Connecting the Manufacturing Industry: Small Groups Driving Big Change

A bevy of manufacturing companies and executives have joined our Circles community recently. Why? We went to investigate. It turns out that sector has a head start dealing with trends that are now headlines for other sectors: scarcity of skilled hires, managing rapid change, and distributed work. 

Connected to Close the Skills Gap

America Works is a manufacturing industry community that bridges the gap between the widening skills gap and labor supply. According to a Deloitte study, the U.S. manufacturing skills gap could reach 2.1 million by 2030.

Consultants in the community work with manufacturing companies to help them build a more capable, skilled, diverse workforce. Executive Director Matt Fieldman focuses on connecting these consultants to each other and to best practices and resources that can help.

One example of a successful program is TechCred, where “The state of Ohio keeps a list of 400 plus credentials through the TechCred program, where the state reimburses manufacturers for training.” He also organizes FireWorks, an annual conference gathering America Works consultants together. Recently, Matt partnered with Circles to connect Leadership Works participants in peer circles between conferences. “Circles sessions are not tactical; it’s a support network aimed at focusing more on personal challenges. They tend to form deep relationships right off the bat.”

Leadership Works Circles participants shared that they had previously “struggled to meet industry colleagues” and that the sessions provide “a new opportunity to meet with my peers and exchange concerns, ideas and solutions.” Matt’s takeaway is that rapid change and automation only increases the need for connection. “Human connection still matters, and manufacturing professionals need to connect with each other now more than ever.”

Connected During Rapid Change

Automation, offshoring and then supply chain disruptions and a rush back to domestic manufacturing have made rapid change the new normal for many manufacturers. Manoeuvring through constant transition requires skilled leaders at every level. A small team of divisional leaders sparked a grassroots movement to address this at Dupont. They worked with Circl.es to create a custom program titled, “Navigating Change Together.” Individuals invited other team members across regions & functions to process in virtual small groups and journey through three new curated, facilitated, 90-minute sessions.

Participants shared personal motivations for joining:

“It’s been difficult to cope with the constant change in DuPont the last five years.”

“It’s more important than ever that we respectfully communicate, trust and support each other.”

The facilitated NCT discussions forged stronger connections and helped DuPonters harvest their collective strength, build trust and belonging, and find ways to help each other thrive. By connecting on a deeper level, the program acted as a lifeline and buoyed them through the organizational changes.

Building Leaders at Every Level

Most U.S. manufacturing companies are small, family-owned businesses of less than 500 employees, and Pennsylvania’s Electri-cord is one of them. Owner Mitch Samuels has always believed that “learning and leadership are indispensable to one another” and has lived through Young Presidents’ Organization’s (YPO) small group Forum for years. Mitch shares that “Forum has changed my life in so many ways, through networking and peer connection.” His positive Forum experience over many decades prompted him to recently nominate his sons for Key Associates Forum, a program that YPO launched with Circl.es earlier this year. Now, his two sons Jason and Ryan, heads of Business Development and Sales and Marketing, rely on peer connections in Forum powered by Circles to develop the leadership skills they need to handle rapid changes. Jason recalls, “When I was young I remember thinking that my dad’s Forums were just another business meeting. Now I understand firsthand how important it really is.”

Ryan describes Circles as a unique experience that lends itself to forum and open conversation, through a combination of facilitator, platform and program. “KA Forum sessions are two hours long, and I always leave feeling like there was more that we could have said.” Both Jason and Ryan have noticed an impact in the way they think about and lead their respective divisions at work, and consider it an investment in their family business and the manufacturing industry for generations to come.

At the other end of the size scale, Stryker, one of the most respected names in manufacturing, came to a similar conclusion. They partnered with Harvard Business School, (HBS)  to support their rising leaders. Like YPO, HBS also partnered with Circl.es to develop the small-group, cohort-based aspect of their development program.

Connected Across Distributed Teams

Paula Tewksbury has worked in manufacturing for 30 years and knows the value of maintaining connections across distributed peer teams. “Change is always happening, and plant managers never get to connect and network with peers, so our middle managers often don’t have anyone to bounce ideas off of. I immediately saw how Circles promotes employee engagement.”

