Case Study: “Humble Introverts” Have Fun Being Courageous Together
Who Are They:
Halwell Mutual is a 160-year-old organization providing residential, commercial, farm and auto insurance. Their 40-person team of mostly “humble introverts” prides themselves on being ‘strong enough to protect and small enough to care’. We were approached by HR Coordinator, Kuusta Laird in early 2021.
Why They Called:
A staff survey revealed the team was feeling stressed out and lacking ways to cultivate a sense of togetherness remotely. Kuusta was interested in providing her team with a place to:
reignite connections
discover new ways of community-building
practice expressing their values of courageousness, iteration and initiative
Given the context, it was important the experience be fun - even for “humble introverts”.
What We Did:
Two one-hour sessions on Zoom, spread apart by one week. We moved through a series of highly interactive exercises in breakouts and as a whole. Then, we reflected on discoveries and applications. Activities were inspired by improvisation, positive psychology and cognitive science.
What They Said:
Here’s what senior leaders said:
“I have not sugar coated that I was apprehensive about the sessions (improv makes me nervous). But they were awesome. If nothing else, I had a ton of fun despite being at a distance with the team and I think that is incredibly valuable…I will be using some of the games/icebreakers we played in future meetings for sure!”
“During the session I noticed more videos on than usual. I noticed lots of laughter and smiling and participation. The use of the virtual medium was perfect (length of breakout rooms, balance of whole group and small group activities).”
“The facilitators brought a fantastic energy, and kept a good balance between theory, practice, and reflection. I would have liked longer sessions, providing more time for reflection together. 10/10 would do again and would recommend to others.”
“The Making-Box managed to compress a lot of ideas that usually take many sessions into just a couple of hours.”
“I think if you use the learning right away and get in the habit of it you can start to communicate better. You can really shift how you’re talking to people at work and how you’re getting your point across. Are you focusing on the problem? Are you focusing on the negative? My takeaway from the session is to really “yes, and..” and frame things more constructively.”
“I loved the “warm up activities” to get people relaxed, and I think I would like to use them in other sessions. I have already recommended them [The Making-Box] to colleagues!”
Surveys showed that:
95% of participants reported having fun
100% of participants felt they learned ways to practice courage, initiative and a willingness to iterate
Participants reported feeling more connected and an increase in mood after the sessions compared to before the sessions
What Happened as a Result:
In our post-session call, Kuusta shared that people were already incorporating the engagement practices we introduced into their meetings and even saw people using a silly “secret handshake” we co-created on multiple occasions. One leader wrote some of the key frameworks down on a post-it note and stuck them to their monitor as a continual reminder.
Using their Give One offer, Halwell asked that we support Family and Children’s Services Waterloo. Later in 2021, we moved 15 leaders at Family and Children’s Services Waterloo through a 90-minute exploration of adaptability.
What We Learned:
Even a self-described “team of introverts” can be courageous and vulnerable with one another if the learning space is designed properly
Many participants were eager to explore how the ideas we introduced would apply to their specific roles/teams. When working at organizational level, we now make space for this discussion by creating team-specific breakouts for reflection.
Pro Tip: Have participants rename themselves to include their team name (ie. HR - Kuusta). This way it’s easy as a facilitator to create team-specific breakouts on the fly even without an organizational role list.HR managers love a good quadrant diagram.