Volume 4 Issue 2 • September 2021
published by ZX Media Corporation
September 30th National Day for Truth and Reconciliation For all the children who didn’t make it home and for those who did.
GROWING OPPORTUNITY
Clean Resources
Agriculture, Forestry & Food
Emerging Technologies
Health Innovation
Innovation is ensuring Alberta’s sustainable future. Alberta Innovates brings people and resources together to help accelerate the adoption of new technologies that increase the sustainability and competitiveness of Alberta’s agriculture, forestry and food processing sectors. Our two subsidiaries, InnoTech Alberta and C-FER Technologies, provide applied research services to government and industry clients to advance new technological solutions, from smart ag applications to bioindustrial products.
Learn how albertainnovates.ca
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INNOVATION AND COMMUNITY COLLIDE
“CN! is the place where collisions happen. The REAL power of an engaged community comes from the number of unlikely collisions between two or more people, groups or ideas leading up to actionable change. CN! is the only place where that happens across industries, borders, and generations. That is an energy that I cannot resist.” – Stacy Richter, Marketing Mind Bender.
Subscribe for your free issue of Community Now! at www.communitynowmagazine.com Copyright 2019 ZX Media Corporation, Calgary Alberta Canada Community Now! Magazine Copyright 2018, published by ZX Media Corporation. Volume 4 Issue 2 | September 2021 All rights reserved. This magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher and writer.
This grassroots magazine is a platform for, about and by the community.
STORY TELLER & COMMUNITY CONNECTOR: Krista Malden CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Kenzie Webber
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“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education” – Martin Luther King “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” -Albert Einstein Today; education is so much more then sitting in a classroom, getting good grades or getting a degree. Education is the ability to learn. Education is building experiences. Education is sharing knowledge. Education is NOT just a mark or a grade. EDUCATION is OPPORTUNITY. OPPORTUNITIES create EDUCATION.
When you need a study break, choose Budget. Celebrating 47 years of being locally owned and operated. Support local, and stay safe.
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Education Al Del Degan
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hen you see the word “Education” the first thing that usually comes to mind is junior high or high school. Some may also think of post-secondary education in College or University. The topic of this article is a bit more general than that. Education is learning something new, and it is important to focus on why. Sometimes too much emphasis is placed on the traditional forms of education, as noted above. It might surprise you to know that there are a lot of major corporations throughout the world that are led by people who never finished college. Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Steve Jobs (Apple), Bill Gates 6 // Community Now!
years I would show him the latest new gadget and he would completely shut down and say “you are young, you can understand that stuff” and never even give it a try. Yet, I read an article not too long ago about an 86-yearold woman that was living in a retirement home and out of boredom she learned how to use a computer. She then found it frustrating that there was so little software for seniors that she learned how to code just so she could write her own application. What is the big difference between her and my father - besides the obvious gender and slight age difference? She had an open mind and curiosity to dive in and give things a try. What is something that you have always wanted to do, but always figured it was too hard, or you wouldn’t be able to figure it out? You may just want to adjust your mindset and decide to go and give it a try. You are never too late to learn something new. In fact, Alzheimer’s research shows that an active brain learning new things can have a dramatic effect on the effects of memory loss (https://www. alz.org/help-support/brain_health/stay_mentally_and_socially_active). (Microsoft), and Jack Dorsey (Twitter) have created some of the largest and most successful companies in the world, yet they did not complete their post-secondary education. Learning comes in many forms. People learn from books, from mentors, from trial and error, but one of the most important factors is passion. If you are passionate about something, you will learn it much faster and easier than if you have to learn it for other reasons. We learn things every single day that we are alive, regardless if we intend to or not. The important thing is that you are open to it. My father is 88 years old now, and he regrets not being more open-minded to technology. For
Also, expanding your mind and skill set doesn’t have to apply to something technical either. Learning to meditate, do yoga, public speaking, how to create a stained-glass window, crochet, read faster, memorize large chunks of information, or even how to play chess, can be very rewarding. If you get to the end of your career and head into retirement without a long list of hobbies you love, you are going to be bored silly. That can have a negative effect on the longevity of your life. Usually when you hear of a retired person saying they are busier now than when they were working, it is with a big smile on their face.
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Back to School, Back to the Future Margo Purcell Co-founder and CEO InceptionU
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s students head back to school this September, I challenge us, as adults, to start looking at learning differently. For me, there is often a level of nervous excitement whenever I am going to do or learn something new. I love learning new things and I want to do high quality work, so I channel that nervous energy into preparing, drawing on a broad range of resources and rehearsing. I also walk into the engagement accepting that I’ll probably make some mistakes along the way and am prepared to learn from those as well. Feeling that nervous excitement has preceded my best work. You know what has preceded my worst work? When I felt like I “knew it”, was overconfident to the point of under-preparing and walked into the engagement closed to learning be8 // Community Now!
