You may have tapped into a theme that is a commonly growing one - our workplaces are certainly changing. I find these days that they people in them are more transient, more multi-cultural, more multi-generational and more and more the work and conversations are mediated through the power of internet technologies.
I'm a big fan of the use of storytelling to build the depth of community it sounds you are hoping to develop in your organization. Interestingly enough storytelling can be just as effective online in building teams and deepening group relationships. I've recently done a PhD on the topic looking at a range of online software tools:
http://hdl.handle.net/10292/778
You may find the 5.0 findings chapter may be useful as well as some of the process guidelines in chapter 6.
Storytelling is a really useful for people to establish their identity, to share values and beliefs and to create a collective sense of one another. It creates real possibility for groups of people - particularly for those who are struggling to form cohesively face-to-face online.
I'd recommend that you have a go at bringing a group of people together - online or face-to-face - inviting them to get to know their company colleagues and that you're aiming at building more community in the company. If you get a lot of people responding then I'd suggest you form them into sub-groups of 6-8. Get them to assign a time keeper in each group and give them 30-40 minutes to respond to a 'focus question' or statement. something like "Sharing a learning from a previous career and how it now helps you in your current role in the company; sharing a key learning from your worst job or worst failure; share a dream for the future; conquering a challenge; share what are the burning questions or issues for you at this company... (I'm sure you can come up with something workable).
If you're going to do it face-to-face - perhaps see if corporate can sponsor some beer and pizza!
If online - tool selection could be an important success factor - choose something simple to start with and then you can maybe leave tool selection up to the sub-groups if they've formed.
One of my roles is to train people in facilitating online groups. I lead online programmes that bring together people from around the world together to learn about the art of group facilitation online and to engage in a range of online software tools:
http://www.zenergyglobal.com/of/
I get people blogging, skyping, video conferencing and facilitating each other in Second Life. It's amazing how creative groups of people can get when they are given some choices and a bonded and aligned organization is so much more effective, resilient and responsive to change.
Best wishes for your community development calling.
Stephen
Slashdot Mirror
You may have tapped into a theme that is a commonly growing one - our workplaces are certainly changing. I find these days that they people in them are more transient, more multi-cultural, more multi-generational and more and more the work and conversations are mediated through the power of internet technologies. I'm a big fan of the use of storytelling to build the depth of community it sounds you are hoping to develop in your organization. Interestingly enough storytelling can be just as effective online in building teams and deepening group relationships. I've recently done a PhD on the topic looking at a range of online software tools: http://hdl.handle.net/10292/778 You may find the 5.0 findings chapter may be useful as well as some of the process guidelines in chapter 6. Storytelling is a really useful for people to establish their identity, to share values and beliefs and to create a collective sense of one another. It creates real possibility for groups of people - particularly for those who are struggling to form cohesively face-to-face online. I'd recommend that you have a go at bringing a group of people together - online or face-to-face - inviting them to get to know their company colleagues and that you're aiming at building more community in the company. If you get a lot of people responding then I'd suggest you form them into sub-groups of 6-8. Get them to assign a time keeper in each group and give them 30-40 minutes to respond to a 'focus question' or statement. something like "Sharing a learning from a previous career and how it now helps you in your current role in the company; sharing a key learning from your worst job or worst failure; share a dream for the future; conquering a challenge; share what are the burning questions or issues for you at this company... (I'm sure you can come up with something workable). If you're going to do it face-to-face - perhaps see if corporate can sponsor some beer and pizza! If online - tool selection could be an important success factor - choose something simple to start with and then you can maybe leave tool selection up to the sub-groups if they've formed. One of my roles is to train people in facilitating online groups. I lead online programmes that bring together people from around the world together to learn about the art of group facilitation online and to engage in a range of online software tools: http://www.zenergyglobal.com/of/ I get people blogging, skyping, video conferencing and facilitating each other in Second Life. It's amazing how creative groups of people can get when they are given some choices and a bonded and aligned organization is so much more effective, resilient and responsive to change. Best wishes for your community development calling. Stephen