“Gentoring” ™: Building a New Mentoring Role for Bridging the
Generational-Digital Divide or “Don’t Be Afraid to Pet the Dinosaur!”
In today’s 24/7 always on, multicultural world and workforce, rapidly cycling between constant upgrading and “doing more with less,” creating communication and team coordination bridges among the organizational generations (and among all its culturally diverse components) is mission and morale critical. There’s definitely a need for a wide communication-relationship highway to surmount the digital divide between the Traditionals and Boomers and the Gen Xers and Millenials (not to mention the fast-approaching next generation –- the Multi-MIDS ™ (Multi-Media Instantaneous Digitals). And there’s one generational bridge and new mentoring role ready for operation: Gentoring: Pairing a Gen Xer or Gen Y/Millennial as a coach or mentor (“Gentor” ™) with a more senior and computer/multimedia stressed colleague. Discover the Stress Doc’s acclaimed interactive and inspiring “playshop” experience: supplement the younger employee’s digital facility with upgraded and FUN psychological, communicational and interpersonal-interactive tools and exercises for: a) lowering resistance to new learning and b) helping computer or social/multimedia averse members of earlier generations improve their techno-literacy and comfort. Reduce generational-cultural power struggles by enabling seniors to vent playfully their frustration with their generational juniors while appreciating and learning from the latter’s digital and collaborative fluency. Finally, remember, people are more open to a serious message that’s gift wrapped with humor…So, build a Gentoring Network to “pet and partner” with the dinosaur and bridge the “dinosaur-digital divide.”
Outline/Objectives
A. Overview of Generational Differences and “the Digital Divide”
1. Identify Differences between Generations – Culture, Attitude, Values and Education (Getting Out of the CAVE)
2. Why the Need for Gentoring? Danger and Opportunity on both Sides of the Digital Divide
B. Barriers to Crossing and Connecting the Generational-Digital Divide
1. Fear of Change, Loss of Control and “Confronting the Intimate FOE: Fear of Exposure”
2. Intervention in a Generational-Multicultural Workplace Battle Zone: Case Example of Stopping Grievance Procedure Hemorrhaging
C. Psychological-Communicational-Cultural Challenges in the Gentoring Process
1. Psychological Dynamics of Inverting the Authority Role – Recognizing “Hot Buttons” when the Digital Generation (DGs) Partner with or Supervise Traditionals and Boomers (TBs)
2. Exercises for Defusing Power Struggles, Disarming Critical Aggressors, Building Trust and Generating Collaborative Styles of Conflict Resolution (using the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Styles Inventory)
D. Building Generational-Gentoring Bridges across the “Dinosaur-Digital” Divide
1. Benefits of and Necessary Coaching, Active Listening, Empathy and Questioning Skills for One-on-One Gentoring
2. Helping the Generations Appreciate and Value Generational Differences and Commonalities for Creating Yin-Yang Partnership Synergy
-----------------------------
“Gentoring” ™: Building a New Mentoring Role for Bridging the
Generational-Digital Divide or “Don’t Be Afraid to Pet the Dinosaur!”
This week I led a “Bridging Generational Communication” workshop with a major DC Government utility. The groups of managers and employees (a mix of Boomers and Gen Xers) were asked to identify an area of breakdown in generational relations and then list some problem-solving recommendations. One team focused on how many of the “older” field employees are techno-dinosaurs, at least with computers. And now management wants to put laptops on the trucks so workers can immediately process field reports. Stress and frustration levels are increasing!
I was an observer-participant during this group’s “taming the dinosaur” brainstorm. (My newest mantra: "Don't Be Afraid to Pet the Dinosaur.") We came up with several recommendations, besides employees attending computer training, including:
1. Have the Mountain Come to Mohammed. Even mandating computer classes at HQ for field employees still might not be the most effective recruiting tool. How about a mobile computer lab traveling to different work sites during the day?
2. One-On-One Computer Coaching. I personally shared my “computer virgin” status in the early ’90s, including struggling with my “Intimate FOE: Fear of Exposure.” The smartest thing I did was hire an out of work computer consultant, to sit with me, walk me through key operations, hold my hand as necessary, etc. She came to the office about twice a week for four weeks. I have no doubt that a faster learning curve was my ROI, not to mention the money I saved on anticipated psychotherapy sessions.
3. A Generational Bridge. The group understood the value of personal coaching or mentoring relationship with a potentially anxious or resistant student. One group member discussed the importance of having a trusted colleague as a coach. Clearly, not wanting to feel embarrassed or humiliated was on folks’ minds. Eventually, though, I saw a generational bridge just waiting to be put into operation: how about pairing a Gen Xer or Gen Y/Millennial as a coach or mentor with a more senior and computer stressed colleague? (Naturally, at home the kids can potentially coach the parents, though this might be tricky.)
And later that evening I had a semantic “aha”: a new neologism and “job description” for our multigenerational workplace. When a younger employee helps a computer or social media averse member of a more senior generation improve their techno-literacy and comfort, the former is playing the role of “Gentor.” And the Gentor’s immediate function is to help bridge the digital divide. And while Gentoring may invert authority-status roles and sound original, challenging and hip, it's in the footsteps of a time-honored tradition of socialization, knowledge sharing and facilitating a vital rite of passage.
So get moving on that “Gentoring Program.” The younger generation likes being consultants, and hopefully this relationship will also increase their sense of responsibility and commitment to their colleagues and to the company. And the seniors can give their younger co-workers some of the recognition and affirmation that provides motivational meaning. Sounds like a win-win communicational-generational bridge that will help one and all…Practice Safe Stress!
Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and kickoff speaker as well as "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations. In addition, the "Doc" is a team building and organizational development consultant. He is providing "Stress and Communication, as well as Managing Change, Leadership and Team Building" programs for the 1st Cavalry Division and 13th Expeditionary Support Command, Ft. Hood, Texas and for Army Community Services and Family Advocacy Programs at Ft. Meade, MD and Ft. Belvoir, VA as well as Andrews Air Force Base/Behavioral Medicine Services. Mark has also had a rotation as Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) at Ft. Campbell, KY. A former Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant for the US Postal Service, The Stress Doc is the author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger. See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" -- www.stressdoc.com -- called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR). For more info on the Doc's "Practice Safe Stress" programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com or call 301-875-2567.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
"Gentoring" ™: Building a New Generational Bridge and Mentoring Role
This week I led a “Bridging Generational Communication” workshop with a major DC Government utility. The groups of managers and employees (a mix of Boomers and Gen Xers) were asked to identify an area of breakdown in generational relations and then list some problem-solving recommendations. One team focused on how many of the “older” field employees are techno-dinosaurs, at least with computers. And now management wants to put laptops on the trucks so workers can immediately process field reports. Stress and frustration levels are increasing!
I was an observer-participant during this group’s “taming the dinosaur” brainstorm. We came up with several recommendations, besides employees attending computer training, including:
1. Have the Mountain Come to Mohammed. Even mandating computer classes at HQ for field employees still might not be the most effective recruiting tool. How about a mobile computer lab traveling to different work sites during the day?
