PARSONS SCHOOL OF DESIGN
INTEGRATED STUDIO 1 SPRING 2022 SEC C
HARNESSING THE WORKER
VOICE AND MITIGATING THE VOICE GAP
in partnership with
This is a 6 week fellowship program that
Fellowship Ido Lechner Ishaanee Pandey İstem Akalp Saniya Mittal
allows employees passionate about solving the worker voice gap at various levels to learn, create, and transform together so that the gap is narrowed collectively.
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ASPEN VOICEMAKER FELLOWSHIP Where the gap closes and the minds open…
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The Aspen Voicemaker Fellowship empowers employees to help close the worker voice gap at various levels by learning, creating, and transforming together.
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Process & Rationale
Our Desired Outcome Design experiences that can help close the "voice gap" and normalize consistent engagement between workers and executives.
The fellowship was created with the understanding that the voice gap is a complex systemic problem that needs to be addressed by multiple stakeholders at all levels of the system. In finding a solution for the voice gap we needed to:
EMPOWER
ENCOURAGE
ENVISION
Create an open,
Help actors recognize
Introduce actors to a
vulnerable and safe
power dynamics by
‘designers mindset’ and
space for conflict
sensitizing them the
the necessary toolkit to
resolution and
with challenges and
bring change within
communication
struggles faced by their
their own organizations
counterparts
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Process & Rationale
What needs to change? We realized that the future we want is quite different from the status quo in terms of mindsets, skills, and structures. To connect our desired outcome to outputs, we then prioritized the following problems:
1.
Actors are feeling disempowered,
2.
Actors are averse to receiving feedback,
3.
There is a general breakdown in communication.
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Process & Rationale
How can we catalyze these changes? In order to differentiate our intervention from the existing ones in the market, we went back to understand:
Who are the actors in
What strategies should we
What principles might
this problem?
prioritize to solve it?
guide our R&D process?
These led us to the develop the following guiding principles..
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Process & Rationale
Guiding Principles Transformation ○
Participants leave the experience with a new
Humanness ○
as a whole rather than roles and functions.
mindset and a new toolkit to bring change. ○
Aspen’s network is transformed to become inclusive.
○
Transformation is observable at individual, organizational, and systemic levels.
Participants focus on human selves and sees people
○
Aspen encourages the network to go beyond job roles to truly understand individual needs.
○
Actors in the Voice Gap ecosystem see each other as collaborating humans with emotions.
Power ○
Participants are mindful about the role of power and
Celebration ○
how it can be distributed for collective good.
Participants join the program not out of necessity; but out of desire.
○
Aspen creates a safe space for power discussions,
○
Power dynamics are at the core of the experience
this serious issue with a light heart.
and are openly addressed.
“Learning is best done when laughing”
○
Aspen celebrates success at any levels, and works on
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+ Impact
Process & Rationale
Ideal Position of Actors
Business schools
Dictators
UBI
Tech workers
Customers News / Media
Using a normative sought to position actors impacted by the Worker
Workers’ Families
Low Influence
Queens William Worker-owned Pitt businesses Full time workers Kings / Business / Part time Monarchy Patriarchie workers Contract s workers Lords Shareholders
Factory Managers
C-Suite
mapping technique, we
B-Corps
Unions Middle Adam Karl Marx News / End User managers mediaSmith
High Influence
Voice Gap. Solving for the gap will allow workers, managers and executives to assume influence and impact in a way that closes the gap.
Laborers
Middle Managers
Factory workersShareholders
Slaves / Universities Serfs Workers
The landless Contract workers
Lobbyists
Workers’ spouses
Unions Unions
Workers’ kids East Asians
Policy Makers
Doctors
- Impact
Policymakers C-Suite Revolutionists Shareholders
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Process & Rationale
Common Needs Identified Across Actors In designing the intervention, we wanted to understand what motivated and challenged different actors. These formed the basis of the final intervention: To feel happy at workplace To have a community to discuss challenges & feel heard To be a part of the solution, rather than complain
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Intervention
Fellowship Structure The Aspen Voicemaker Fellowship is a hybrid 6-week intervention. The participants get time and space to reflect, after every Alumni Network Voiceathon Break Workshop Onboarding
Week 1-2 Offline
Week 3 In-person
Week 4-5 Offline
Week 6 In-person
Week 7 and beyond..
phase in this 5-phase journey. Each phase involves working with different partners so that participants get a more nuanced learning experience. Once the fellows graduate from the Fellowship, they move on to the Alumni Network. The idea is to ensure that the fellows stay connected and are able to provide support the fellowship, help it reach out to more organizations and people, and develop the fellowship further.