Paula participated in a circle, then became a facilitator, and finally helped design sessions for employees. She had previously tried other learning & development tools and training, and noticed Circles was different because it allows leaders to grow and develop in facilitation skills, an area Paula has personally participated in for decades. “By design, Circles helps individuals grow in facilitation, while connecting them to other leaders across silos.” She feels connection in circles will upskill manufacturing employees in strategic ways that will buoy them through rapid industry change. 

Conclusion

One reason we’re writing this article is to draw attention to the small group approach as a way for other manufacturers to address their workforce challenges. However, in a world where other sectors face automation, distributed work, and rapid change, this approach is universally applicable. Plants and office buildings may be increasingly “lights out” but humans are required more than ever, and humans are at their best in small groups.

In addition to industry hurdles like automation, the skills gap and upskilling, the real challenge is the disconnection manufacturing employees face at all levels. Whether it’s executives, consultants, plant leaders or manufacturing professionals, the entire industry benefits from human connection in Circles.

Chezie Takes ERGs From Intent to Impact

Dumebi and Toby Egbuna were two and four years old when their family immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria. After their parents obtained a green card through a one-in-a-million chance lottery, the Egbuna siblings grew up in a small town outside Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 

As adults, their identity as black, first generation immigrants shapes how they engage and experience the workplace.

When Toby used to apply for jobs, he would first investigate what it was like to be black in that specific company, searching his online network to see if other black people worked there. Likewise, Dumebi knows that working in corporate America often means being one of the only black people in the room. “I’m a woman, I’m a Nigerian, I’m black, I am an immigrant. There are so many identities that pertain to who I am, and they all affect how I show up in a space.”

Their identities and experiences prompted the Egbuna siblings to co-found Chezie, a diversity, equity, and inclusion company that helps people find belonging in the workplace. “We started Chezie because, as first-gen Nigerian immigrants, we know how important it is to feel like you belong where you work.” Chezie soon spotted the strategic potential of employee resource groups (ERGs), and focused on helping companies become more inclusive by providing an ERG management platform. Toby and Dumbei also host an online community of 700 ERG leaders who collaborate on events and ideas, share best practices, and access valuable resources. To create inclusive spaces for the community’s monthly small group connections, Chezie began developing a partnership with Circles early this year.

Creating ERG Community in Circles

Creating a community for ERG leaders is important to Dumebi, “because ERG work is hard.” When they turned to Circles to host a Black History Month round table in February, 25 black ERG leaders joined the Heritage Month Circle. Dumebi designed the session agenda with a specific vision: “We see companies putting a lot of emphasis on black voices in February, but not year round, so I wanted it to be a space where people could share not only what they’re doing for black history month, but also how they’re holding their organizations accountable the rest of the year. I think that’s where progress is made: not in one moment, but 365 days a year.”

Participants came away praising the Circles experience, scoring it 9.7 out of 10. Dumebi likes how Circles delivers an authentic conversation in a smaller setting. “People were able to share things I’m not sure they would feel comfortable sharing in an open slack of 700 people. Ultimately, it’s a safer extension of that community.” Participants remarked on the intimacy of the session, provided by breakout rooms and other unique platform features. Dumebi feels that Circles promotes belonging, because people are able to show up as their full self and be celebrated for that. “Circles’ unique design provides a space for people to share their voice and be celebrated for their inputs to a conversation.”

The Chezie team plans to host monthly ERG round tables in Circles, allowing leaders across organizations to collaborate and lean on each other. “I can’t even tell you how many people come to us, asking to be connected to other ERG leaders so they can learn from others. So many ERG leaders are passionate about their work but new to their roles, and I think that sense of community and connection to others doing the same work will be beneficial. “I think Circles is going to help bring our community of 6000-7000 ERG leaders together in a smaller space.”

Looking to the Future

As they continue building their product, Toby and Dumebi meet with DEI managers and ERG leaders, staying abreast of what they’re struggling with. Dumebi wants them to know that they’re not doing this work alone. “I’m here to schedule time to talk, and brainstorm about ERGs and resources.” Chezie plans to roll out new features later this year, including a content database providing access to speakers, webinar replays, and event and communication templates.

Toby knows Chezie’s work providing belonging in the workplace is just beginning. “As the world shifts, and more people who don’t fit the white male standard enter the workforce, it’s going to be increasingly important to make sure people belong in the workplace.” 