2. One-On-One Computer Coaching. I personally shared my “computer virgin” status in the early ’90s, including struggling with my “Intimate FOE: Fear of Exposure.” The smartest thing I did was hire an out of work computer consultant, to sit with me, walk me through key operations, hold my hand as necessary, etc. She came to the office about twice a week for four weeks. I have no doubt that a faster learning curve was my ROI, not to mention the money I saved on anticipated psychotherapy sessions.
3. A Generational Bridge. The group understood the value of personal coaching or mentoring relationship with a potentially anxious or resistant student. One group member discussed the importance of having a trusted colleague as a coach. Clearly, not wanting to feel embarrassed or humiliated was on folks’ minds. Eventually, though, I saw a generational bridge just waiting to be put into operation: how about pairing a Gen Xer or Gen Y/Millennial as a coach or mentor with a more senior and computer stressed colleague? (Naturally, at home the kids can potentially coach the parents, though this might be tricky.)
And later that evening I had a semantic “aha”: a new neologism and “job description” for our multigenerational workplace. When a younger employee helps a computer or social media averse member of a later generation improve their techno-literacy and comfort, the former is playing the role of “Gentor.” And the Gentor's primary function is helping bridge the digital divide.
So get moving on that “Gentoring Program.” The younger generation likes being consultants, and hopefully this relationship will also increase their sense of responsibility and commitment to their colleagues and to the company. And the seniors can give their younger co-workers some of the recognition and affirmation that provides motivational meaning. Sounds like a win-win communicational-generational bridge that will help one and all…Practice Safe Stress!
Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and kickoff speaker as well as "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations. In addition, the "Doc" is a team building and organizational development consultant. He is providing "Stress and Communication, as well as Managing Change, Leadership and Team Building" programs for the 1st Cavalry Division and 13th Expeditionary Support Command, Ft. Hood, Texas and for Army Community Services and Family Advocacy Programs at Ft. Meade, MD and Ft. Belvoir, VA and Andrews Air Force Base/Behavioral Medicine Services. Mark has also had a rotation as Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) at Ft. Campbell, KY. A former Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant for the US Postal Service, The Stress Doc is the author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger. See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" -- www.stressdoc.com -- called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR). For more info on the Doc's "Practice Safe Stress" programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com or call 301-875-2567.
I was an observer-participant during this group’s “taming the dinosaur” brainstorm. We came up with several recommendations, besides employees attending computer training, including:
1. Have the Mountain Come to Mohammed. Even mandating computer classes at HQ for field employees still might not be the most effective recruiting tool. How about a mobile computer lab traveling to different work sites during the day?
2. One-On-One Computer Coaching. I personally shared my “computer virgin” status in the early ’90s, including struggling with my “Intimate FOE: Fear of Exposure.” The smartest thing I did was hire an out of work computer consultant, to sit with me, walk me through key operations, hold my hand as necessary, etc. She came to the office about twice a week for four weeks. I have no doubt that a faster learning curve was my ROI, not to mention the money I saved on anticipated psychotherapy sessions.
3. A Generational Bridge. The group understood the value of personal coaching or mentoring relationship with a potentially anxious or resistant student. One group member discussed the importance of having a trusted colleague as a coach. Clearly, not wanting to feel embarrassed or humiliated was on folks’ minds. Eventually, though, I saw a generational bridge just waiting to be put into operation: how about pairing a Gen Xer or Gen Y/Millennial as a coach or mentor with a more senior and computer stressed colleague? (Naturally, at home the kids can potentially coach the parents, though this might be tricky.)
And later that evening I had a semantic “aha”: a new neologism and “job description” for our multigenerational workplace. When a younger employee helps a computer or social media averse member of a later generation improve their techno-literacy and comfort, the former is playing the role of “Gentor.” And the Gentor's primary function is helping bridge the digital divide.
So get moving on that “Gentoring Program.” The younger generation likes being consultants, and hopefully this relationship will also increase their sense of responsibility and commitment to their colleagues and to the company. And the seniors can give their younger co-workers some of the recognition and affirmation that provides motivational meaning. Sounds like a win-win communicational-generational bridge that will help one and all…Practice Safe Stress!
Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and kickoff speaker as well as "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations. In addition, the "Doc" is a team building and organizational development consultant. He is providing "Stress and Communication, as well as Managing Change, Leadership and Team Building" programs for the 1st Cavalry Division and 13th Expeditionary Support Command, Ft. Hood, Texas and for Army Community Services and Family Advocacy Programs at Ft. Meade, MD and Ft. Belvoir, VA and Andrews Air Force Base/Behavioral Medicine Services. Mark has also had a rotation as Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) at Ft. Campbell, KY. A former Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant for the US Postal Service, The Stress Doc is the author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger. See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" -- www.stressdoc.com -- called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR). For more info on the Doc's "Practice Safe Stress" programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com or call 301-875-2567.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
On Becoming a Leading “Word Artist” on Stage and Page: How to ASPIRE-2 – Part II
Here’s another concept- and performance-based acronym for outlining temperament and tools, techniques and tactics for enhancing imagination along with a capacity for innovation and connection. (You know I’m a charter member of an original, self-proclaimed AA group – “Acronyms Anonymous!”) All you have to do is ASPIRE2…
I = Imagery and Irony
Imagery. According to Gregory Berns, Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently, “When confronted with information streaming from the eyes (or the ears, touch, etc.) typically the brain will interpret this information in the quickest and most efficient way possible…To be efficient, the brain will draw on past experiences and any other source of information, such as what other people say, to make sense of what it is (processing). The brain takes shortcuts in the interest of efficiency (and) saving energy.” (Alas, one of the consequences can be “black or white,” “all or none,” b.s. – “be safe” – thinking. Such thinking is not just simplistic; even worse, it’s dull! What eventually bubbles to the surface of consciousness is an image in the ‘mind’s eye.’ Perceptions of the world are really specters of our imagination.”
While we usually associate imagery to an “actual or mental picture – a picture or likeness of somebody or something, produced either physically by a sculptor, painter, or photographer, or formed in the mind, e.g., by a writer, poet, (or inspiring leader/storyteller),” as illustrated above, the process is more universal than imagined.
So my task as a “leading word artist” is to develop ideas that create “mental pictures” both vividly accessible and optimally challenging, maybe also unsettling, and, hopefully, playfully compelling:
a) to grab people’s attention away from all the other competing stimuli and
b) to disrupt habitual, one-dimensional, “tried and tired” or “experience-dependent-categorization” and stimulate enriched or novel perceptions (i.e., the way the brain processes sensory signals) thereby helping others imagine new possibilities and pathways.
Consider my poignantly and playfully provocative poetic mind-scape called, “Double-Edged Depression”:
Waves of sadness, raging river of fear
Whirlpooling madness till I disappear
Into the depths of primal pain...
