Last week I led a 2-day workshop, Transitions: Embrace Change With Confidence, for professional women. As usual, I’d prepared notes and a slide presentation.
The first part of the workshop was dedicated to encouraging discussion on the challenges arising from facing transitions. The women were forthcoming, vulnerable, and supportive of one another – so much so that I realized it wouldn’t be adequate to move on with my original plan that explored practical strategies focused on the workplace. As they continued to talk, it became obvious that the challenges were rooted deeply in identity and self-judgment that wouldn’t be answered by a listing of tools and how-to’s. Those have their place, but we went deep quickly and I decided to change the trajectory so we could lean in a little further.
At the point where we were about to dive into a meditation and writing exercise, the Zoom room was bombed with trolls. It took a few minutes to eject them, and I was fortunate enough to have a wing woman who took care of securing the Zoom room.
I looked around at the women: they’d been moving into a softer, vulnerable space and had been abruptly jolted out of it.
I had two options: continue the workshop and breeze over the interruption. Or I could address it. I’d asked these women to trust me. Was I responsible and trustworthy? This was a stand-up-and-be-counted moment since, typically, I dislike facing negative emotions. But this wasn't about me -- it was my whole workshop and I was the facilitator. So, we took a break to express our irritation, had an emotional cleansing, and then took a 2-minute guided breathing break. They reported they were calmer, connected and ready to continue, and we had an incredible workshop.
WHAT I LEARNED. Pivoting is an essential part of teaching. The workshop I prepared wasn’t the workshop the women needed and by listening carefully at the beginning, we were able to make a shift into creative work that also helped to bond them.
NO ONE EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION (thank you, Monty Python). When the interrupting emotions show up, as they do, acknowledge and move through them instead of stepping over them. Knowing this theoretically and practicing it are two different fish! Those difficult moments and emotions have their place and are a crucial part of deep work – and I had a chance to practice my own emotional cleansing and deep breathing!
"The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership" (Chapman, Demther and Klemp) also played a role in helping me to address my feelings during the interruption and stay "above the line."
Here I am, two years into my business and I'm excited to see how I’m growing into my role as facilitator and participant which, I feel, is the most creative way of teaching.
NOT generated by Chat GPT
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