“That’s why we created Chezie, to help people find belonging in the workplace. We’re going to be the duo that solves the problem.”

Searching for Safe Spaces: Navigating Gender Equality in a Maritime Organization

In 1760, Londoner Edward Lloyd unknowingly founded an organization that would last more than 260 years. At the time, ships were the world’s only reliable transportation option, and Lloyd created a register to record vessel quality for merchants and underwriters.

Today, Lloyd’s Register Group and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation work together to ensure a safe, sustainable, thriving ocean economy, driven by their mission to work together for a safer world.

Their vision for global safety is also reflected internally at Lloyd’s Register (LR), through initiatives from the diversity and inclusion team. While the homogenous white male maritime industry of the late 18th century has evolved, Lloyd’s Register continues to pursue gender equality for their globally dispersed workforce consisting of 70% men and 30% women.

Through a partnership with Circles, LR recently created and implemented Safe Harbor Circles to help bridge the gender gap. By providing psychologically safe spaces for colleagues to connect, share stories, and grow, the sessions have encouraged gender equality innovation and strengthened their global Gender Equality Network. 

The Rising Tide of Gender Equality

The Gender Equality Network (GEN) is one of four LR Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). GEN consists of women and their male allies, and efforts include everything from ensuring women have properly fitting PPE equipment designed for them, to access to basic facilities, such as restrooms and changing rooms onboard ships and in shipyards. The choice to mix genders in the ERG was intentional, stemming from the belief that gender equality isn’t merely a women’s issue. LR’s Diversity and Inclusion manager and supporter of GEN Camila Ramos Vilches explains: “Gender stereotypes affect men as well as women, and everyone’s wellbeing matters to us. We can’t do it alone.”

Ginger Garte stepped in to co-lead the GEN ERG in 2021. After working for years onboard ships, ensuring maritime health & safety as a NOAA officer and then transferring this experience to cruise ships, she’s spent the last twelve years as Lloyd’s Environmental & Sustainability Director for the Americas. The safety she brought to the environment during the first decades of her career lends itself to creating safe spaces for gender equality advocacy through GEN. “Women make up only 1.25% of seafaring roles, which is why co-leading GEN is some of the most important work of my career.”

When LR created a Diversity and Inclusion Team in October 2021, the team was tasked with rejuvenating LR’s Colleagues’ Networks. Initially, that meant supporting three ERGs: GEN (formerly women and allies), ethnically diverse colleagues, and LGBTIQ+ Community and allies. It was while partnering with GEN that Camila realized the challenge of virtually connecting LR’s global community. When Circles Community Growth Manager Jami York reached out to invite Cami to a Women in Leadership circle, Cami attended and was fascinated by the experience. Intrigued by the platform’s inclusive design, she invited Ginger to experience a Circle too.

What resulted was a partnership between GEN and Circles, to co-create the tailored Safe Harbor Circles experience.

Safer Seas and Psychologically Safe Circles

The Safe Harbor Circles initiative creates psychologically safe spaces reflecting LR’s value of safety for the oceans and the world. Participants engage questions like “If you could change one thing about our organization to make it more inclusive, what would you choose?” The design team organically develops each session along the way, tailored to what’s happening in the organization. Cami shared: “I can never tell what topic will come up as a result of these sessions–I’m always surprised!”

In an effort to develop their own in-house facilitative leaders, Cami asked LR’s employees to volunteer to lead the Safe Harbor Circles. Many facilitators remarked on how deep the conversations were after even two sessions. Cami watched them grow from unsure in their facilitation skills to empowered guides, reflecting: “We now have a group of people that feel comfortable facilitating conversations and creating safe spaces.”

Cami also noticed how the Circles platform supported her team of developing facilitators along the way. The room features are intuitive and intentionally designed to empower even the novice facilitator, and Circles provides an orientation & resources to equip the LR volunteers. Cami came away convinced that the platform design made all the difference. “I don’t know if I would feel comfortable with this team facilitating on another platform. Clearly other platforms are way more daunting than this one–Circles makes it easy.”