Then again, no pain, no gain.
Depression, depression
Is it chemistry or confession?
Depression, depression
Dark side of perfection!
Climbing icy spires, dancing at the ledge
The phoenix only rises on the jagged edge
In a world of highs and lows...
Hey the cosmos ebbs and flows.
Depression, depression
It's electrifried obsession
High flying depression
Exalted regression?
So I'm pumping iron and Prozac, too
What else can a real man do?
In a life of muted dreams...
How about a primal SCREAM?
Depression, depression
Even inner child rejection
Depression, depression
Hallelujah for creative expression!
(c) Mark Gorkin 1994
Shrink Rap™ Productions
-------------------------------------------
I can’t “imagine” a better closing quote than this from Marcel Proust: “The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes.”
Irony. One potent tool for shaking up people’s mindscape is irony: “humor based on opposites or contradiction – humor based on using words to suggest the opposite of their literal meaning; incongruity – incongruity between what actually happens and what might be expected to happen, especially when this disparity seems absurd or laughable.” Of course, not all are equally adept at grasping or grappling with this double-edged message. Playing off the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities, a truly classic New Yorker cartoon ironically lampooned the dangers of self-righteous rigidity in the face of seeming contradiction. A nattily attired, pompous looking publisher standing behind his power desk begins to chastise a humbly dressed, hat in hand Charles Dickens: "Really, Mr. Dickens…was it the best of times or was it the worst of times? It could scarcely have been both!" With irony there may be a fine line between lampooning and lancing. (Of course, some inflated ego’s periodically need to be skewered.)
Speaking of fine lines, ironical humor can also help you escape being caught in a tricky triangular bind. Personally, I find the challenge often involves negotiating that delicate distinction between “disarming and demoralizing” humor. Consider how, with an ironic touch of absurdity, the posturing of two antagonists is reframed in an all too human context. As a mid-'90s Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant at a large US Postal Service Processing & Distribution Plant walking the workfloor was commonplace. (Believe me, humor was not a luxury.) One day, I came upon a couple bantering, seemingly playfully, if not a bit seductively. A collegial chorus was also present. The banter suddenly turned fairly provocative and the woman now mouthed the "f u" expletive while throwing her antagonist the proverbial finger. The onlookers quickly warned the couple about me: "Be careful, this guy is the 'Company Shrink.'" Then the male provocateur egged me on: "Now what do you think about what she just did?" With tension building, I nervously paused, then rallied: "What do I think? I just think she thinks you're # 1," and walked off with collective laughter behind me. (A vital humor skill: learn to playfully nip the hand or hands that feed you!) And hopefully, with good-natured irony, the intervention is seen as more healing or harmonizing than hostile.
And sometimes the irony or incongruity can emerge from a mere paradoxical pairing, as found in one of the stanzas of “The Reorg Rag” ™, a lyric about the human impact of budget freezing, downsizing and Reduction in Force (RIF):
Work's now a casino, a high tech RIF** RAFFle:
When will we know? Why does management waffle?
Buddha-Computah…who's pink slipping away?
Here's your ticket to ride; uh, shopping's good in Bombay.
“Buddha-Computah” satirizes our culture’s seemingly deifying all things IT. (And now we have IBM’s, Watson; his post “Jeopardy” exploits makes “W” “The Smartest Machine on the Planet.” Does W have a calculating mind or a memory on electronic steroids? After crunching the two top Jeopardy players, game host, Alex Trebek, warily asked: “Now whose job is on Watson’s radar?”) Alas, these days, at the organizational battlefront, the computer is not just a tool of enlightenment; the all-knowing, mind, job and culture-shaping “Buddha-Computah” determines who wins or loses, who remains or is let go. And you quietly fade out as your job (with or without you) is automated or goes overseas.
Perhaps my goal-mantra is transparent: “To be a wise man and a wise guy!” Hey, a Psychohumorist ™ has got to be double-edgy. (Of course I let the audience decide where to place the emphasis on my role-moniker. ;-)
Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and kickoff speaker as well as "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations. In addition, the "Doc" is a team building and organizational development consultant. He is providing "Stress and Communication, as well as Managing Change, Leadership and Team Building" programs for the 1st Cavalry Division and 13th Expeditionary Support Command, Ft. Hood, Texas and for Army Community Services and Family Advocacy Programs at Ft. Meade, MD and Ft. Belvoir, VA and Andrews Air Force Base/Behavioral Medicine Services. Mark has also had a rotation as Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) at Ft. Campbell, KY. A former Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant for the US Postal Service, The Stress Doc is the author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger. See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" -- www.stressdoc.com -- called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR). For more info on the Doc's "Practice Safe Stress" programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com or call 301-875-2567.
I = Imagery and Irony
Imagery. According to Gregory Berns, Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently, “When confronted with information streaming from the eyes (or the ears, touch, etc.) typically the brain will interpret this information in the quickest and most efficient way possible…To be efficient, the brain will draw on past experiences and any other source of information, such as what other people say, to make sense of what it is (processing). The brain takes shortcuts in the interest of efficiency (and) saving energy.” (Alas, one of the consequences can be “black or white,” “all or none,” b.s. – “be safe” – thinking. Such thinking is not just simplistic; even worse, it’s dull! What eventually bubbles to the surface of consciousness is an image in the ‘mind’s eye.’ Perceptions of the world are really specters of our imagination.”
While we usually associate imagery to an “actual or mental picture – a picture or likeness of somebody or something, produced either physically by a sculptor, painter, or photographer, or formed in the mind, e.g., by a writer, poet, (or inspiring leader/storyteller),” as illustrated above, the process is more universal than imagined.
So my task as a “leading word artist” is to develop ideas that create “mental pictures” both vividly accessible and optimally challenging, maybe also unsettling, and, hopefully, playfully compelling:
a) to grab people’s attention away from all the other competing stimuli and
b) to disrupt habitual, one-dimensional, “tried and tired” or “experience-dependent-categorization” and stimulate enriched or novel perceptions (i.e., the way the brain processes sensory signals) thereby helping others imagine new possibilities and pathways.
Consider my poignantly and playfully provocative poetic mind-scape called, “Double-Edged Depression”:
Waves of sadness, raging river of fear
Whirlpooling madness till I disappear
Into the depths of primal pain...
Then again, no pain, no gain.
Depression, depression
Is it chemistry or confession?
Depression, depression
Dark side of perfection!
Climbing icy spires, dancing at the ledge
The phoenix only rises on the jagged edge
In a world of highs and lows...
Hey the cosmos ebbs and flows.
Depression, depression
It's electrifried obsession
High flying depression
Exalted regression?
So I'm pumping iron and Prozac, too
What else can a real man do?
In a life of muted dreams...
How about a primal SCREAM?
Depression, depression
Even inner child rejection
Depression, depression
Hallelujah for creative expression!
(c) Mark Gorkin 1994
Shrink Rap™ Productions
-------------------------------------------
I can’t “imagine” a better closing quote than this from Marcel Proust: “The real voyage of discovery lies not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes.”