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Intervention
Selection Criteria A ratio of 5 executive, 5 managers and 15 workers in every cohort ensures that there is equal power distribution. It ensures that individuals higher in the hierarchy do not
5 : 5 : 15 Executives
Managers
Workers
dominate the fellowship and there is scope for everyone to participate.
EXECUTIVES
MANAGEMENT
● One technical and one non-technical executive ● Someone who can make culturally based decisions. ● Reluctant leaders and minority leaders together
● People across different company verticals ● What tier management ● Managers eager to close the gap
WORKERS
We also identified some key characteristics of participating individuals so that the fellowship is meaningful for everyone involved.
● People who feel underrepresented and want to actively participate ● Different types of workers if possible (ie: full-time, part time, contractors) ● People seeking promotions
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Intervention
Onboarding Goal: To prepare fellows, provide access to tools & resources and share learnings & reflections Duration: 2 weeks Mighty Networks
Description: Onboarding to the Fellowship depends on partner tools. Helping not just fellows, but also the facilitators and organizers, the tools help track of how each fellow is perusing through the course curriculum, to ensure holistic learning. Through our research, we identified two tools which support the program guidelines and act as supporting infrastructures: Mighty Networks to ensure the continuity/flow of the program, and Padlet to keep a repository of all important resources that the fellows identify throughout the programs in the form of videos, pictures, articles, toolkits, workbooks and more. Padlet: Aspen Voicemakers Fellowship
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Intervention
Workshop Venue
Goal: To prepare fellows, provide access to tools & resources and share learnings & reflections Description: It has been observed that blended-learning works best when participants get space and flexibility. The program design challenges the participants in different ways, focussing on not just skill-building, but primarily structural change and mindset shifting. For this reason, an open space such as The Storm King Art Center, a seasonal sculpture park and art gallery, seems to be preferred. and the space should make the participants feel
Suggested Venue Partner: The Storm King Art Center
comfortable with this change. We believe such an environment will act as a safe space, sparking closeness, safety, and creativity. *Suggested Program Partners: Acumen Academy, MIT Sloan School of Management, Presencing Institute, Coforma, Performance of a Lifetime, Mighty Networks, Padlet, 3x3, Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation
*Disclaimer: These are suggestions, only for The Aspen Institute to understand the nature of organization and work type we suggest
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Intervention
Workshop Overview Day
Leverage
1
MINDSETS
2
SKILLS
STRUCTURES
MINDSETS
3
SKILLS
STRUCTURES
MINDSETS
4
SKILLS
STRUCTURES
MINDSETS
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SKILLS
STRUCTURES
MINDSETS
SKILLS
STRUCTURES
Sensing Journey, Intro to Systems Thinking
Project Mgmt. Simulations & Assembly-line
Communication & Mediation
The Designer’s Mindset
Shani Sandy & Judith Saul
Ashleigh Axios
Methods for effective communication during struggles
Creative Enablement
Title
The Becoming Principle, Cultivating Healthy Collaboration
Facilitators
Maureen Kelly, Alice Marsh
Presencing Institute & Acumen Academy
MIT Sloan School of Management, NGO/Coop.
Outcome
Creating open, enabling environments
Understanding individual roles & responsibilities
Understanding collective roles & responsibilities
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Intervention
Open, Enabling Environments
DAY 1
Leverage: MINDSETS
Gap should help participants retain their identities, and strengthen how they see themselves and others. Hence, the icebreaker follows The Becoming Principle session,
Day Begins: Icebreaker
facilitated by Performance of a Lifetime. Previous attendees of
Session one: The Becoming Principle by Maureen Kelly
approach builds not just trust, but also helps participants
Session two: Cultivating Healthy Collaboration by Alice Marsh
improve social and emotional agility, this session involves
this session share that this innovative human development empathize with their own selves and systems. Aimed to activities such as roleplay, theatre vignettes and improvisation exercises, among other things.
Day one emphasizes on creating an open, enabling environment. The participants come to Storm King, and
This follows the Cultivating Healthy Collaboration
after a quick introduction, the day opens with an
session focussed on enabling vulnerability. The participants of
ice-breaker. While at first we wanted to keep the
the program come from varied backgrounds and need to
workshop anonymous, we believe that any intervention
shed-off their ‘social identities’ so that they can address each
aimed to narrow down the Worker Voice
other for their true selves, and
Intervention
Individual Roles & Responsibilities this session enables just this - a state of vulnerability, and in turn, strength.
their individual roles and responsibilities better. Partnering with The Presencing Institute and Acumen Academy, we believe two key sessions that need to be implemented are:
Day Begins: Recap over tea Session two: The Sensing Journey by The Presencing Institute Session Three: Introduction to Systems Thinking by Acumen Academy
a. The Sensing Journey, a group session that encourages participants to break-through the known, obvious, patterns
B. An introduction to Systems Thinking, for participants
of seeing and listening, by stepping into a different and
to understand the larger network they work through. The
relevant perspective and experience. The session aims to
session aims to provide the participants with a framework
build relationships with key stakeholders, and gain a system
for learning and adapting over time as their individual and
perspective, and,
organizational systems change.