Safe Harbor Stories

Safe Harbor reached people who don’t always feel comfortable sharing in other spaces, and they often reported feeling less lonely. For example: two female naval architects who had both been with LR for over ten years never crossed paths until they met in a Safe Harbor Circle. One reflected, “It would have been so helpful to know each other when we were starting our careers at LR.”

One story that stood out to Ginger involved a session where only one woman was able to attend. The facilitator proceeded with the agenda anyway; as a result of that session, that participant brainstormed an idea to give every LR woman the opportunity to visit onboard a ship. As Cami summarized it: “Circles gave her the space to voice what she thought would help her colleagues that have never stepped into a shipyard. Sometimes the measure of success isn’t the number of people in a circle, but the impact of the session on the attendees, no matter how small.”

Another participant appreciated Safe Harbor Circles as a space to reflect on her own leadership style and recognize commonalities with global colleagues. “I have never thought about some of these topics before, and never knew I could reflect like this with someone across the world. It’s so impressive that I am in Japan, and I can discuss shared struggles with someone in the UK.” The sessions raised her awareness of global gender gap realities while providing a community with a shared sense of purpose.

Participants are halfway through Safe Harbor Circles, and Cami sees the pilot as just the beginning. She has the patience you’d expect from someone with years of experience pioneering diversity and inclusion efforts. As LR is finding new ways of working in a global structure to respond better to their clients, Cami’s sense is that Safe Harbor Circles will be a part of the solution going forward. “For me, it’s a pilot, bringing a sense of community into our organization for the moment we’re going through. Though this initiative is a humble beginning, I’m a friend of the idea that small is beautiful.”

The Lauder Institute Alumni Association

As women’s history month comes to a close, we’re proud to announce our collaboration with The Lauder Institute Alumni Association. In April, over 100 women from around the world will connect for the inaugural session of the Lauder Meridians pilot. Groups will meet regularly for the remainder of 2023 to connect with like-minded-Lauder Women.

We are on the lookout for organizations to pilot the Circl.es Women Leaders Program, inspired by this groundbreaking collaboration with Lauder Alumni. Connect with jami@circl.es, Head of Community Growth, to learn more about this opportunity.

Embracing Equity in Circles not Rows

Women’s History Month celebrates generations of gender equality progress. While many have gone before and much has been accomplished, today’s International Women’s Day theme “Embrace Equity” recognizes a necessary focus on equity. The IWD Community explains embracing equity like this: “Equity-based solutions take into account the diverse lived experiences of individuals and communities, adapting services and policies according to these differences.”

Equitable solutions doesn’t mean leveling the playing field because women are somehow deficient–it simply addresses the fact that over the course of history, men have constructed systems with men in mind.

Traditionally, gender equality efforts in the workplace focused primarily on balance: working to ensure women are equally represented at every organizational level, and for equal pay. A good and valuable place to start, workplace gender equality remains a work in progress. At Circles, for instance, we celebrate the fact that just three years ago, our globally diverse Leadership team consisted of four men spanning four countries, until 2020 when I stepped into the circle as Head of Community Growth, becoming the first woman to sit in the Leadership Circle. Additionally, our Strategy Circle is 40% female. As we pursue gender equality at every level, we’re celebrating that overall, our company is now gender balanced.

A gender-balanced company doesn’t automatically make it equitable, however, and a recent IBM Study warns that the pipeline for women in leadership is anemic; at mid & senior leader levels, women in leadership are opting out. “Biases are still a barrier. To break them down, organizations need to mature their approach to gender parity and create structures and systems that work for women and men.”

It’s hard work to navigate high levels of leadership as one of the only women. It’s not sustainable. Additionally, specific industries like finance still struggle with gender equality, as evidenced by the continued work of companies like 2X Global (formerly GenderSmart), a partner who’s kept gender inequality in front of us for years. 

Designed With Equity in Mind


At Circles, we are on a mission to create spaces that are the building-blocks of equitable and inclusive behaviors. Women in particular quickly recognize the value of gatherings where they’ll have a speaking turn, won’t be interrupted, and are guided by an intentional structure that facilitates safer dialogue. 

Recently, I have had the privilege of gathering women in leadership into Circles to connect over the topic “inclusion in the workplace,” and they’re eager to discuss. Over 500 have journeyed through these sessions to date. In small groups of six-eight, we listen to and learn from each others’ experiences, discuss career highs and lows, and share best practices on belonging and inclusion efforts. 

