Planning for and leading an
“Interactive Playshop” for the TX Govt Division of Blind Services both revealed and
helped bridge gaps in my CDI – Cultural Diversity Intelligence. From a madcap/multi-GPS car ride worthy of a
scene from a Marx Brothers movie to an art therapy-like group drawing exercise,
flesh and blood, integrity and guts were added to my mental skeleton of “the
blind.” But it was the guiding insight,
gentle humor, and genuine empathy of a blind attendee who helped me learn three
foundational steps for open engagement, enhanced multi-cultural competence, and
showing true respect.
Taking off the Blinders: Viewing Blind Culture/Competence in a New
Light
After a summer’s sabbatical, it’s back
in the writer’s saddle. Actually, a few
events have transpired that deserve mention and reflection. Let me presently illustrate one.
In early September I led a two-hour
Stress and Change Resilience Keynote Playshop for the Texas Division of Blind
Services (DBS). One-third of the 100+
employees in the audience were blind. I
had never done a speaking or workshop program with anywhere near this number of
non-sighted individuals. Beyond the
newness of the experience, in anticipation of the actual program, I had some
questions if not reservations about a major group activity with this
audience: how effective and
participatory could an exercise be that asks small groups to: 1) identify workplace tensions and conflicts,
2) capture these stressors in a group drawing, and 3) culminates with a “show
and tell” segment having one or two team members briefly describe and explain
the group’s illustrated images and visual story?
At the same time, I strongly believed
the exercise would be critical to the success of the event, especially as this
State Govt. Division was in a state of uncertainty and flux. DBS was anticipating major program and
position reorganization. One large
program was slated to be dismantled.
Even though none would lose their government positions, many would feel
some sense of being displaced and devalued.
The
Play of Art and Heart (Even without Sight)
Based on many years of experience, I
knew the aforementioned group art therapy-like activity was an ideal medium for
positively challenging participants to vent and express their tensions and
frustrations in a supportive and creative manner. As it turned out, any worry was unfounded. As advertised, the keynote was more
“playshop” than workshop. While the
images depicting this reorganizational journey might have elements of danger,
e.g., crossing a narrow, shaky bridge over a roaring, piranha-infested river,
the laughter and group buzz affirmed a sense of “we will survive” along with
“one for all and all for one” camaraderie and community. And, as is their wont, sighted and
non-sighted (or visually impaired) participants worked very effectively as a
team, even during the “show and tell” the entire audience about your team’s
picture.
Actually, most of my uncertainty was
relieved the evening before the keynote.
As a group we were heading to a BBQ place for dinner; hey, we were in
San Marcos, TX. While waiting for car
assignments, I was standing around making small talk with a few folks – sighted
and non-sighted – trying not to appear self-conscious. One sharp and vivacious, non-sighted woman in
her 40s quickly picked up on my “fish out of water” discomfort. Anne immediately said, “Don’t be afraid to
use words like ‘see’ or ‘blind.’ Speak
as you normally would…and if you’re not sure about something, ask
questions.” Her insight and guidance
definitely helped break the ice and relaxed my mind.
The
Power of Self-Effacing Humor
For me, another ice-breaker was the
free and easy, good-natured kidding about this disability among blind and
sighted employees alike. For example, they
frequently remind one another to “watch where you poke that guide stick.” One amusing anecdote shared was how when
walking with their guide stick on a crowded street, most people nervously run
and part as if there tapping were a fire engine blasting its horn…or the non-
or limited-sighted individual becomes a Moses parting the Red Sea! Clearly, these men and women had done some
“head work, heat work, and homework” to achieve this level of comfort in their
own skin. (A few days later, I shared my
experience with a former Army First Sergeant, who certainly had seen his share
of battlefield casualties. His immediate
response: “They owned their disability!”)
Actually, these folks use of
self-effacing humor reminds me of a wonderful quote from Ernst Kris,
psychiatrist as well as student of Freudian psychology and humor: What
was once feared and is now mastered is laughed at. That is, we now can look back at a difficult
or fearful time, and perhaps appreciate how we were once overwhelmed or had, in
hindsight, inflated the size of our demons.
But now, based on our track record, more self-assured, we can laugh at
our former, “smaller” self. (Of course,
for some, those demons were truly terrifying and not so easily laughed at, even
with the benefit of hindsight or strengthened mind-sight. Oh, btw, the Stress Doc’s inversion of Kris’
quote: What was once feared and is now laughed at is no longer a master!)
Are
We there Yet?
Getting back to our dining adventure,
driving in the car proved to be a near madcap experience. Carol, the driver of the car and I were up
front, while Anne and Billy, a sharp-witted gentleman in his fifties with a
refined Southern drawl, were talking up a storm in the back. The madness reached its peak when we appeared
to be lost. Carol asked me to check her
Smart Phone’s directional GPS, while Anne and Billy were doing the same with
their audio GPS systems. People are
calling out wildly different route options.