cause I already “had it.” What does it take to learn something new? What leads us to gain true understanding? Mindset An open mindset means we are open to new ideas, concepts and diversity of thoughts and perspectives. Combine this with a belief that our capacities and talents can improve over time and you have a solid foundation for learning. Vulnerability When learning something new, vulnerability is the ability and willingness to acknowledge (even to yourself) that you don’t know or understand something. Humility “Ignorance is the absence of that which can be learned that would be helpful.” - Ken Low
Humility allows us to accept that there is so much we don’t know and we can see this as an opportunity to grow and reduce our ignorance through learning. Curiosity We are all born curious. Curiosity is a “desire to know or learn.” It is an innate trait that we can use to reduce our ignorance and expand our realm of knowledge and understanding. So, what stops us from learning something new? We do. We often stop before we even start. To get started, get curious. Let’s make learning meaningful, not mechanical So much of how we have been conditioned to learn involves being told what we need to know. To be able to do that, you need to know this. There are types of tasks where that can be efficient and where knowledge acquisition allows us to make shortcuts to deeper learning. There is a risk, though, that it does not lead to true understanding. I am about to date myself – when I was in grade 13, I took calculus. I had been a relatively capable math student. I LOVED Algebra/ Geometry. I couldn’t “get” calculus. I asked teachers and friends who were strong in the subject to help me understand why I was using one formula instead of the other. They would tell me to just use it. I would say that if I don’t understand why I am using one instead of the other, that as soon as the question looked different, I would simply be guessing. For them, it made such sense that they could not explain how they chose which formula to use. I dropped calculus. The world is evolving at such speed that we need to rethink education. Education is not a separate time in our lives where we learn and
then we’re done – go apply it. It is ongoing. We need to build Essential Competencies where people learn how to learn so that no matter what is put in front of them, even if they’ve never seen it before, they have the confidence to know they can figure it out. We need to build the competencies of Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Systems Thinking, Computational Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration. We need to foster the mindset of Design. Humanity and the planet are facing significant challenges. They will not be solved by people waiting to be told what to do. They will not be solved by engaging in best practices. They will be solved by doing deep problem setting before we do problem solving. They will be solved by understanding the consequences and implications of possible courses of action BEFORE we take action. They will be solved by anticipating greatly and preventing where possible. They will be solved by observing, listening, experimenting, iterating and building BEST FIT solutions. They will be solved by actively seeking and integrating ongoing feedback after implementation. They will be solved KNOWING that there are things that will emerge that we could not possibly have anticipated or prevented ahead of time. They will be solved by remaining curious and open. They will be solved through a collective commitment to lifelong learning. We need to reignite the curiosity we were all born with. Educators, our role is not to be an expert in content delivery. It is to create the conditions and environment for people to learn, to ask powerful questions that spark their curiosity and to guide reflections in failures that lead to understanding why it failed and how to (continued on next page) Community \\ 9
(continued from page 9...) prevent that in the next attempt. This means being learners ourselves with the humility to know that we also have so much more to know - and our students can be our greatest teachers. We can learn by observing what stimulates curiosity, listening deeply, actively seeking feedback, and integrating that feedback into the learning experiences. If we can be willing to try and fail, we create the conditions for learners to fully explore and discover what’s possible. Those possibilities are endless. “Choose Your Own Adventure” Remember those books? We need to add the same sense of adventure to learning and education. We ask students to pick a career with little to no understanding of what a career can be, what opportunities are out there and the multitude of pathways to get there. Most glaringly, we ask them to do it with a key missing ingredient – self-knowledge. I am not saying that there is no career or academic guidance. I am saying that with the best of intentions, what we have falls short of 10 // Community Now!
what is needed in our increasingly uncertain and interconnected world. How do we know this? Having worked with people at every age and stage of career, so many continue to ask “Is this it? Is this what I’m really meant to do?” And while I wish I could tell you this is a local problem, having engaged with learners and employees from countries all over the world, this is a shared global experience. We consistently tell people to look outside of themselves to find a career often based on external factors like job prospects, salary expectations, employment trends and the list goes on. These all need to be considered, however the job market is evolving so quickly that making career and educational choices based only on those factors is just as risky as ignoring them all together. Adding to that, people who are in a career mismatch tend to have lower satisfaction, productivity and performance. Plus, there is the additional human cost of disengagement, lack of purpose and meaning. A key factor in human health and wellness is meaningful work and meaningful life. This does not tend to come with doing only what we’re “supposed” to do.
Imagine if we started our educational pathways by building the Essential Competencies with learning how to learn at the core. Imagine deep career exploration that has self-knowledge at its foundation where learners take a whole person and whole life perspective. Imagine that learners can clearly articulate for themselves and others what is involved for them to do work that is rewarding and fulfilling and only from there do they choose fields of study and endeavour. Imagine they then
ways of developing people and their talents. Looking back on your own education and career experience, where might a deeper level of self awareness have helped you make better decisions that aligned more closely with who you wanted to be?
shape their own curriculum for their learning and resulting pursuits to be equally as meaningful and purposeful.