Over the course of many sessions, two themes have been validated: one, we are not a monolith. Ethnicity, religion, marital status, background and more makes us shine as individuals, and strengthens who we are together. Two: we bond over the breadth of what we carry in society civically, in the workplace, and in the relationships we manage in every sphere. The reality of our intersectionality plus the burden of our responsibilities magnifies the inequities of current corporate structures.

Another major theme is that we agree that we cannot continue carrying the emotional and tactical burdens of domestic and corporate life unseen; otherwise, we’re facing burnout. Burnout is more than a buzzword. Women in our circles use the word often, and research backs it up: “There’s a sizable (and growing) gender gap between women and men on the issue of burnout, with women 32% more likely to experience burnout compared with men.” Remakably, women may be bordering on burnout, but they carve out time for our sessions anyway. The need to be together outweighs the sacrifice of another precious calendar hour. Experts like Joanna Rees agree: “Every company today is trying to figure out how women can thrive in upper leadership. Women’s Leadership Circles are emerging as an essential piece of the answer.

When recent global events resurfaced societal injustice and marginalization, corporate inclusion efforts of all kinds abounded. Companies created and filled diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging positions. Inclusive leaders doubled down on forming and funding employee resource groups. Last year, the women of Circl.es formed our own She/Her Circle. It has been a highlight!  An energizing and connecting way for us to learn with and from each other across functions and cultures, we cover topics like ‘fear setting,’ temperaments, women’s health and microfinancing.

I can’t ignore another major datapoint – When Chief recognized the C-suite gender gap and created an exclusive new space for female executives, membership skyrocketed. In fact, Chief struck a chord so powerfully that its membership exploded to 20,000 in four years. As this bottleneck demonstrates, women leaders want to join forces as they navigate and influence the corporate landscape together.

While Chief’s waiting list balloons, my hope is to democratize the exclusive experience they offer. Flourishing for everyone, not just women, is the ultimate impact: everyone benefits when women and other marginalized groups are platformed (we all know that diverse teams are smarter). Simply put, we are better together. 

Stay tuned for news about our developing Women’s Leadership Circles program for organizations, coming soon!

Conclusion

When women gather together in guided circles over meaningful topics, they’re fueled to keep leading and paving the way for equity and equality, in the workplace and beyond, for future generations of women in leadership–their daughters, sisters, mothers and friends. 

Sheryl Sandberg had the vision that “in the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.” Until then, we press on to ensure equitable spaces for everyone.

This International Women’s Day, how will your organization prioritize women in leadership? At Circles, we’re on a mission to change the shape of things; in order to embrace equity, the spaces where we gather and work need changing. Register to experience one of our WIL one-off sessions today, or contact me to learn more about adding inclusive & equitable #circlesnotrows to programs for your organization.

Burnout, Wellness and the Future of Work

Glassdoor along with Indeed recently put out a joint hiring report highlighting workforce trends to watch. Three significant elements from their list include: remote work is here to stay, happiness and wellbeing matter, and the changing workforce is pushing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to the forefront.

In many ways, all three topics are intertwined and at the heart of the current movement to transform company cultures.

What’s at Risk With Hybrid & Remote Work

As the report showed, 2023 workplace hurdles to overcome include disconnected teams. Of course, remote and hybrid work certainly offer advantages. People experiencing marginalization often feel safer working from home, workers sacrifice less time away from family, and commuters and cars are off the roads.

Yet distributed teams isolate employees, and experts agree this breakdown of community increases the chance of burnout. Last month, the New York Times mentioned burnout twice in its list of ten steps to better mental health; at the same time, they cautioned against confusing burnout with depression.

So what exactly is burnout?

Burnout Defined

Psychology Today defines burnout as “a state of emotional, mental, and often physical exhaustion brought on by prolonged or repeated stress.” Most often caused by workplace stress, burnout often stems from a feeling of futility and loss of control.

According to this report, incidents of burnout are on the rise–especially for middle managers, the ones trying to keep teams connected and prioritize wellness for everyone else. These are the very leaders we interact with in our Circles community of practice; indeed, when we asked one L&D leader what to watch for in 2023, she listed ‘burnout’ in her top five.

