Broadening Minds & Perspectives

We believe in magic and have seen magical things happen in the sessions that we have run at our clients’ conferences. In truth, you cannot always predict the amazing things that can happen on any given day, but we have a fairly good idea of what we could materialise based on the way we have designed our sessions.

This was never truer than with the group from NBC Universal, who took part in a ‘Defenders of Dignity’ team building program during their annual ‘NBC Cares’ Conference.

Considering how many male staff they have, some might say that it was brave for their HR team to pick this program, which is all about and supports the period poverty charity Share the Dignity. In reality, it was a visionary decision, and we suspect they made this call as they grasped the very concept and potential of the program, which was all about deepening the understanding and acceptance of diversity and inclusion in the business. We have since seen many other companies select this program for the same reason.

Instead of recoiling from the topic of period poverty, all the staff, males as much as their female colleagues (and often more so) lent into the subject with curiosity and openness. For the men it became about understanding a topic that was mostly foreign to them and yet one that touched them indirectly through their partners, sisters or daughters. This served them all well, and we could see the bonds quite literally stretch and deepen in the room as the group navigated their way through the activities and information shared.

The session culminated with everyone going shopping for period products and toiletries for at risk homeless women and teenage girls who simply couldn’t afford period products. Not every conference group elects to do the shopping activity, and many get us to pre-purchase the items so they can avoid their staff leaving the venue for practical and health &safety reasons.

NBC Universal wanted their group to have the shopping experience and make it more personal, which it did!

The teams were motivated and charged to do well, and rather than wanting to do better than another team in their group and win points in the process, it was clear that what was driving them was to do the best they could for the person who was going to receive their ‘Dignity’ bag. This common goal and shared purpose translated into an electric current that filled the room as everyone was touched by a deep sense of meaning behind the activity.

When the group left the venue, they were not short of praise about the session and experience, and we left knowing that the memory of the session would live long in the minds and hearts of the people at NBC Universal.

What conference organiser wouldn’t want their people to have their hearts touched and leave the conference feeling better, emotionally connected to the company and their colleagues.