By Marion Adamson
We recently hosted a free online session for some of our clients, to allow them to explore how they might transition into a fully remote and connected workspace.
Hosted by IPK’s Marion Adamson, Nqaba Mpofu, and Catherine Widrig, the meeting had just over 70 participants gathering virtually on the Zoom platform. In an introductory ice breaker exercise, participants were able to share their feelings around transitioning into entirely virtual collaboration modes. They then were asked to brainstorm challenges of working virtually, and also what the objectives of their virtual interactions typically are. Participants learned more about backcasting, and the difference between synchronous and asynchronous activities. Three virtual tools were presented in this session: Zoom, Google Docs and Mentimeter. Ideaflip was briefly discussed, and Surveymonkey also came up. Further to this, we discussed the rhythm, and the pace, of virtual collaboration, which are different from working in the physical realm. Critical considerations for planning a virtual interaction were introduced next. There was a coffee break, where lovely music was played. We attempted breaking away into small groups to work on an application activity around backcasting. For some, this was a success, for others, there were a few hiccups in this part of the session, as technical issues came up. But this was all a part of the learning process, and was accepted by participants as part of the exercise. The last 10 minutes were saved for questions and answers.
All in all, we hope that we provided a safe fail learning environment for the participants, and according to the feedback, this was the case and they were grateful for the opportunity.
If you are interested in an online support session, we would love to create and host a space for you or your team. We would like to lend a listening ear, to find out what your new situation is like, and to help you to prepare for what could lie ahead. Together, we can unearth, and discover the new possibilities of this situation.
Please contact us if you would like to explore how to “Handle change and transitions individually or collectively”, “Collaborate or lead teams remotely and online” or “Design and facilitate in the virtual realm”. Simply let us know what your interests and needs for such online sessions are on info@i-p-k.co.za or on WhatsApp +27 67 608 7464. We hope to hear from you soon!