Prioritizing employee wellness initiatives is likely the best way to mitigate burnout, and employees have come to expect a focus on their wellbeing–in fact, some are taking matters into their own hands. The 2023 version of “quiet quitting” is called “the anti-work movement.”

The Anti-Work Movement

Recently, Ariana Huffington predicted that we will no longer wear burnout as a badge of honor–and the rise of the anti-work movement certainly seems to prove her point. Much like how the misnomer quiet ‘quitting’ circulated 2022 headlines, however, those spearheading the anti-work movement aren’t actually against working–they’re against workaholism. “The anti-work movement often leads to people finding ways to make just enough money to get by. They will have more leisure time, rather than working long hours to earn more money.”

Both movements consist of a groundswell of conscientious young workers banding together, committed to choosing wellness over wealth and burnout. The next generation of workers is signaling to their leaders the importance of prioritizing health and wellness.

Wellness Initiatives to Combat Burnout

To improve the state of the workplace, Gallup suggests both engaging employees and investing in their wellbeing so they can truly thrive, revealing that “Employees who are engaged at work but not thriving have a 61% higher likelihood of ongoing burnout than those who are engaged and thriving.”

Workplace wellness includes everything from expansive healthcare that includes elements like mental health benefits, to Employee Resource Groups, safe spaces where employees can connect with others with whom they have an affinity. According to the leaders in our circles, ERGs are safe spaces employees at all levels, themselves included. Glassdoor gathered their ERGs on our platform for breakouts because of our platform’s safe design and inclusive features.

ERGs remain many companies’ leading inclusion initiative, a focus which resurged during the early days of the pandemic in response to world events and social unrest.

Diversity Equity & Inclusion was not a fad


ERGs and inclusion initiatives like them are not new–they originated during the civil rights movement and have ebbed and flowed with societal influences ever since.

Glassdoor & Indeed’s joint report confirmed: the changing face of the workforce will continue organically and intentionally pushing inclusion to the forefront. “As older workers vacated jobs during the pandemic, their younger counterparts find themselves in a position to demand more when it comes to social justice.”

Due in large part to the changing demographics of the U.S. and its workforce, these initiatives will continue becoming intrinsic to who we are. As the report concludes ”The workforce of tomorrow will care deeply about DEI initiatives and employers will use these programs to continue to differentiate themselves in a continuously competitive labor market. Plus, it’s not only good for workers—it’s good for business and for society.”

Conclusions

Together, companies have the opportunity to reinvent themselves into something better, wiser and healthier for the world, and perhaps we can all benefit from the invitation to check our boundaries and avoid burnout. Everyone wins when we incorporate fresh wisdom from the next generation of workers. With the proper inclusion efforts, corporate spaces can lean into the wellness opportunities this next generation of workers are looking for in the workplace.

Are you looking for inclusive spaces to connect your distributed employees? Need a safe place for your ERGs to gather? Schedule a demo with one of our community growth managers today!

Why I’ll Never Give Up My Rock And Roll Dreams

Picture the scene.

I’m in the standing room area on the floor of Madison Square Garden along with 20,000 new friends.

As Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” hits its stride, the lights go out, and we send up a roar to welcome the night’s featured attraction – U2.

90 seconds later, as “City of Blinding Lights” starts up, Bono is standing two feet in front of me.  And we’re airborne.

Pure theater.  Pure joy. And made more dramatic by the well-planned flow of music – from the time we walked in, until the concert began.

Planned flow and the power of music never goes unnoticed by me – a theater professional, and at the time of the concert, Circles’ future Lead Facilitator. I was similarly struck by the learnings from a piece I heard on This American Life a few years back. It highlighted the absence of an emotional response from parents to their children’s school slideshow – all because there was no soundtrack.

Music sets a mood, infuses energy, and lights a fire.

As a theater director, I give as much thought to the “load-in” music as I do the sound design during the play.  Same for my years handling the studio audience load-in in my previous life in television.  Am I bringing the energy up, or dampening it?  What mood am I creating, intentionally or unintentionally?

We’re emotional beings, fueled by a sense of connectivity and togetherness.  Music can act like dry tinder, adding a suggested emotional connotation to what it means to come together.