Irony. One potent tool for shaking up people’s mindscape is irony: “humor based on opposites or contradiction – humor based on using words to suggest the opposite of their literal meaning; incongruity – incongruity between what actually happens and what might be expected to happen, especially when this disparity seems absurd or laughable.” Of course, not all are equally adept at grasping or grappling with this double-edged message. Playing off the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities, a truly classic New Yorker cartoon ironically lampooned the dangers of self-righteous rigidity in the face of seeming contradiction. A nattily attired, pompous looking publisher standing behind his power desk begins to chastise a humbly dressed, hat in hand Charles Dickens: "Really, Mr. Dickens…was it the best of times or was it the worst of times? It could scarcely have been both!" With irony there may be a fine line between lampooning and lancing. (Of course, some inflated ego’s periodically need to be skewered.)
Speaking of fine lines, ironical humor can also help you escape being caught in a tricky triangular bind. Personally, I find the challenge often involves negotiating that delicate distinction between “disarming and demoralizing” humor. Consider how, with an ironic touch of absurdity, the posturing of two antagonists is reframed in an all too human context. As a mid-'90s Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant at a large US Postal Service Processing & Distribution Plant walking the workfloor was commonplace. (Believe me, humor was not a luxury.) One day, I came upon a couple bantering, seemingly playfully, if not a bit seductively. A collegial chorus was also present. The banter suddenly turned fairly provocative and the woman now mouthed the "f u" expletive while throwing her antagonist the proverbial finger. The onlookers quickly warned the couple about me: "Be careful, this guy is the 'Company Shrink.'" Then the male provocateur egged me on: "Now what do you think about what she just did?" With tension building, I nervously paused, then rallied: "What do I think? I just think she thinks you're # 1," and walked off with collective laughter behind me. (A vital humor skill: learn to playfully nip the hand or hands that feed you!) And hopefully, with good-natured irony, the intervention is seen as more healing or harmonizing than hostile.
And sometimes the irony or incongruity can emerge from a mere paradoxical pairing, as found in one of the stanzas of “The Reorg Rag” ™, a lyric about the human impact of budget freezing, downsizing and Reduction in Force (RIF):
Work's now a casino, a high tech RIF** RAFFle:
When will we know? Why does management waffle?
Buddha-Computah…who's pink slipping away?
Here's your ticket to ride; uh, shopping's good in Bombay.
“Buddha-Computah” satirizes our culture’s seemingly deifying all things IT. (And now we have IBM’s, Watson; his post “Jeopardy” exploits makes “W” “The Smartest Machine on the Planet.” Does W have a calculating mind or a memory on electronic steroids? After crunching the two top Jeopardy players, game host, Alex Trebek, warily asked: “Now whose job is on Watson’s radar?”) Alas, these days, at the organizational battlefront, the computer is not just a tool of enlightenment; the all-knowing, mind, job and culture-shaping “Buddha-Computah” determines who wins or loses, who remains or is let go. And you quietly fade out as your job (with or without you) is automated or goes overseas.
Perhaps my goal-mantra is transparent: “To be a wise man and a wise guy!” Hey, a Psychohumorist ™ has got to be double-edgy. (Of course I let the audience decide where to place the emphasis on my role-moniker. ;-)
Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and kickoff speaker as well as "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations. In addition, the "Doc" is a team building and organizational development consultant. He is providing "Stress and Communication, as well as Managing Change, Leadership and Team Building" programs for the 1st Cavalry Division and 13th Expeditionary Support Command, Ft. Hood, Texas and for Army Community Services and Family Advocacy Programs at Ft. Meade, MD and Ft. Belvoir, VA and Andrews Air Force Base/Behavioral Medicine Services. Mark has also had a rotation as Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) at Ft. Campbell, KY. A former Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant for the US Postal Service, The Stress Doc is the author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger. See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" -- www.stressdoc.com -- called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR). For more info on the Doc's "Practice Safe Stress" programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com or call 301-875-2567.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
On Becoming a Leading “Word Artist” on Stage and Page: How to ASPIRE-2 – Part I
As a speaker, writer and leader I’m always looking to follow in the mind-prints of, or at least understand and hopefully emulate, Nobel-prize winning scientist, Albert Szent Gyorgyi’s “elegantly simple” words: “Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought!” With originality as frame, form and function, what are the key skills and strategies for exploring new performance possibilities, generating potent ideas, inspiring others and strengthening creative output as a word artist – whether on the stage or the page? Actually, I’ve come up with another concept- and performance-based acronym for outlining temperament and tools, techniques and tactics for enhancing imagination along with a capacity for innovation and connection. (You know I’m a charter member of an original, self-proclaimed AA group – “Acronyms Anonymous!”) All you have to do is ASPIRE-2…
A = Aggressive and Accessible.
Aggressive. For me, performance aggression is “characterized by or exhibiting determination, energy, and initiative.” (Definitions throughout are from the Encarta Dictionary.) You want to challenge the status quo comfortable and the tried and tired conventional. Harnessing performance aggression:
Focuses energy and attention
Ignites mind-body chemistry
Fires passion and defuses pain
Sharpens purposeful thinking
Heightens drive and discipline
Breaks chains of habit
Strengthens commitment, courage and creativity
To play at their best, professional athletes often emphasize two words: to be “aggressive” and “focused.” Performance aggression doesn’t just get you out of the box; it helps you risk confronting b.s. (“be safe”) messages while motivating the building of new frameworks and methods. As the artistic genius, Pablo Picasso, observed, “Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.” And destruction first and foremost means breaking down the self-righteous and rigid, fearful and frigid boxes and closets which limit the mind’s ability to ignore, explore and soar.
Not surprisingly, trailblazing fire can leave scars, alienate colleagues and may lead to professional ostracism. And perhaps the most daunting dynamic for the "iconoclast", that is, the "destroyer of icons," is the "daily reckoning with a high likelihood of failure." (Gregory Berns, Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently, 2010, Harvard Business School). At the same time, consider this life lesson from the Civil Rights Pioneer, Rosa Parks: "I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear." (Of course, a big challenge too is learning to turn down the all-consuming fire when no longer on or into your platform or battlefield.)
Accessible. Being “accessible” means: 1) “easy to enter or reach physically; 2) able to be appreciated or understood without specialist knowledge; and 3) able to be obtained, used, or experienced without difficulty.” And synonyms from Roget’s Thesaurus include approachable, welcoming, and open.
As a word artist, especially when presenting to a live audience, a key performance challenge involves distilling complex material into concrete and discrete ideas and images with substance and style, so people can: 1) sustain their sense of attention and anticipation (e.g., I like being “edgy,” having people on the edge of their seats wondering what this “psychohumorist” ™ is going to do or say next), 2) enter your conceptual and “hands on” world, and 3) quickly grasp and begin to apply the core informational-skill elements. Discarding the interesting but not essential is especially vital in a hyperactive, "do more with less," TNT – “Time, Numbers & Task”-driven – world.