While I was fumbling around with Carol’s phone, not making much headway,
and knowing how far I am from a technology maven, a thought suddenly arose: What we
have here is the technologically blind leading the blind! Alas, I was unable to spontaneously voice this…
However, the next morning, during my opening keynote remarks, I shared our road
trip story, including my self-conscious/self-censored quote. The audience’s laughter was palpable. Finally, I thanked one and all, especially
Anne, for being such an enlightened guide in my awakening to the integrity and
richness of the blind and sight-impaired community and aiding my appreciation
for the array of individuals therein.
Workshop
Feedback
As mentioned, my “3-D” – Discussion-Drawing-Diversity – Team
Building Exercise was the hit of the program.
Here are some testimonials:
Texas Department of Assistive and
Rehabilitative Services – Division of Blind & Visually Impaired; Keynote,
"Stress and Change Resilience through Humor: An Interactive
Playshop"; 2-hr, 100+ participants
Sep 10, 2014
Hi Mark, hope you are experiencing safe travels. The comments related to
your presentation have been very positive! Here you go:
Enjoyed the variety of activities
The interactive activities made the presentation fun
The activities were very engaging; different from the usual lecture style
speaker
As an audience we were involved and active
Loved the drawing activity as a means of depicting our perception of the
changes that are occurring within our agency
Mark did a good job of personalizing his presentation for our specific needs.
It was great to meet you and the presentation was very well received!
Thanks, Cathy
Cathy Rufenacht, M. Ed.
Vocational Rehabilitation Teacher Program Specialist
Division for Blind Services
cathy.rufenacht@dars.state.tx.us
622 S. Oakes, Suite D San Angelo, Texas 76903
Phone: (325) 659-7928
------------------------------
Final
Reflections: In my work as a therapist, with my own
struggles trying to climb out of family-tree depression, and from extensive
readings on creativity and creative individuals, I’ve come to appreciate that,
while a significant challenge, having a major disability is also
double-edged. To compensate for a lack or
limited aptitude in one domain an individual is often compelled to develop
other senses and sensibilities. While
admittedly a small sample, the folks I met had evolved uncommon empathy and insight,
if not imaginative inner vision. And they definitely understood team collaboration. Why
should I have been surprised? Clearly,
my lack of exposure with this culture contributed to my naiveté, if not
somewhat narrow perspective. Alas,
sometimes we can become so focused on an apparent individual lack or on an
obvious impairment that we lose sight of the full person – the array of traits
and temperaments, the variety of individual and group qualities and strengths,
as well as the all too human flaws and foibles.
Remember, whatever the degree of personal ability-disability, the more
we can acknowledge our own imperfect humanity, the more we can see, touch, and embrace a diverse
world. So too can we better appreciate
the heightened integrity and en-light-enment
forged from darkness and adversity.
In closing…to be genuinely receptive,
to attempt to understand whenever possible – with both head and heart – an
individual’s strengths and vulnerabilities, to be curious, to inquire about and
pay careful attention to each person’s life journey – their sun-filled peaks
and somber shadowed valleys – in my book, this is the true meaning of
showing respect. And Anne’s message
remains a beacon for almost any human encounter or endeavor: When
you don’t understand, don’t be afraid to ask. Amen and women to that!
Mark Gorkin, the Stress Doc ™, www.stressdoc.com, acclaimed Keynote
and Kickoff Speaker, Webinar Presenter, Retreat Leader and Motivational
Humorist, is the author of Practice Safe Stress and The Four Faces of
Anger. A former Stress & Violence Prevention consultant for the US
Postal Service, the Stress Doc leads one-day "Stress Resiliency" workshops for
"METRO" Managers and Supervisors of the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority
(WMATA). "The Doc" is also a Team Building and Organizational Development
Consultant as well as a Critical Incident/Grief Intervention Expert for Business
Health Services, a National Wellness/EAP/OD Company. Mark leads highly
interactive, innovative, and inspiring programs for corporations and government
agencies, including the US Military, on stress and brain resiliency/burnout
prevention through humor, change and conflict management, generational
communication, and 3 "R" -- Responsible, Resilient & Risk-Taking --
leadership-partnership team building.
Email stressdoc@aol.com for his popular free
newsletter & info on speaking programs and phone coaching sessions. And
click https://vimeo.com/69053828 for
the Stress Doc's wildly pioneering "Shrink Rap" video.
Stress Doc Mantra:
"Think out of the box, perform outside the curve (the Bell Curve) and be
out-rage-ous!"
