Sept 20 Program Meeting Report

 
The 2011-2012 year got off to a great start at the Sept 20 program meeting, “Team Building with Christine Staheli.” Christine is an LMSW and Training and Staff Development Manager at Catholic Family Center of Rochester and she brought a wealth of experience to this interactive, hands-on training. 
 
First, Christine asked us to pair off for an icebreaker activity, “Well…What Do You Know?”  After we answered questions about our partners with our best guesses, we had a dialogue to learn the correct answers.  This provided a great opportunity to become aware of our assumptions and the perceptions through which we experience meeting new people. 
 
Next Christine asked for ten volunteers who lined up along both sides of thin, lightweight, flexible pole.  Each person was instructed to let the pole rest on their index fingers, and to work together to lower the pole to the ground.  One end of the pole immediately began to rise toward the ceiling!  Over the course of several minutes, the group successfully completed the task, while participants emerged in different roles, such as leader, coach, observer, do-er, follower, etc.  These roles were fluid and shifted throughout the process.  Overall, Christine said we were an extremely cooperative group! 
 
Discussion followed about the dynamics we observed; language that was used;  and how when given a problem to solve, each team member can find a role or roles to fill, which may or may not conform to our expectations for a particular individual. 
 
One RAAVS member pointed out that there was no time frame given for completing the task, which is normally not the case in the workplace.  The addition of time pressure and deadlines could have a significant impact on the team’s experience, and could also force them to re-think their approach and process.
 
The meeting was attended by 23 RAAVS members; those who completed evaluation forms rated it a 4 on a scale 1 to 5.
 
This was our inaugural meeting at AIDS Care, who is hosting all program meetings this year. Many thanks to AIDS Care and RAAVS member Adrienne Schleigh, for making this space available.
 
Submitted by Laurie MacFarlane, Program Committee Co-Chair