Conversely, as someone attempting to generate new perspectives and approaches I need to welcome surprising and contrary ideas, tools and critical feedback (not that the old ego doesn't occasionally resist or take a hit). In fact, research on problem solving shows that diverse groups tend to engage in creative idea generation more often than homogeneous ones. The former team has to work harder, that is, it must transform misunderstanding and conflict into positive energy-more authentic exchange thereby removing the abc’s of boxed in thinking – assumptions, blinders, and conventions. As John Dewy, pragmatic philosopher and “Father of American Public Education,” observed: Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It shocks us out of sleep-like passivity. It instigates to invention and sets us at noting and contriving. Conflict is the sine qua non of reflection and ingenuity.
By understanding, working with and blending divergent perspectives you often fuel a novel solution. And akin to engaging with diversity, there’s another aspect of accessibility especially vital for uncommon performance: acknowledging one’s own errors, emotionally soaking in the pain, analyzing mistakes, and then getting back in the saddle to explore and consolidate new learning. As Adam Gopnick noted in Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Times: Repetition is the law of nature but variation (as in biological mutation or error-inducing adaptation) is the rule of life.
S = Symbol and Synthesis
Symbol. One powerful wordsmith tool is thinking symbolically. A “symbol” is: 1) something that stands for or represents something else, especially an object representing an abstraction”; and 2) in “psychoanalysis an object or act that represents an impulse or wish in the unconscious mind that has been repressed.”
For example, in my lyric “The Reorg Rag” ™ (email stressdoc@aol.com for a copy), I likened a reorganizing or Reduction in Force (RIF) environment to another uncertain, high stakes ambiance: Work’s now a casino, a high tech RIF RAFFle. Casino and high tech RIF RAFFle are symbols that capture the abstract, waiting on the edge, often “out of control,” “wing and a prayer” quality of today’s workplace, one that can feel like a winners vs. losers (RIF RAFF) gambling environment.
And whether representing an intangible abstract idea or an intuitive unconscious impulse (e.g. my “Reorg Rag” symbol for transforming from a “Raggedy Ann” victim into a vital individual no longer repressing smoldering anger – “bring out your Inner Rambo or Rambette”), analogy is a dynamic cognitive-emotive tool for “comparing two things that are similar in some way, often used to help explain something or make it easier to understand.” Analogy facilitates accessibility!
Synthesis. Another potent cognitive tool is “synthesis – the process of combining different ideas, influences, or objects into a new and unified whole.” Synonyms include mixture, fusion, amalgamation, combination, and blend. Synthesis is often generated by the tension between contradictory points of view – thesis and antithesis. If you can stay with and cogitate upon this tension and confusion, the reward may be worth the risk. The angst just may fire the right hemisphere of your brain with the potential for sparking metaphorical images and analogies along with surprising and paradoxical visual puns, and even yield a dynamic concept that pulls it all together.
Here's a personal illustration of how the tension between seemingly opposing propositions generated a creative and integrative "Aha!" Back in the early '90s, I wound up writing some rap-like lyrics for a black beauty contest theme song. (Don't ask. I had periodically tried my hand at poetry, including a bluesy number called "The Burnout Boogie." One morning, shortly after my noble, beauty contest effort, I awoke chastising myself: I was a university professor, a psychotherapist (thesis)…What was I doing trying to write rap lyrics (antithesis)? A blazing flash scattered my sleepy haze. As the mist lifted, there…a mystical (if not hysterical) conceptual vision; a catalyst for my pioneering efforts in the realm of psychologically humorous rap music. I was no longer just playing in a field of dreams: "If you write and "Shrink Rap" ™ it…they will come" (creative synthesis). And over the next twelve months I began to pen a series of rap lyrics. Email stressdoc@aol.com for any and all.) Clearly, my goal in life has a paradoxical bent: to be a wise man and a wise guy. Again, a pretty good recipe for a cutting edge thinker, leader and budding "psychohumorist" ™!
P = Poignant and Playful
Poignant. The word “poignant” has two distinct yet interconnected meanings: “1) causing a sharp sense of sadness, pity, or regret, or even physical pain; and 2) sharply perceptive – particularly penetrating and effective or relevant.” A moving link between these two definitions has been found and forged by Kay Redfield Jamison, Johns Hopkins Psychologist and noted author of Touched with Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. In her psycho-historical study, Jamison noted that creative writers and painters often cycle emotionally. Surely, intense labile moods can be disruptive, as her title indicates. However, profound sadness, melancholy and grief may also compel these individuals to observe the deep and dark complexities, the highs and lows of human nature, and to reflect upon the subtle gray shades of life with greater sensitivity and vision. Consider my poetic passages on the rejuvenating powers of grief as semantic bridges for the above “poignant” variations: Whether the loss is a key person, a desired position or a powerful illusion, each deserves the respect of a mourning. The pit in the stomach, the clenched fists and quivering jaw, the anguished sobs prove catalytic in time. In mystical fashion, like spring upon winter, the seeds of dissolution bear fruitful renewal.
And how does the spiritual both come down to earth and soar anew? How about this haiku-like text?
For the Phoenix to rise from the ashes
One must know the pain
To transform the fire to burning desire!
As a writer and performance artist, I frequently try to capture people’s attention by painting “poignant” pictures and rhythmic narratives infused with both common pain and compelling paradox. Simultaneously, I hope to penetrate and illustrate critical forces shaping the human psyche, interpersonal relating and social culture. The synonyms of “poignant” – moving, emotional, touching, distressing, sad, tender and affecting – are a wordsmith’s means and ends. And when an idea or image is both painful (or evokes piercing memories) and moves us to see and feel more deeply or broadly, including a horizon of unimagined possibilities and pathways, this poignant presentation is “provocative,” as in its French derivation, provocare: to arouse one’s curiosity, to stimulate or challenge, to move to action.
And the final “p”-word at the emotional and semantic, word and performance artistic interface of “pain and poignancy,” “perceptivity and provocation” is passion. Upon hearing the word “passion,” the immediate association is typically “intense or overpowering emotion such as love, joy, hatred, or anger.” However, one provocative “s”-word for passion is frequently overlooked. For example, when I ask audiences to free associate to the word “passion,” not surprisingly the “s”-word comes up…”soap opera.” No, it’s “sex,” of course. Though in Washington, DC the favorite “s”-word for passion is “Senator.” Or it used to be…but then Bill Clinton ruined my joke. ;-) Actually, the surprising “s”-word for passion is neither sex, nor soaps, nor Senator…it’s “suffering” as in the Passion Play, the sufferings of Jesus Christ from the Last Supper until his crucifixion, or more generically the sufferings of a martyr. (Imagine, all this time I never knew my Jewish mother was such a passionate woman.)
Hopefully, my brief discourse on pain, poignancy and literal biblical “passion,” reveals Charlie Chaplin’s paradoxical truth about the relationship between comedy and tragedy: The paradoxical thing about making comedy is that it is precisely the tragic which arouses the funny. We have to laugh due to our hopelessness in the face of natural forces and in order not to go crazy.