I love how our technology makes it super easy to grab your favorite YouTube track and play its audio in the CircleSpace.  Too often, facilitators I train think they need to be the one getting it all done through words.  Great facilitators embody energy, timing, and flow, and nothing jumpstarts intentional energy at the start like the right opening song.  It’s like a great leading question, directing the energy and flow of the session down a pre-planned path.  It’s also an opportunity to embody inclusivity and diversity.  I pay attention to the composition of my group, and work to reflect it in my session’s “soundtrack”.

Music is also a “spark”, our term for content that catalyzes conversation.  As an experience designer, I also find ways to build a thematic experience beginning to end, including during reflection time after a prompt is offered.  Running a session on Being Present?  I like Mason Jennings’ “Be Here Now.”  Gathering CEOs to discuss generating impact on world events?  Matisyahu’s “One Day” gets them talking. Our participants frequently mention the power of a session’s music, sharing everything from “great choice of music–opened the flow of conversation” to “the use of music and poetry to cultivate powerful themes left a strong impression on me.”

Music can be leveraged to brand the experience as well.  It’s a cognitive connotation if participants hear the same track each time they enter the space.  “Oh, I remember what this is.”   It’s like a great walk-on moment from your favorite baseball relief pitcher.  It announces the experience to come. 

Because, though I may not sell out the Garden, I can still rock the house.

Seven Steps to Powering Peer Learning in Circles

Since 2016, studies have shown that when it comes to learning, rather than searching the internet or asking their boss, over half of employees rely on their peers. In 2019 Steve Galeski writing for HBR suggested activating peer learning in L&D efforts. “When you account for the fact that humans tend to learn as they teach, peer learning offers a way to support rapid, just-in-time learning, while strengthening the existing understanding your employees have about concepts.”

Of course, opportunities for standard peer connection plummeted over the past few years. Employees grew increasingly disconnected and dispersed from one another, through necessary lockdowns followed by the rise of remote work and distributed teams.

Yet peer learning continues to prove valuable for modern teams: Contemporary Leadership Advisors’ new white paper on peer learning circles (PLCs) found that employees who reach outside their function learn skills faster, and that they feel more valued at work when they’re asked to share about their own learnings. But the researchers also lament that today, “less than half of organizations institute any kind of formal Peer Learning Program, and one in three don’t have any system in place for employees to share learnings with one another.”

Luckily, peer learning is part of the foundation upon which the Circl.es platform and services were built. Read on to learn how we incorporate CLA’s seven criteria for effective peer learning.

Expert Facilitation. “In our experience, Expert Facilitation is the most important determinant of the PLC’s success.” 

CLA’s finding matches the feedback we receive regularly from our clients: time after time, participants rave about their session facilitators. Gertrude Bibi of the GenderSmart community shared: “Without the facilitator it would be just another webinar–facilitation made it personal, and I will always remember this series of conversations.”

Some circles are led by one of our dozens of Certified Circles Guides, who we’ve trained and badged to contract out to customers.

Additionally, we often train our clients’ employees to facilitate their own circles; as customers add our programs to their toolkit, more facilitators are trained each round, resulting in a growing bench of facilitative leaders inside their organizations.

What supports our facilitators in their guidance is the structured process the Circles platform and services provide.

Structured Process. “The second most common mistake  organizations  make  is  to  allow  PLC  sessions to become freeform discussions.” 

A peer learning circle is more than an unstructured small group. In addition to facilitation, circles sessions include curated agendas to help facilitators guide conversations. Agenda outlines vary, but generally consist of a check-in, discussion based on a ‘spark’, as well as a discussion/reflection time and debrief.

The result is just enough unstructured sharing space balanced within an expertly planned session, a combination that creates a safe environment for peer learning.

Psychological Safety: “The PLC space enables participants to take risks without the fear that they are being judged or evaluated while they learn.” 

Psychological safety emerged as one of the hottest workplace topics of 2022. Safe spaces are a growing employee expectation; people want to come to work as their authentic selves, and circles is a space designed to promote risk-free dialogue.

In fact, one of the top ten words participants used to describe Circles in 2022 was ‘safe,’ due in large part to facilitation, agendas, and equitably designed platform features such as random order generator, timers and hand-raises.

Not only is the experience designed with safety and inclusion in mind, but also: what happens in circles stays in circles. Each session begins with participants agreeing upon norms that include a commitment to group confidentiality. The circles safety motto is that ‘learnings leave and stories stay’.