SUPPOSED to do and instead be doing (and be competent at) what they are MEANT to do. Let’s get to know each other, learn about what we are all doing, create ways to amplify each other’s work and have collective, positive impact. We’re building what’s next and invite you to join us.
It is possible. There are organizations like InceptionU doing this now, creating, testing and iterating new
We can shape the future and fill these gaps for this generation and the next. Our global challenges need people and organizations to shift from doing what they are
Now accepting applications for Fall 2021! Full Stack Developer and Full Stack Designer (new!) •
6 month full-time programs
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project-based learning
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career exploration and planning
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networking with employers and industry professionals
www.inceptionu.com • info@inceptionu.com Community \\ 11
Q & A with Intern student Derek Atabayev
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AREERS: The Next Generation is a registered Canadian charity that aims to put traditional high school education with real-life, hands-on, work experience. Students gain a broadened awareness of career choices in areas in ICT and beyond, including healthcare, the skilled trades, and agriculture. CAREERS works to identify opportunities in areas of skill shortages by following job market trends. Cumulatively, the goal of CAREERS programs is to inspire students to grow their skills and form a community with a diverse workforce assisted by five support systems; themselves, their household, their schools, their employers, and CAREERS: The Next Generation. To that end, we partner with industry to provide career awareness and opportunities. “In a world where there are an increasing number of career options, it is hard for youth like me to answer the question “what do you want to do in your future?” Derek Atabayev 12 // Community Now!
Why is it important to offer internships to students? In a world where there are an increasing number of career options, it is hard for youth like me to answer the question “what do you want to do in your future?” Providing these hands-on experiences for high school students benefits students, schools, and industry. Schools win when students achieve their full potential and are able to decide on a career and post-secondary path that fulfills them, while employers feel the reward of knowing that the future workforce is filled with students who feel inspired to innovate. In turn, students feel valued and connected, learning skills and even potentially gaining microcredentials in areas they did not know existed. Overall, our future wins when students and industry connect at an early age.
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Why is it important to stay with students through their internships? It is often said that CAREERS: The Next Generation takes a step back from the internship process after placing a student in a position. However, this is far from the case. Students remain connected with the team of program coordinators as they progress, sometimes through initiatives such as the Wednesday ICT meetups. This is important because it allows students to speak about their challenges and successes with someone who understands ICT but is not necessarily their boss. It also allows for the chance to measure progress, and a great deal of happiness can come from making progress towards internship goals. Finally, by staying with students through their internships CAREERS forms a peer-to-peer support group where I and the people possibly working in tech or other industries in the future can remain connected. Companies Supporting The Next Generation Pixel Tree, a local, empathy-based software consultancy committed to community values is one of the companies that supports CAREERS, The Next Generation and students in general.
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Pixel Tree, strives to help start ups and entrepreneurs build, create and bring their visions to life, along with helping companies understand the steps within building software that will benefit their company. This summer Pixel Tree took on two High school student interns and 1 university intern. “It is important to support the next generation. It’s an advancement into the community and will grow the community long term,” said Serene Yew, Founder of Pixel Tree. Often society throws students to wolves after high school and university, but business owners can do better then that and can offer students a chance to explore various careers, so that they know what they like, and what they are good at. This provides experiences and will help students to move forward and to take the right steps towards a successful future. “We often think we like doing something, but turning your hobby into your career isn’t always the right thing,” stated Serene, “we need to give young people the time and space to explore.” Pixel Tree is setting an example for other businesses, and the next generation. “We need to invest in the young people.” – Serene Yew
Telling It Like It is www.PeerGuidance.ca This issue of Telling It Like It Is Features the founders of Joy To Job; Grace Attalla, Katie Sattler, & Bridget Ferguson.
Please share how you came up with the idea and made it happen? Joy to Job all started as a submission in 2020 for the International Technovation Competition. Being Grade 11 students, the struggle of deciding a career path was something ourselves and our peers were facing— this is what inspired Joy to Job. Following overwhelming support throughout the competition from students, parents and professionals we launched Joy to Job in our high school. What professions have you had on? Was it easy to find professionals willing to give back and share their knowledge? We strive to cover as broad of careers as possible, having breadth in the fields we cover as well as the more specific experiences of professionals within the fields. Panelists have included a lawyer from Shell to a student Co-founder of the tech startup JAMH. We’ve discovered that so many people are passionate about what they do and that they are really excited to share their passion and experience with students who are going through a decision making process they too had to make. What has been the feedback from the kids and professionals after a session? The feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive. Students have commented that they really appreciate what we are doing and it has given them a deeper and more realistic look into careers they are considering pursuing.