In fact, for me it is the tension between such performance artist concepts of “comic and tragic,” “poignant and playful” that ultimately fires vital – head-, heart- and soul-driven – (as opposed to rigid, obsessive, or megalomaniacal) passion. And when trying to capture or inspire, poignancy and passion are powerful soul mates. As Francois La Rouchefoucald, the 17th century French classical writer, observed (quoted in Kay Redfield Jamison’s Exuberance: The Passion For Life, Random House, 2004), “Passions are the only orators which always persuade. They are like an act of nature, the rules of which are infallible; and the simplest man who has some passion persuades better than the most eloquent who has none.” Jamison, meanwhile, underscores a dynamic commander’s ability to use passion to connect to a people’s suffering, to unite a divided or dispirited group, organization or nation: “In times of adversity, inspired leadership offers energy and hope where little or none exist, gives a belief in the future to those who have lost it, and provides a unifying spirit to a splintered populace.”
Or to quote a salesman’s more pedestrian motto: “Logic tells and passion sells.” And I believe lower case “poignant-passion-play” compels. Remember, people are more open to a serious message when it’s gift-wrapped with humor.
Playful. A dictionary definition of “playful” likely conforms to popular understanding: “fond of having fun and playing games with others; said or done in a teasing way or in fun”; as would synonyms such as “good-humored, light-hearted, good-natured, mischievous and lively.” However, I hadn’t realized how many common expressions begin with or involve the word “play” once you take the term out of its dictionary box. Nor could I imagine how the varieties of expressions with their different connotations speak to the skills and strategies of the versatile leader and performer. Consider these examples: “play upon” (words or another’s emotions), “plays a role” or “role-play,” and “play it by ear” (that is, having a capacity for improvisation or, for example, by truly listening to collective needs and interests as your project or program unfolds). While a dynamic leader, artist or educator wants to give “full play” to his or her mind and emotions, a savvy leader, often knowingly and for strategic advantage, will “play the fool.” I especially like this usage – “play a trick on.” Based on my experience, being “mischievous” or a tad “devilish” – two of Roget’s synonyms for “playful” – can be very engaging qualities. Many people embrace or long to act out their impish, slightly naughty or roguish inner child (e.g., think adult Halloween costumes). Or admire or envy, if only secretly, those who do. And finally, a personal favorite, the “play of light and shadow” definitely reflects my double-edged nature and on the edge, ever-changing world filled and fraught with both mirth and melancholy along with uncertain shadings and shadows.
More than just being a light-hearted pursuit, play has been one of the greatest enterprises for exploring, socializing, bonding and unifying throughout the evolutionary history of the animal kingdom. Play has many functions:
a) gives individuals an opportunity to learn group norms and boundaries,
b) allows for innovatively expanding and challenging roles, rules and procedures,
c) encourages skill development, the exercise of the imagination, and the forging of unexpected – paradoxical as well as analogical – cognitive contrasts and connections; as the great American humorist, Mark Twain, playfully yet perceptively observed: “Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to have any relation.” (So opposites may well attract; how well and for how long…and whether there will be any brainchildren, now that’s another matter.) When it comes to double-edged wit, there’s often a fine line (and letter) between wordplay and swordplay ;-),
d) may be a learning laboratory for maturation and creativity in the realms of work, friendship and love,
e) frequently builds a sense of individual and group identity and short- and long-term camaraderie as well as fostering trust and teamwork, and
f) play infused with laughter is an especially effective stress reliever and social harmonizer. As Dr. David Fry, noted humorist scholar, observed: Laughing with gusto is like turning your body into a big vibrator, giving vital organs a brief but hardy internal massage!
Of course, play can also turn into an aggressive “winner takes all” or “win at any cost” pursuit or obsession (think steroid use in a variety of athletic arenas). Now the “playground” starts morphing into a “battleground.”
A “Poignant-Passion-Play” leader has a sense of play that doesn’t lose sight of her and other’s humanity. She has a compassionate understanding of perplexing and incongruous human nature and of our being all too imperfect and inconsistent creatures. And a sense of absurdity that comes out to play and laugh even in the face of pain, stress or danger can help people accept flaws and foibles while affirming both their vulnerable and vital natures. Playful surprise may even gently cajole others to move beyond an abc – “assumptions, blinders and conventions” – comfort zone, and bridge differences while exploring common emotional-cultural connections. As psychiatrist Ernst Kris noted, “What was once feared and is now mastered is laughed at.” And as the Stress Doc inverted, “What was once feared and is now laughed at is no longer a master!”
And Part II defines and explores the final three letters of ASPIRE2 – “I = Imagery and Irony, R = Rhythm and Rhyme, and E = Expressive and Excellence.” Until then…Practice Safe Stress!
Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and kickoff speaker as well as "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations. In addition, the "Doc" is a team building and organizational development consultant. He is providing "Stress and Communication, as well as Managing Change, Leadership and Team Building" programs for the 1st Cavalry Division and 13th Expeditionary Support Command, Ft. Hood, Texas and for Army Community Services and Family Advocacy Programs at Ft. Meade, MD and Ft. Belvoir, VA and Andrews Air Force Base/Behavioral Medicine Services. Mark has also had a rotation as Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) at Ft. Campbell, KY. A former Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant for the US Postal Service, The Stress Doc is the author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger. See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" -- www.stressdoc.com -- called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR). For more info on the Doc's "Practice Safe Stress" programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com or call 301-875-2567.
A = Aggressive and Accessible.
Aggressive. For me, performance aggression is “characterized by or exhibiting determination, energy, and initiative.” (Definitions throughout are from the Encarta Dictionary.) You want to challenge the status quo comfortable and the tried and tired conventional. Harnessing performance aggression:
Focuses energy and attention
Ignites mind-body chemistry
Fires passion and defuses pain
Sharpens purposeful thinking
Heightens drive and discipline
Breaks chains of habit
Strengthens commitment, courage and creativity
To play at their best, professional athletes often emphasize two words: to be “aggressive” and “focused.” Performance aggression doesn’t just get you out of the box; it helps you risk confronting b.s. (“be safe”) messages while motivating the building of new frameworks and methods. As the artistic genius, Pablo Picasso, observed, “Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.” And destruction first and foremost means breaking down the self-righteous and rigid, fearful and frigid boxes and closets which limit the mind’s ability to ignore, explore and soar.
Not surprisingly, trailblazing fire can leave scars, alienate colleagues and may lead to professional ostracism. And perhaps the most daunting dynamic for the "iconoclast", that is, the "destroyer of icons," is the "daily reckoning with a high likelihood of failure." (Gregory Berns, Iconoclast: A Neuroscientist Reveals How to Think Differently, 2010, Harvard Business School). At the same time, consider this life lesson from the Civil Rights Pioneer, Rosa Parks: "I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear." (Of course, a big challenge too is learning to turn down the all-consuming fire when no longer on or into your platform or battlefield.)
