to better team dynamics, performance and engagement. While the more rational leaders amongst us are obsessed with needing proof and research to validate new and surprising tools or ways of working before they adopt them or take a risk trying them out. There are also those leaders who intuitively understand that emotions matter at work. They've always known and seen how emotion impacts attention, relationship, decision-making, creativity and even health. But for a long time, leaders have not had the tool or a structured approach to overcome workplace barriers to create conversations about emotions at work in a non-threatening and inclusive way. The most innovative and impactful leaders, coaches and consultants are the ones who look for solutions and tools and the edges and intersections of industry and fields. They are the ones who break convention and challenge the status quo.
The Emotional Culture Deck is built on that premise. It’s a game at the intersection of design, psychology, sociology and anthropology. It’s out the fringes of organisational development (for now) because it challenges the conventional wisdom that culture building is a one-way, top-down communication activity built on cognitive culture and corporate values. As a leader, coach or consultant, you can use The ECD as a coaching tool to enhance your team’s performance by incorporating it into your ongoing training and development efforts, providing ongoing support, resources and exercises for building leadership skills, emotional intelligence and improving emotional culture. It can also be used as a reference tool: The ECD can be used to help teams and organisations stay focused and on track as they work to improve their emotional culture. You can refer back to it regularly to check the current state of your people and team culture. Track your progress and identify new areas to focus on, so you can continue to develop and grow. The ECD is built out of decades of research that Sigal and her team have conducted into emotional culture. With over a thousand ECD Practitioners and Certified Consultants in 43 countries now using The ECD on a daily basis, her work is sure to remain at the forefront of the field of leadership and culture for decades longer.
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TOOL BOX 100 GAMES New games we’re playing with. 104 HAVE A PLAY Life your ECD game. 105 ECD LATEST TOOLS New ECD Tools from within the Community
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Tool Box Games
WHERE SHOULD WE BEGIN - A GAME OF STORIES Stories are the building blocks of relationships and Esther Perel designed this game to bring out the storyteller in you. This is more than just a question deck, let the Prompt Cards guide you and the Story Cards inspire you to share the stories you rarely tell. www.estherperel.com
DISCOVER LALAGA: A CONVERSATION TOOL ROOTED IN THE PRINCIPLES OF TALANOA A unique tool designed to facilitate meaningful conversations and bridge gaps in understanding. This game's approach aligns beautifully with our values of helping people speak their truth. Lalaga is not just thoughtful in its content but also in its packaging. www.lalaga.org
REFLECTION CARDS Holstee Reflection Cards are a fun way to spark meaningful conversations and deepen relationships with the people in your life. Every deck includes 100+ thought-provoking questions centered around mindful themes like Adventure, Creativity, and Resilience. Perfect to use with friends, family, and coworkers. www.holstee.com
Tool Box Games
CARDS FOR HUMANITY A Hands-on Approach to Inclusive Design: Each round, you're dealt two unique cards a person and a trait. Your mission? Devise ways to accommodate their specific needs. Engaging and insightful, it's a game changer for inclusivity. Dive in and explore now! www.cardsforhumanity.frog.co
MODEL OF CARE FOR CO-DESIGN CARDS Learn how to care for self and others before, during and after co-design. The Model of Care for Co-design cards includes simple prompts for individual practitioners and teams to use while planning and doing co-design. They are based on the book Beyond Sticky Notes, and draw on a range of practices, particularly trauma-aware practice and strengths-based practice. www.beyondstickynotes.com
CARDS FOR CALAMITY Cards for Calamity are the perfect way to provide thoughtful support for communities, colleagues and loved ones impacted by disaster. With cards tailored to those wanting to understand the recovery journey, organizations supporting their staff and communities, and those striving to empower disaster-impacted community members, this resource is the perfect way to deal those impacted by disaster a better hand. www.hummingly.co
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Have a Play Try out these new ECD activities with your people and teams.
Craft Your Team's Emotional Culture
Explore Red Flag Emotions Use the ECD to answer this question:
What red flag emotions serve as a warning sign about problems our team might be facing? Step 1: Select the three white ECD cards you hope would not be expressed often in your team, but, if expressed, would serve as the most important warning signs about team problems. Step 2: Ask each person to share a story about why they selected those three cards. Step 3: List three-five actions you can take to help your people manage and cope if your people experience those undesired 'red flag' emotions.