There has also been overwhelming student engagement through pre submitted questions and live Q&A activity. We are very encouraged that almost every professional speaking as a panelist has commented, “I wish I had this when I was younger.”. What is next for you girls and Joy to Job? We are excited to be starting up our webinars again in September 2021 and running them monthly until May 2022. Webinar career topics and email sign up to be notified monthly for when registration opens are available at joytojob.com. We have also recently welcomed 3 new high school students to the Joy to Job team to help run the webinars and sustain Joy to Job. If you had one piece of advice for high school kids looking to make a career decision, what would it be? We believe a misconception in high school is that when you graduate you need to know exactly what career path you want to pursue. However, the biggest trend we’ve seen across the 7 webinars and 31 panelists we have had is that people’s career paths are rarely linear. We encourage students to have an exploratory mindset and to learn as much as they can through authentic conversations with people who have experienced the career first hand. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQc0RoeT4nE&t=10s https://joytojob.com/
Produced Live September 22-24, 2021
CONNECTING BEYOND BOUNDARIES InventuresCanada.com
Inventures smashes through the walls of convention, bringing the best and brightest together for awe-inspiring creative collisions. Through a stimulating agenda of live and streamed keynote presentations and expert panels, startup pitch competitions and networking opportunities, Inventures is more than a great conference filled with great programming - it’s an opportunity to build networks, strike deals and launch creative ideas into overdrive. Produced Live in Calgary, along with distributed events across Alberta, Inventures is a space in which investors and entrepreneurs can discover each other, build chemistry, learn from global innovation leaders and stay informed..
Be there, from wherever you are.
INVENTURES PROGRAMMING PROMISES FRESH INSIGHTS INTO SIX COMPELLING TRACKS Innovation of Work
A new generation of digital nomads is creating a ‘do anything from anywhere’ workplace shaped by technologies that erase distance and compress time. Human to humanoid interaction is gaining sophistication thanks to automation and machine learning. In parallel, data visualization, augmented reality and interdisciplinary trends are bringing the arts to STEM, expanding opportunities for a resilient, creative and diverse workforce.
AgTech Meets BioTech
Co-Designing Healthier Living
Technologies that put the person at the center of the solution are helping to save lives and lessen costs on a local and global scale. Against the backdrop of the global health pandemic, rapid response systems are revolutionizing the way we treat disease and how we prevent it. Sensor technology, predictive data models, advanced algorithms and robotics are transforming how health care is designed, delivered and received.
Building Adaptive Communities
Smart agriculture and geo-sciences are at the heart of an expanding universe of bio-tech solutions for critical issues – from feeding one billion undernourished people to sheltering millions who live without adequate essentials. Genomics, real time soil and water data, regenerative practices are driving the radical transformation of labour intensive farm-to-fork supply chains to high-tech, interconnected processing hubs.
Vibrant new cities are emerging from concrete monoliths as technologies interconnect symbiotic neighborhoods built with smart electricity grids, shared transportation networks, vertical food production centres and green spaces. Shared mobile and transportation networks, modular construction, 4-D printing technologies and sustainable materials are helping to generate livable communities that reimagine daily interaction between people, structures and technologies.
The AI Datasphere
Net-Zero Emission Energy
The wide spectrum of intelligent automation and algorithmic learning technologies represents a powerful and adaptive strategic platform. Riding on it is data, the new currency – with an estimated 20 billion active IoT (internet of things) devices in use. This is driving monumental leaps in blockchain, quantum computing, fintech and augmented analytics. This is met by equal urgency to create impenetrable security systems for global trade, banking and consumer product supply chains.
The future of energy production and consumption is at the forefront of global conversations. Through innovation, net zero emission in the production and use of conventional energy resources is within sight. This includes CCUS, blue hydrogen, and advanced materials from bitumen.These and other energy transforming technologies are pointing the way to highdemand and high value markets for low carbon products. As wholesale socialchange sweeps across sectors, industry leaders from energy to manufacturing toinformation technologies are finding better ways to address changing demands.
Should kids have a say in their life journey?
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his question is one that parents, educators, doctors, therapists and the legal system have been fighting over for years. AT WHAT AGE SHOULD A CHILD HAVE A VOICE?
Diane Swiatek thinks that they should have a voice from the beginning, on matters that are developmentally appropriate. She is the founder of Banbury Crossroads School. She is an educator, innovator, writer and, most importantly, an advocate for young people to have a voice in their journeys, both in education and life. (continued on page 18)
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Banbury Crossroads Banbury Crossroads School
School
Seeking a school like home?