Accessible. Being “accessible” means: 1) “easy to enter or reach physically; 2) able to be appreciated or understood without specialist knowledge; and 3) able to be obtained, used, or experienced without difficulty.” And synonyms from Roget’s Thesaurus include approachable, welcoming, and open.
As a word artist, especially when presenting to a live audience, a key performance challenge involves distilling complex material into concrete and discrete ideas and images with substance and style, so people can: 1) sustain their sense of attention and anticipation (e.g., I like being “edgy,” having people on the edge of their seats wondering what this “psychohumorist” ™ is going to do or say next), 2) enter your conceptual and “hands on” world, and 3) quickly grasp and begin to apply the core informational-skill elements. Discarding the interesting but not essential is especially vital in a hyperactive, "do more with less," TNT – “Time, Numbers & Task”-driven – world.
Conversely, as someone attempting to generate new perspectives and approaches I need to welcome surprising and contrary ideas, tools and critical feedback (not that the old ego doesn't occasionally resist or take a hit). In fact, research on problem solving shows that diverse groups tend to engage in creative idea generation more often than homogeneous ones. The former team has to work harder, that is, it must transform misunderstanding and conflict into positive energy-more authentic exchange thereby removing the abc’s of boxed in thinking – assumptions, blinders, and conventions. As John Dewy, pragmatic philosopher and “Father of American Public Education,” observed: Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It shocks us out of sleep-like passivity. It instigates to invention and sets us at noting and contriving. Conflict is the sine qua non of reflection and ingenuity.
By understanding, working with and blending divergent perspectives you often fuel a novel solution. And akin to engaging with diversity, there’s another aspect of accessibility especially vital for uncommon performance: acknowledging one’s own errors, emotionally soaking in the pain, analyzing mistakes, and then getting back in the saddle to explore and consolidate new learning. As Adam Gopnick noted in Angels and Ages: A Short Book about Darwin, Lincoln and Modern Times: Repetition is the law of nature but variation (as in biological mutation or error-inducing adaptation) is the rule of life.
S = Symbol and Synthesis
Symbol. One powerful wordsmith tool is thinking symbolically. A “symbol” is: 1) something that stands for or represents something else, especially an object representing an abstraction”; and 2) in “psychoanalysis an object or act that represents an impulse or wish in the unconscious mind that has been repressed.”
For example, in my lyric “The Reorg Rag” ™ (email stressdoc@aol.com for a copy), I likened a reorganizing or Reduction in Force (RIF) environment to another uncertain, high stakes ambiance: Work’s now a casino, a high tech RIF RAFFle. Casino and high tech RIF RAFFle are symbols that capture the abstract, waiting on the edge, often “out of control,” “wing and a prayer” quality of today’s workplace, one that can feel like a winners vs. losers (RIF RAFF) gambling environment.
And whether representing an intangible abstract idea or an intuitive unconscious impulse (e.g. my “Reorg Rag” symbol for transforming from a “Raggedy Ann” victim into a vital individual no longer repressing smoldering anger – “bring out your Inner Rambo or Rambette”), analogy is a dynamic cognitive-emotive tool for “comparing two things that are similar in some way, often used to help explain something or make it easier to understand.” Analogy facilitates accessibility!
Synthesis. Another potent cognitive tool is “synthesis – the process of combining different ideas, influences, or objects into a new and unified whole.” Synonyms include mixture, fusion, amalgamation, combination, and blend. Synthesis is often generated by the tension between contradictory points of view – thesis and antithesis. If you can stay with and cogitate upon this tension and confusion, the reward may be worth the risk. The angst just may fire the right hemisphere of your brain with the potential for sparking metaphorical images and analogies along with surprising and paradoxical visual puns, and even yield a dynamic concept that pulls it all together.
Here's a personal illustration of how the tension between seemingly opposing propositions generated a creative and integrative "Aha!" Back in the early '90s, I wound up writing some rap-like lyrics for a black beauty contest theme song. (Don't ask. I had periodically tried my hand at poetry, including a bluesy number called "The Burnout Boogie." One morning, shortly after my noble, beauty contest effort, I awoke chastising myself: I was a university professor, a psychotherapist (thesis)…What was I doing trying to write rap lyrics (antithesis)? A blazing flash scattered my sleepy haze. As the mist lifted, there…a mystical (if not hysterical) conceptual vision; a catalyst for my pioneering efforts in the realm of psychologically humorous rap music. I was no longer just playing in a field of dreams: "If you write and "Shrink Rap" ™ it…they will come" (creative synthesis). And over the next twelve months I began to pen a series of rap lyrics. Email stressdoc@aol.com for any and all.) Clearly, my goal in life has a paradoxical bent: to be a wise man and a wise guy. Again, a pretty good recipe for a cutting edge thinker, leader and budding "psychohumorist" ™!
P = Poignant and Playful
Poignant. The word “poignant” has two distinct yet interconnected meanings: “1) causing a sharp sense of sadness, pity, or regret, or even physical pain; and 2) sharply perceptive – particularly penetrating and effective or relevant.” A moving link between these two definitions has been found and forged by Kay Redfield Jamison, Johns Hopkins Psychologist and noted author of Touched with Fire: Manic Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. In her psycho-historical study, Jamison noted that creative writers and painters often cycle emotionally. Surely, intense labile moods can be disruptive, as her title indicates. However, profound sadness, melancholy and grief may also compel these individuals to observe the deep and dark complexities, the highs and lows of human nature, and to reflect upon the subtle gray shades of life with greater sensitivity and vision. Consider my poetic passages on the rejuvenating powers of grief as semantic bridges for the above “poignant” variations: Whether the loss is a key person, a desired position or a powerful illusion, each deserves the respect of a mourning. The pit in the stomach, the clenched fists and quivering jaw, the anguished sobs prove catalytic in time. In mystical fashion, like spring upon winter, the seeds of dissolution bear fruitful renewal.
And how does the spiritual both come down to earth and soar anew? How about this haiku-like text?
For the Phoenix to rise from the ashes
One must know the pain
To transform the fire to burning desire!
As a writer and performance artist, I frequently try to capture people’s attention by painting “poignant” pictures and rhythmic narratives infused with both common pain and compelling paradox. Simultaneously, I hope to penetrate and illustrate critical forces shaping the human psyche, interpersonal relating and social culture. The synonyms of “poignant” – moving, emotional, touching, distressing, sad, tender and affecting – are a wordsmith’s means and ends. And when an idea or image is both painful (or evokes piercing memories) and moves us to see and feel more deeply or broadly, including a horizon of unimagined possibilities and pathways, this poignant presentation is “provocative,” as in its French derivation, provocare: to arouse one’s curiosity, to stimulate or challenge, to move to action.