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Use the ECD to answer this question: What emotions are most important to express often for our team to be successful? Step 1: Select the five black ECD cards you believe if people express often, you will succeed as a team. Step 2: Ask each person to describe why they selected those cards and why they believe they are important to your team's success Step 3: List three-five rituals you can undertake as a team that will help your people experience these desired emotions on a regular basis.
Tool Box ECD Latest Tools
ECD TEAM CONNECTION ACTIVITIES A Hands-on Approach to Inclusive Design: Seven easy-to-use ECD activities to enhance team connections. Suitable for workshop introductions, mid-session energiSers, or standalone team exercises. Find activity online in the Elephant Rider Community, ECD Latest Tools Section. www.elephant-riders.com
ECD REFLECT & REVIEW HANDBOOK This Handbook is designed to help individuals consider their recent experiences, emotions, and lessons learned. Its purpose is to provide a structured way for individuals to think about their emotional journey and plan for an upcoming period Find ECD Handbooks online in the Elephant Rider Community, ECD Latest Tools Section. www.elephant-riders.com
ECD EMOTIONAL CONTAGION CONVERSATION GUIDE Is a structured tool designed to facilitate discussions around the impact of emotions on leadership. This tool acts as a catalyst for creating emotionally intelligent leaders, driving both individual and collective success. Find ECD Conversation Guides online in the Elephant Rider Community, ECD Latest Tools Section. www.elephantriders.com
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Nelson-Tasman Elephant Rider Chapter Meetup
Tool Box Workshop
ECD Powerful Partnerships Workshop The new ECD Powerful Partnerships Workshop aims to facilitate the co-creation of a Relationship Charter, setting emotional and social guidelines for a collaborative partnership between two teams.
Specifically crafted to support the formation of a Relationship Charter between a New Zealand Government Department and a local Iwi group, this workshop aims to establish emotional and social guidelines for a new partnership. For those unfamiliar, 'iwi' refers to a Māori kinship group or tribal community.
“I knew we had to do it to move the partnership forward in a productive and safe way.”
The workshop brought together senior leaders from both entities for the first time, with the initial plan being a half-day or fourhour session. Due to time constraints, we adapted the workshop into a condensed 2hour sprint version, focusing solely on the emotions that both parties desired to cultivate in their partnership. Find ECD Workshop Details online in the Elephant Rider Community, ECD Latest Tools Section. www.elephant-riders.com/home
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INSIDER 109 SHORTLISTED Some of our favourite elephant rider events coming up 111 ELEPHANT RIDERS All across the globe 113 CERTIFICATION One continuous learning journey 115 MENTORS Spotlight on community leaders
Insider - Events
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A pick of the best Elephant Rider Events coming up in 2024
ECD Unconference Our annual ECD Unconference is a virtual 3hour event that empowers Elephant Riders to set the discussion & agenda. Designed for spontaneous, peer-to-peer learning, the event takes place on Zoom and features breakout rooms for more intimate conversations. March 21, Online
Global Elephant Rider Summit – Queenstown, New Zealand It’s with a mix of emotions—anticipation, curiosity, and a dash of nerves—that we extend to you a warm invitation to a landmark event in our journey: our first ever, in-person Global Elephant Rider Summit, taking place in the scenic Queenstown, New Zealand. This summit is more than a conference; it will be a carefully designed experience that embodies the spirit of our community made up of inspiring humans from 40 nations. It's about rehumanising the workplace and advancing our mission through learning and practice. November 5-6, Queenstown, New Zealand
Emotions @ Work Learning Series A curated space for us to delve into the critical role emotions play in the workplace. Hosted by Jeremy, this 60-minute, podcast-style event features interviews with external experts from diverse fields. Discuss and explore the role of emotions on culture, leadership, performance and more. – January 23, Online
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Insider - Elephant Riders
Elephant Riders on the Map There are 1400+ Elephant Riders across 43 Countries. Check out where we all are across the globe.
