At Emergent Inc. we decided to build some psychological safety right out of the gate, using a technique called ICBD. ICBD stands for Intentions, Concerns, Borders, and Dreams. It’s a conversational exercise created by Alex Jamieson and Bob Gower that boosts trust within a team by asking members to confide in one another. We asked the group to sit in a circle and presented them with a question from each of the four areas. The question for Intentions was “Why do you personally want to participate in this change?” Then we heard an answer from each participant while the rest of the group listened.
At Emergent Inc. we decided to build some psychological safety right out of the gate, using a technique called ICBD. ICBD stands for Intentions, Concerns, Borders, and Dreams. It’s a conversational exercise created by Alex Jamieson and Bob Gower that boosts trust within a team by asking members to confide in one another. We asked the group to sit in a circle and presented them with a question from each of the four areas. The question for Intentions was “Why do you personally want to participate in this change?” Then we heard an answer from each participant while the rest of the group listened. Over the years, I’ve seen this process elicit reactions ranging from solemn silence to full-on tears. It can be deeply emotional. Teams report feeling more connected and eager to continue having honest conversations. Of course, some people also choose to play it safe. That’s to be expected. So I kept reminding this team, “You get what you give here, folks.” But I couldn’t do the work for them. What I could do was model the vulnerability we’re looking for. So I consciously chose to say the things coaches and consultants don’t say out loud. “My intention is to create a case study here that I can use in my book. My concern is that I won’t be successful in getting this group to open up. My border is that I leave work at 5:00 P.M. every day to spend time with my family. No late-night emails or calls with you just because we’re under contract. My dream is that this will spread to other par...
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For multilingual workshop. Really great opening conversation, also invite Heidi to join the workshop as co-facilitator and note drawer?