Seeking a school like For 40 years, Banbury has home? offered an atmosphere
where children feel safe, and relaxed. For 40 years, Banbury hascomfortable, offered an atmosphere We offer full Pre-K to Grade 12. To learnand more, where children feel safe, comfortable, relaxed. please with us today We offerschedule full Pre-Kantoappointment Grade 12. To learn more,or call Anne in the an office at (403) 270-7787. please schedule appointment with us today or call Anne in the office at (403) 270-7787.
www.banburycrossroads.com
Building B1, #201, 2451 Dieppe Ave SW, Calgary, AB T3E 7K1
www.banburycrossroads.com
Building B1, #201, 2451 Dieppe Ave SW, Calgary, AB T3E 7K1
www.banburycrossroads.com
Building B1, #201, 2451 Dieppe Ave SW, Calgary, AB T3E 7K1
(continued from page 16...) “In actual fact, it’s important to give ALL PEOPLE some control over their own lives, including children,” stated Diane. “It is empowering to give children a voice and personal power. We must teach them how to make a decision, how to navigate change, how to problem solve, and how to advance their creativity, knowledge and skills.” If every child were the same, it would be easy to teach children in a standardized way; but every child is different. Over the years, and in particular places, education has changed and adjusted to the idea that mass education does not easily meet the needs of individuals. Progressive and humane pedagogies emphasize the importance of giving appropriate choices to children. Parents now commonly identify enlightened goals for child rearing. However, progress is uneven—the current legal system still struggles with how to reliably and reasonably give children meaningful choices in fundamental matters. Diane has spent years doing research on various approaches to 18 // Community Now!
learning, the impact of personalities on relational matters, and efficient educational methodologies. She has incorporated everything she learns into how she educates and works with people. Diane’s journey began when she read Summerhill, by Scottish educator A. S. Neill. This led to a Eureka moment for her. She explains, “I suddenly realized that adults choose both how they treat children and how they design schools, and that these actions are not a matter of simple unthinking instinct. Parenting and mentoring children are matters of active philosophical choice. Then, adults live out the principles they choose, as role models and mentors.” A. S. Neill said that children have a right to be happy, and that they should have the right to determine the course of their own lives, as long as they do not interfere with the rights of others. That sort of mutual respect is the basis of both liberty and democracy. It is also the foundation of Banbury Crossroads School, (continued on page 20)
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” - Albert Einstein
Let’s all be passionately curious!
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(continued from page 18...) which Diane established in 1979, with herself as teacher and two students. Banbury has grown to 50 students on average and 15 teachers. This school is based around the experiential approach of Self-Directed Learning, which is most suitable for bringing out the curiosity innate in young people. The exploration and experimentation inherent in play is valuable for producing engaged learning. Problem solving and designing projects are purposefully taught. Diane states, “I wanted to give children an opportunity to be happy while they gained knowledge and experience in school. This is most easily accomplished when children and young people are engrossed in what they are doing, and when they are visible and cherished as individuals. Moreover, a peaceful yet stimulating atmosphere provides the relaxation and concentration that optimal learning requires, and it further addresses their holistic needs in all realms of growth.” Diane identifies mutual respect as the basis of constructive relationship-building and effective communication. “It provides the reasoning behind Banbury’s practical organization. In order to be respectful to both students and teachers, instead of using the typical teaching approach—the lecture method found in conventional, institutional types of schools—we have used a tutorial method of instruction in small, vertical age groups. This has allowed children to learn to their individual level of mastery before moving on to more difficult material. It is mutual respect that enables youth to develop autonomy in decision making.” The organizational structure of Banbury Crossroads was inspired by the “Open Classroom” method, a model of schooling from the Modern British Infant System that allowed 20 // Community Now!
children to integrate the study of different subjects into their day. It encouraged the use of concrete materials, direct contact with both the natural and urban environments, and more physical movement for the children. Confidence is built within students through their experience in decision-making on personal scheduling, their participation in the design of their academic work, and the skills, knowledge and competence that result. Diane’s persistent passion for people, education and knowledge, along with her ability to keep learning about children and education, has led to her creation of opportunities for students, parents and teachers to be successful in their education and life journeys. Respect, confidence, decision-making and guidance help all students at Banbury Crossroads thrive. The school is a member of the CCSDL, the Canadian Coalition for Self-Directed Learning. She says, “Seen from a wider perspective, the most obvious difference of the school is in the way children are treated—with respect, like people, with their own hopes, dreams, feelings, fears and problems. Due to this consideration, students engage in more effective problem-solving, in which they learn to express their feelings and thoughts, listen with empathy, generate options for win-win solutions, and act with responsibility.” This emotionally intelligent approach to education becomes socially positive and assists students in their search for harmony in their social relationships. When Diane isn’t running the school, writing or doing research, she is enjoying music, photography, cycling, hiking, gardening, cooking and travelling. She always loves being around people, connecting with them, and observing their interactions.
What is Stopping Your Leadership Development Program? Steve Armstrong
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friend once asked me what I have learned since venturing out on this leg of my career and life with my leadership development programs. Since then, I’ve thought a lot about this conversation. Right off the bat, two things come to mind: The desire and the need for developing leaders are HUGE! Time is the only finite stumbling block for advancing leadership development. Resources and commitment are only excuses for not doing it. It also got me thinking about other people developing leadership programs in their organizations, and how I could help them.
to leadership development programs: time, size/money, and lack of commitment. Let’s break down each of these obstacles with specific steps for overcoming them. If time is the issue Add personal and organizational development objectives to the annual performance goals. Be deliberate about reviewing the progress of up-and-coming leaders by adding conversations to your calendar. Make time to coach and counsel those who are struggling to develop their staff Add talent-development goals to the leadership meeting agendas
In doing so, I realised there are several obstacles to creating these programs that often need to be addressed before any leadership can be developed.