DAY 2
Day two gives the participants an experience to understand
Leverage: MINDSETS, STRUCTURES
Intervention
Collective Roles & Responsibilities
DAY 3
Leverage: SKILLS, STRUCTURES
The simulations gives the participants an opportunity to experience the dynamics of complex projects firsthand, enabling them to learn about project planning, budgeting, and
Day Begins: Recap Over Tea
scheduling—and about the impacts of unplanned events such
Session one: Project Management Simulations by MIT Sloan
productivity, and the discovery of problems requiring rework.
Session two: Assembly-Line Mockups by Non-profit partner org.
as late customer specification changes, changes in worker
After the mind-gruelling session, participants move to working in Assembly-Lines with manual labor work. For this session, we propose working closely with non-profit program
As the participants dive into Day three, the workshop
partners who can not just connect us to relevant industries
begins to challenge the participants by addressing
around the venue, but also provide participants with insights,
collective roles and responsibilities. The day starts with each
struggles and success stories of workers from different
participant running the Project Management Simulations
industries from across the globe.
organized by MIT Sloan School of Management.
Intervention
Effective Communication; Creative Enablement After some self-reflection, the workshop brings the participants’ attention to methods for effective communication during struggles. Partnering with experts ensures that participants not just simplify their ideas and thoughts during times of struggle but also learn methods to communicate in simple and effective ways. Day 4 should focus on not just effective communication, but also mediation. The workshop closes with a focussed session on Day 5 with
Day 4, Session one: Effective Communication by Storytelling Partner Day 4, Session two: Mediation and Beyond by Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation Day 5, Session one: A Designer’s Mindset by Coforma helping the participants build these five principles:
the The Designer’s Mindset, which enables the
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Be curious
participants to link analysis and imagination to create new
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Have a bias to action
ideas. The session gets the participants to run through
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Reframe your problems to broaden your perspective
some fun, interactive, group and individual activities each
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Know that it's a process
●
Always ask for help when you need it
DAY 4 & 5
such as Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation
Leverage: MINDSETS, STRUCTURES
Intervention
Reflection Goal: ●
To keep connection among the fellows,
●
To provide an infrastructure for collaboration and updates
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share learnings & reflections
Description: After the gruelling workshop, we believe participants need time and space to analyse and assess their learnings, their environment, the structures they work and live in, and the actions they need to take, to make lives easier, simpler and more effective. Suggested Tools: Duration:
Mighty Networks, Padlet
Two weeks
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Intervention
Voiceathon Challenge: How might we narrow the Voice Gap? Mentors & Jury: Union leaders, Subject Matter Experts on the Voice Gap and Personal & Organizational Transformation, Social Entrepreneurs Agenda: Day 1: Discovery Day 2: Ideation Day 3: Proof of Concept Creation Day 4: Execution & Testing Day 5: Presentations and Announcement of the Winner Team
We suggest to close the Fellowship with the Voiceathon, a group challenge which allows participants to create teams and leverage the learnings from the fellowship and reflection phase.
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Intervention
Alumni Network Goals: ●
To keep connection among the fellows
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To share learnings & reflections
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To provide an infrastructure for collaboration and updates
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To guide incoming cohorts
Conclusion
Aspen Voicemaker Fellowship Where the gap closes and the minds open…
The Aspen Voicemaker Alumni Network Voiceathon Break Workshop Onboarding
Week 1-2 Offline
Week 3 In-person
Week 4-5 Offline
Week 6 In-person
Week 7 and beyond..
Fellowship empowers employees to help close the worker voice gap at various levels by learning, creating, and transforming together.
Thank you!
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GROUP MEMBERS
The Voices Behind this Work “So much of the challenge between management and workers is the system around which they are organized. We need to shift from an anxious to a joyous/inspired system.” Saniya Mittal
Ishaanee Pandey
Ishaanee Pandey
Interest: Social Impact Strategy/Policy
“Workspaces free from judgement and harassment, promoting the freedom of thought and speech, to enable the needed action. United we stand, divided we fail and fall!” Interest: Research, Service Design
“There is a space to see people beyond their roles and titles and to work for a greater good than company profitability.” Istem D. Akalp
Ido Lechner
Ishaanee Pandey
Interest: Social Impact Strategy/ Systems Thinking
“It’s no longer about work-life balance. The new normal is life-work balance; a change that signals the reprioritization of areas for improvement, with worker satisfaction at the very top.” Interest: Strategy/Design Research
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