And the final “p”-word at the emotional and semantic, word and performance artistic interface of “pain and poignancy,” “perceptivity and provocation” is passion. Upon hearing the word “passion,” the immediate association is typically “intense or overpowering emotion such as love, joy, hatred, or anger.” However, one provocative “s”-word for passion is frequently overlooked. For example, when I ask audiences to free associate to the word “passion,” not surprisingly the “s”-word comes up…”soap opera.” No, it’s “sex,” of course. Though in Washington, DC the favorite “s”-word for passion is “Senator.” Or it used to be…but then Bill Clinton ruined my joke. ;-) Actually, the surprising “s”-word for passion is neither sex, nor soaps, nor Senator…it’s “suffering” as in the Passion Play, the sufferings of Jesus Christ from the Last Supper until his crucifixion, or more generically the sufferings of a martyr. (Imagine, all this time I never knew my Jewish mother was such a passionate woman.)
Hopefully, my brief discourse on pain, poignancy and literal biblical “passion,” reveals Charlie Chaplin’s paradoxical truth about the relationship between comedy and tragedy: The paradoxical thing about making comedy is that it is precisely the tragic which arouses the funny. We have to laugh due to our hopelessness in the face of natural forces and in order not to go crazy.
In fact, for me it is the tension between such performance artist concepts of “comic and tragic,” “poignant and playful” that ultimately fires vital – head-, heart- and soul-driven – (as opposed to rigid, obsessive, or megalomaniacal) passion. And when trying to capture or inspire, poignancy and passion are powerful soul mates. As Francois La Rouchefoucald, the 17th century French classical writer, observed (quoted in Kay Redfield Jamison’s Exuberance: The Passion For Life, Random House, 2004), “Passions are the only orators which always persuade. They are like an act of nature, the rules of which are infallible; and the simplest man who has some passion persuades better than the most eloquent who has none.” Jamison, meanwhile, underscores a dynamic commander’s ability to use passion to connect to a people’s suffering, to unite a divided or dispirited group, organization or nation: “In times of adversity, inspired leadership offers energy and hope where little or none exist, gives a belief in the future to those who have lost it, and provides a unifying spirit to a splintered populace.”
Or to quote a salesman’s more pedestrian motto: “Logic tells and passion sells.” And I believe lower case “poignant-passion-play” compels. Remember, people are more open to a serious message when it’s gift-wrapped with humor.
Playful. A dictionary definition of “playful” likely conforms to popular understanding: “fond of having fun and playing games with others; said or done in a teasing way or in fun”; as would synonyms such as “good-humored, light-hearted, good-natured, mischievous and lively.” However, I hadn’t realized how many common expressions begin with or involve the word “play” once you take the term out of its dictionary box. Nor could I imagine how the varieties of expressions with their different connotations speak to the skills and strategies of the versatile leader and performer. Consider these examples: “play upon” (words or another’s emotions), “plays a role” or “role-play,” and “play it by ear” (that is, having a capacity for improvisation or, for example, by truly listening to collective needs and interests as your project or program unfolds). While a dynamic leader, artist or educator wants to give “full play” to his or her mind and emotions, a savvy leader, often knowingly and for strategic advantage, will “play the fool.” I especially like this usage – “play a trick on.” Based on my experience, being “mischievous” or a tad “devilish” – two of Roget’s synonyms for “playful” – can be very engaging qualities. Many people embrace or long to act out their impish, slightly naughty or roguish inner child (e.g., think adult Halloween costumes). Or admire or envy, if only secretly, those who do. And finally, a personal favorite, the “play of light and shadow” definitely reflects my double-edged nature and on the edge, ever-changing world filled and fraught with both mirth and melancholy along with uncertain shadings and shadows.
More than just being a light-hearted pursuit, play has been one of the greatest enterprises for exploring, socializing, bonding and unifying throughout the evolutionary history of the animal kingdom. Play has many functions:
a) gives individuals an opportunity to learn group norms and boundaries,
b) allows for innovatively expanding and challenging roles, rules and procedures,
c) encourages skill development, the exercise of the imagination, and the forging of unexpected – paradoxical as well as analogical – cognitive contrasts and connections; as the great American humorist, Mark Twain, playfully yet perceptively observed: “Wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to have any relation.” (So opposites may well attract; how well and for how long…and whether there will be any brainchildren, now that’s another matter.) When it comes to double-edged wit, there’s often a fine line (and letter) between wordplay and swordplay ;-),
d) may be a learning laboratory for maturation and creativity in the realms of work, friendship and love,
e) frequently builds a sense of individual and group identity and short- and long-term camaraderie as well as fostering trust and teamwork, and
f) play infused with laughter is an especially effective stress reliever and social harmonizer. As Dr. David Fry, noted humorist scholar, observed: Laughing with gusto is like turning your body into a big vibrator, giving vital organs a brief but hardy internal massage!
Of course, play can also turn into an aggressive “winner takes all” or “win at any cost” pursuit or obsession (think steroid use in a variety of athletic arenas). Now the “playground” starts morphing into a “battleground.”
A “Poignant-Passion-Play” leader has a sense of play that doesn’t lose sight of her and other’s humanity. She has a compassionate understanding of perplexing and incongruous human nature and of our being all too imperfect and inconsistent creatures. And a sense of absurdity that comes out to play and laugh even in the face of pain, stress or danger can help people accept flaws and foibles while affirming both their vulnerable and vital natures. Playful surprise may even gently cajole others to move beyond an abc – “assumptions, blinders and conventions” – comfort zone, and bridge differences while exploring common emotional-cultural connections. As psychiatrist Ernst Kris noted, “What was once feared and is now mastered is laughed at.” And as the Stress Doc inverted, “What was once feared and is now laughed at is no longer a master!”
And Part II defines and explores the final three letters of ASPIRE2 – “I = Imagery and Irony, R = Rhythm and Rhyme, and E = Expressive and Excellence.” Until then…Practice Safe Stress!
Mark Gorkin, MSW, LICSW, "The Stress Doc" ™, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, is an acclaimed keynote and kickoff speaker as well as "Motivational Humorist & Team Communication Catalyst" known for his interactive, inspiring and FUN programs for both government agencies and major corporations. In addition, the "Doc" is a team building and organizational development consultant. He is providing "Stress and Communication, as well as Managing Change, Leadership and Team Building" programs for the 1st Cavalry Division and 13th Expeditionary Support Command, Ft. Hood, Texas and for Army Community Services and Family Advocacy Programs at Ft. Meade, MD and Ft. Belvoir, VA and Andrews Air Force Base/Behavioral Medicine Services. Mark has also had a rotation as Military & Family Life Consultant (MFLC) at Ft. Campbell, KY. A former Stress and Violence Prevention Consultant for the US Postal Service, The Stress Doc is the author of Practice Safe Stress and of The Four Faces of Anger. See his award-winning, USA Today Online "HotSite" -- www.stressdoc.com -- called a "workplace resource" by National Public Radio (NPR). For more info on the Doc's "Practice Safe Stress" programs or to receive his free e-newsletter, email stressdoc@aol.com or call 301-875-2567.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)