(Speaking of timing, this post discusses whether you’re spending your time investment on the right people)
Tips for leaders determined to overcome obstacles to leadership development programs Generally, there are three primary obstacles
If money is the primary obstacle Ask whether leadership development has been considered when assignments are handed out and resources are allocated.
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Explicitly factor leadership development objectives into work assignments sends a powerful message.
(You’ll also want to take a look at this post where we discuss if your organization has a culture that expects reports or results)
On-the-job learning is a powerful driver of leadership development
I know that commitment isn’t the issue with you. So, if I can take money and time off of the table for you, would you say yes to a leadership development program for your people?
(Read more about your high-performance people in this post and why they’re not the same as high-potential employees) If lack of commitment from the top is the primary obstacle Put leadership development on the front burner when senior leaders meet. Senior Leaders who persistently raise the issue and link leadership development to long-term strategy signal their engagement and should be the ones to set priorities for the team. Add leadership development to the board agenda at least once a year.
Do you want to talk more about organizational coaching and building better teams? Click here to read about the consulting services I offer or get in touch to book a call. Before I sign off, I’d also like to share two of my favourite quotes with you: ‘Time is the only finite resource.’ – Simon Sinek (https://www.startwithwhy.com/) ‘Many people are silently begging to be led.’ – Jay Abraham (http://www.abraham.com/)
Beyond Van Gogh Ella Hadley - Age 9. On Aug 23 I went to check out Beyond Van Gogh with my mom and my brother. I’ve been taking art classes since I was 6 years old and paint is my favourite medium. Van Gogh is my favourite artist because his art is very creative and he tells a story with every single art piece. The coolest part about our visit was when we walked inside the paintings. It made me feel like I was part of the story and the painting was all around me. There was a panel with a quote from him that said “I’d like to walk with you there to find out whether we look at things the same way.” I thought that was interesting because he has an idea when he’s painting, but then someone else sees it, and it’s totally different in their eyes. When we walked through the show, my mom, my brother and I all saw something different in the exact same paintings. That was pretty cool. I’m so glad I got to see it. It was fun dancing in the room when the art was moving all around me. www.CalgaryVanGogh.com With more than 100,000 tickets sold todate and due to overwhelming, continued demand, Beyond Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience will extend its run from September 18 to October 8 after a brief closing period to accommodate other previously booked events at the venue. Tickets are available now at www. CalgaryVanGogh.com
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THE COME OUT TO PLAY PROJECT! Playfully Written By Robert Manolson, Powerful Play Experiences Positive Workplace Mental Health...For Teams!
Maybe it’s telling the server that it’s your birthday. They might even bring you some dessert or sing you a birthday song.
With Numerous, Amazing Guest Writers!
Maybe it’s asking the next person you talk to what they do for fun. Ask if you can join them next time.
Kathy Le-Nguyen, Mint Meditation So when is the next time you’re going to play? When is the next time you’re going to race a family member or friend to the car? Or see who can make the basket with a crumpled up piece of paper? Maybe it’s giving a high-five to someone you work with. Try this on a Friday.
What would your life look like with a little more PLAY? Christina Henderson, Peerspective Consulting and Facilitation
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(continued from page 25...) Play Is Timeless & Ageless! Why do we tend to lose our playfulness as we get older? Should it not be something that we should strive to maintain throughout our time on earth? Any person of any age can participate in play. Yet as we grow older, our priorities shift away from play to responsibility, especially in the world of work. Interesting when you think about it. Play Is So Vital To Our Positive Mental Health! Play brings out our inner child and allows us to lean into vulnerability in a safe space. This opens space to be our true selves. Play creates a space of no judgement and complete acceptance. In fact, play is the universal language of acceptance, non-judgement and just plain fun. What could be better than that!!!! Play Is Self Care! Self care can easily be enhanced through more play in our lives. When we invite play into all areas of our lives and make time for play, our relationships with others are much richer, productivity at work improves, and positivity in our everyday approach to life suddenly makes its presence known. Play Is A Game Changer! When we give permission for play in the workplace, it breaks down the hierarchy. Everyone participates and engages one another on the same playing field as equals. Through play we move from being uncomfortable with vulnerability into the comfort of vulnerability. Strangers become playmates and laughter echoes long after the session ends. So does a perma-grin!