UK
RUSSIA
INDONESIA
BRAZIL
AFRICA
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United Arab Emirates Albania Argentina Australia Belgium Canada Switzerland Colombia Germany Spain Finland France United Kingdom Ghana
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Guatemala Hong Kong Croatia Hungary Ireland Isle of Man India Italy Jordan South Korea Lebanon Sri Lanka Mauritius Malaysia
New Zealand Netherlands Oman Papua New Guinea Philippines Portugal Romania Saudi Arabia Sweden Singapore Slovenia United Kingdom United States Vietnam South Africa
Insider - Certification
ECD Certification Pathway Once you’ve completed The ECD Online Masterclass Course, mastery beckons. Our revised ECD Certification Pathway is now one amazing journey where you unlock seven distinct badges on your way to Master Elephant Rider status. With each badge, you gain more knowledge and skills to shape emotional culture, growing recognition of your knowledge and the ongoing support and resources of our wonderful ECD Community. One continuous emotional journey. You'll quickly lift your game as a Certified Practitioner or Consultant. Your progression through Elephant Rider, Bronze, and Silver fosters growing proficiency and fluency with the ECD. As a culture professional, leader or coach, these first professional steps enable you to build on what you know and share your understanding and skill with others.
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Our Black badge comes with an extra bonus. The pivot point in your professional journey is when you unlock your fourth badge – Black – and you gain Emotional Culture Club Membership. This final step as a Certified Practitioner completes the first half of your journey. As an ECC member, you access nine additional ECD Learning Pathways designed specifically for serious practitioners who want access to host of other top tier Practitioner benefits.
Insider - Mentors
Elephant Rider Mentors Our remarkable team of Elephant Rider Mentors passionately fosters growth, connections, and nurtures the development of fellow Elephant Riders within our community. Thanks to their unwavering support, we've achieved a remarkable milestone this year, hosting over 80 ECD Community Events and ECD Activities. Our mentors, experts in their own domains, have not only established thriving businesses with The ECD but also continue to embark on daring experiments, pushing the boundaries of what's achievable, all while generously sharing their invaluable insights with us. Their dedication and commitment serve as a beacon of inspiration for us all, reminding us that with determination and shared knowledge, there are no limits to what we can achieve together.
Thank you Lorissa Garcia! It's with both sadness and immense gratitude that we bid farewell to Lorissa as an Elephant Rider Mentor after nearly two years in the role. It's challenging to convey the profound influence Lorissa has had on our Elephant Rider Community and the broader ECD Universe. She’s generously shared her wisdom, expertise, and experiences with our Certified Consultant Community and Emotional Culture Club Members throughout these past two years. Plus, she has been there to guide Trainee ECD Practitioners as they began and completed The ECD Online Masterclass. We’ll sincerely miss her, although she assures us that she's going to remain an active Community member as she continues her own ECD learning and professional journey.
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Our 2023 Elephant Rider Mentors
Steven Hargreaves
Lorissa Garcia
Kayleigh Woodings
Steve reached Master Elephant Rider status in 2023 and has now facilitated more than 65 ECD workshops and dozens of 1:1 conversations since completing the ECD Masterclass in 2019. This makes Steve one of the most experienced ECD facilitators in the world.
Since becoming an ECD Certified Consultant in 2018, Lorissa has used the deck in over 30 workshops to coach leaders and emerging leaders, HR leaders and teams, startup founders, service designers, and companies in media, advertising, NGO, government and education.
Kayleigh Woodings joined our Elephant Rider community in 2021 and became an ECD Certified Consultant in 2022. She reached Master Elephant Rider Status in 2023.
He’s the founder of The Compassionate Leadership Company, which specialises in helping organisations and their leaders to inspire, build and sustain a more compassionate workplace where everyone can stay well, thrive and achieve.
Lorissa is the Founder of Assembly Culture and a Coach & Facilitator working at the intersections of leadership, culture and strategy. Lorissa is energised by bringing conversations about emotions to workplaces (wherever they may be), from individuals to small teams, all the way to the boardroom table.
Kayleigh has now facilitated over 65 ECD workshops in total with a wide variety of clients, Kayleigh was formerly in the Navy and has worked in sales and marketing roles, and runs Blue Mercury Leadership. She's got vast and diverse experiences to share with us all, from using both The ECD and The CXD to helping design and transform team culture and customer experiences.
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You've reached the end, but really it's just the beginning.
Thank you for reading. We hope you feel inspired and curious from exploring The F Word Magazine. For more information, tools and learning, head to ridersandelephants.com, download the free Emotional Culture Deck PDF and subscribe to our monthly newsletter. You can also find us on Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram --@ridersandelephants
We thank you for your continued support in our mission to Rehumanise the Places We Work.
Reach out to us riders&elephants www.ridersandelephants.com team@ridersandelephants.com