When play allows people to lean into vulnerability, remember this: "There is no growth in the comfort zone and there is no comfort in the growth zone." Play Is Being Human! Play teaches us to focus on what is strong about our loved ones instead of what is wrong or challenging. Ultimately, this shifts our perspective. In the area of Peer Support, play builds trust amongst participants and leads participants to learn more about themselves. It's a great icebreaker. Think about it. Play breaks down those barriers to hard conversations and shines light on courage and inner strength. It allows us to set realistic and purposeful boundaries. This results in more positive relationships with our loved ones and with ourselves. Play Is Story Telling! When we think back to a great memory with a long-time friend, we are most likely to think of a time when we laughed and had fun. A time when we played. When you ask a student of any age about their best memory of the day/week/month, fun and laughter is always part of the storyline. When you ask a group of colleagues to think about a great day at work, it's often a story about a team building day that made them laugh and smile with colleagues. When you ask seniors in a retirement residence to talk about a great day, what you often hear is a story about an outing in the community or a special event where everyone participated. “Most recently, my own parents participated in the “Senior Olympics” at their retirement residence and talked about how my dad won the Smartie Game! They all laughed afterwards over banana splits. Play invokes memories of childhood. Memories of play, your way, I say!!” Tanya Hewitt, Beyond Safety Compliance
26 // Community Now!
Play Is Taking A Different Perspective! We tend to get wrapped up in the drama triangle, vying for the largest victim prize, according to the Conscious Leadership group. If we can break out of that, begin to see things from a different perspective, employing radical responsibility while doing so, we can begin to see the lighter side of almost any situation, and can engage in play far more frequently as a result. Play Is Teamwork! When teams can gel, really understand how to relate with one another and how to get tasks accomplished, they can get into a state of flow, almost as if they are actors in a play, and they can feel enriched and fulfilled. Play Is Leadership! When leaders can realize that their followers are imperfect human beings (as we all are), they can hold themselves accountable with radical responsibility, and see that people are trying their best. They know that success is not possible without failure, and realize that people should not be rescued from every failure experience. They can derive enjoyment from seeing how people flourish when they are allowed more autonomy, more play. Play Is Managing Meetings! Meetings are often seen as a drudgery, but they should be the most exciting aspect for a leader in an organizationally healthy company. As Pat Lencioni says, leaders should be like directors of a movie in meetings, ensuring the movie is progressing, cutting the filming when course corrections are needed, and overall celebrating a project well done.
Play Is A Mirror Of Ourselves! When we engage in play, we might exhibit behaviour that we would otherwise restrain – we may laugh out loud, we may engage in friendly competition, we may act silly, we may sing and dance – all of which may reveal to us a side of ourselves we rarely ever see. Sharon Bowes, Going 4 Value Play Is The Energy Place! Where do we go in order to generate more energy and new ideas? The more we play with other people, the more energy gets created and the more ideas are generated! So much fun and people have a body memory of it for a long time after. For some, it remains an exciting "cup" you are able to sip from over and over again, or recreate as a new "cup" or "bowl" or several "lakes", spilling out and overflowing in sparkling ways to you and your teams and families and other joy-filled communities! Robert Manolson, Powerful Play Experiences Positive Workplace Mental Health...For Teams! (continued on next page) Community \\ 27
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What if your team members had permission to play at work, to interact, to laugh, and to engage in play experiences that totally generates a buzz of excitement in the workplace? Isn't it really all about happy staff? 100% of people surveyed agree that they all can use more FUN AT WORK, generate more excitement and energy, and create a dynamic team of individuals working together as partners in their department's success. Play is permission for a time out from an all too busy world of work to feel engaged, manage stressors, open lines of communication, and strengthen employee relationship building
through fun and laughter. Play achieves the goal of simply bringing people together in a most unique experience. Through the sheer magic of playing together, we create a feeling of community in which team members at work are truly connected, operating more effectively with each other and celebrating their achievements. Isabelle Wettergren, Teachers' Coaching & Consulting
Wellness
The workforce needs POSITIVE PLAYFUL opportunities to connect with one another and build meaningful interactions. Robert! You are ahead of the game...the workforce has spoken: no one wants to grind anymore. More play!!! Nothing else compares!
www.powerfulplay.ca
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30 // Community Now!
We are a community instilling hope and connection in the lives of young people, exiting street life.
Change is Possible.
www.thedoorway.ca - CRA 13140 1226 RR0001 W O R D S
O F
W I S D O M
F R O M
Y O U N G
P E O P L E
Change is a long process. I'm still changing and my attitude and outlook on life is much different than five years ago.
A T
T H E
D O O R W A Y
Everybody has problems. So, how can I be a judge or critic? I’ve got no right to label anybody.
I've learnt that people are more than the sum of their parts and that life is trial and error.
I am learning history at the sides of my people, which I never learned in school. The truth makes me proud to be Indigenous.
Living on the street opened my eyes because I learned how to read people.
The Doorway didn’t try to tell me what I should or should not do. They gave me respect. I learned, the value of my word.
B A Y
1 0 ,
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4 0 3 - 2 6 9 - 6 6 5 8
O G D E N -
R O A D
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F R I E N D S @ T H E D O O R W A Y . C A
The Superpower Project Education Through Empowerment
Blaise Hunter | Human Rights Consultant | Heroine
The more I learn the less I realize I know. ~ Socrates
I
n a world of instant information at our fingertips one would think we would be a generation of scholars, philosophers, and humanitarians. The opposite is happening though. We are inundated with hate and biased data all day long and it feels like every article, documentary, news feed, and sermon I ingest, the more confused, angered, and ignorant I become. What defines intellect? How does one become wise? Where does educated cross over into plain old opinionated? The Superpower Project is about highlighting various challenges or “kryptonites” facing 32 // Community Now!
people and helping us neutralize their effect on us. A deadly kyrptonite facing us these days is too much head knowledge and not enough heart wisdom. To attain a title of educated one must have studied a certain skill, topic, or area more than the average high school student. Once a person puts in the time and effort in developing their craft or interest area, they usual receive a diploma, degree, masters, or doctorate etc. Society makes these educational achievements the standard of being smart. I want to pose an interesting question—what is education without emotional intelligence? Is becoming educated the goal or being empowered? Some would say E=E but I believe our world has sacrificed the empowerment
component. You can’t be truly educated without being emotionally intelligent. What does empowerment mean? At the core I think it’s grace. If we can demonstrate mercy and kindness for ourselves and for the fallibilities of others wouldn’t that be the birthplace of empowerment? That is an incredible point to continue the education journey. Coming from a position of empathy and open-mindedness is imperative because the moment we close the door on understanding a different perspective, we become foolish. Emotional Intelligence is being able to successfully resolve conflict, communicate clearly, solve problems, operate with compassion for others, and self-reflect. Can you imagine a world where we place a higher importance on EQ over IQ? Wouldn’t education and wisdom be a by-product of being emotionally intelligent? We are in unprecedented times. Never have we gone through a world-wide pandemic and have all this rapid information and technology so easily accessible. Instead of humanity becoming knowledgeable and empowered, we have turned into blind barbarians. I’m not here to debate whether we should be for or against mandatory vaccinations. I don’t want to argue about politics, religion, or what violates our human rights. I’m here to promote grace. I want to fight for humanity to be truly empowered. We need to close our mouths and halt the social media rants. We need to stop feeding our own biases and begin to challenge ourselves to grow in grace. My work is based off the quote from Fred Devito, “What doesn’t challenge you, doesn’t change you.” Most people today don’t feel like they need to change. Therefore, they never challenge their own ideals, belief systems, or convictions. Finding opinions that (continued on next page)
continue the learning curve and be willing to having our most absolute convictions under the microscope. We also need to confront grace when we are faced with someone who has a completely opposite viewpoint. How often are we seeking to understand their ideology rather than trying to convert them to our ways? I’m guilty of that but I’m working on applying my EQ and reflecting in that moment. I stop myself and reroute the conversation. This doesn’t mean I have to compromise my core values; it just means I step into grace. That’s when real education takes place—heart wisdom.
“A deadly kyrptonite facing us these days is too much head knowledge and not enough heart wisdom.” (continued from page 33...) support our own beliefs isn’t research and it definitely isn’t education. True learning is about being challenged. Education comes from comparing various points of view, being open to new ways and ideals, testing diverse methods in our own lives, and applying grace all the while honouring our core values. Are you up to the task? Nothing is perfect. No human being, political party, religion, or system are flawless but there is a positive takeaway from everything. People like routines and those habits create safety and familiarity. We don’t like going out of our comfort zones and trying on new ideals and the older we get the less we are willing to learn. It takes a real commitment to 34 // Community Now!
When we can walk away from a conversation with asking more questions rather than asserting our own opinions, we become empowered. That kind of self-discipline, curiosity, and humility creates a mighty superpower within. When Sir Francis Bacon declared “knowledge itself is power”, it is believed he wanted to convey the idea that having and sharing knowledge is the foundation of reputation and influence, and therefore power. Let’s unpack having and sharing knowledge. One could say he wanted us to impart our information and insights onto others, but I want to provide another angle. It’s about giving people the space to reveal their thoughts. Sharing information is a two-way street. What I say is often controversial because I tend to take the unpopular approach and challenge the status quo. I choose to disrupt old ways and stagnant thinking. This creates a level of pushback simply because humans don’t like being challenged. People often tell me they don’t agree with what I say or my methods. The most common comment I get is, “I would never do some of the things you have done.” These comments hurt because it implies, I am somehow wrong. I have had
to learn those people are not empowered and not operating from a place of empathy. Never do I get asked questions as to why I do the things I do. Maybe they wouldn’t dare say or do these things, but they also haven’t experienced my life. Until someone has felt the trauma of their dad faking his own death, fought for every single breath to stay alive for over 15 years from a deadly disease, or has three dead babies no one has the right to even have an opinion on my actions. They do however posses the privilege to ask questions, allow me to share my insights, and perhaps acquire grace. Let’s challenge ourselves to get out of our heads and into hearts. Let’s perfect the art of learning. Let’s be inquisitive, develop mercy, express compassion, and grow. It’s all about the grace. For more information about the Heroine Movement visit www.blaisehunter.com
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