Safe circles prove especially important as we intentionally diversify sessions.


Diversity: “PLC  groupings  should  maximize participant  diversity (e.g., gender, race), as  well as spread across the organization (e.g., function, business unit).” 

Diversification takes place during our initial sorting process. Whether circles are connecting employees across organizational departments or across companies, diversity is a proven element of excellent teams–and, research shows, it goes hand-in-hand with psychological safety. Diverse teams are only conducive to effective peer learning if they are safe; in fact, diverse teams can be less productive if they are not psychologically safe.

This obviously doesn’t make diversity or safety optional; rather, they must be prioritized together. The result of diverse sessions on a platform providing structure and facilitation is an environment primed for safe reflection and critical thinking.

Reflection and Critical Thinking: “As  part  of  the  peer consultations, participants develop and apply coaching skills (e.g., active listening, powerful inquiry, reframing) that lead to deeper discussion and greater insight.” 

Reflection exercises are recommended to help today’s isolated remote workers cope, and community reflection in Circles sessions proves even more powerful.

Agendas introduce individual reflection time first, followed by a chance to share and process reflections together. Because each participant takes a turn listening and also being heard–and interacting with each others’ reflections–members develop skills that independent reflection can’t touch. This is peer learning in action.

The right environment for safe reflection and critical thinking paves the way for real-world application.

Real-World Application: “Each PLC session comes  with  bite-sized,  curated  content  on  a topic that is highly relevant to participants and the business.”

Each session’s conversation ‘spark’ (an article, poem, video etc.) launches discussions pertaining to common challenges participants face. Inside the structured environment of a facilitated circle, groups can safely set and share action steps–especially after multiple sessions together.

This is due in large part to the human connection people experience in Circles. Participants frequently come away voicing the realization that they’re ‘not alone’. Many describe overcoming imposter syndrome after connection in circles. One executive found their cross-company peer circle to be a humbling experience, “because we shared challenges, difficulties and struggles, and everyone was honest about who they are and how they do their business.” Guards come down through genuine connection, allowing growth through real world application.

Participants bring their peer learnings from safe sessions into the real world, and as a community provide accountability for one another.

Accountability: “Leaders need to hold themselves and one another accountable to attend the sessions and arrive prepared to participate.” 

Two types of accountability ensure the most effective outcomes; the first is simply agreeing to carve out time to show up, despite full schedules and competing commitments. The best groups are the ones with high attendance–consistency helps participants build trust, and often the average value score increases with each session. Like any new habit put in place, the dividends increase over time.

A second type of accountability arises as participants bond and support each other through challenges. They become invested in each other’s growth: following up on previous sessions, celebrating successes along the way, and leaning in with curiosity and support when commitments to take action hit roadblocks.

Conclusion

Circles are inclusive spaces designed to help small groups connect and grow. With these seven proven principles embedded in our Circles platform and services, you’ll easily layer peer learning into programs you’re already running. Contact us to begin implementing the power of peer learning circles into your workplace today!

Keep it Real: Why Authenticity Matters More Than Ever (and how to get it)

The most brilliant being to make the headlines last year wasn’t a human–it was ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence so smart it blew our collective mind and intensified the blurred line between what’s real and what’s fake (I pinky swear it didn’t write this post).

In today’s increasingly artificial world, authenticity matters–and this applies to the workplace, too: Forbes’ list of five ways to show up more authentically at work includes advice like ‘opening up about how you feel’ and ‘sharing personal elements of your life’. But whether you’re an organizational leader or a new hire, bringing your whole self to work involves risk and requires a safe, trusting work environment–especially for those who’ve experienced marginalization.

Here are four tips for creating an authentic workplace culture.

  1. Leaders: Go First. In order to create a safe environment conducive to authenticity, organizational leaders must lead the way shaping company culture. Of course, leaders are people too; to some extent, they’re navigating their own authenticity gauntlet, deciding every day how much of themselves to bring to work. To set the tone for a transparent workplace, they need community and support first for themselves; Executive Coach Dina Denham Smith writing for Harvard Business Review suggests that peer connection in small groups helps provide emotional support for today’s leaders. That’s why this year we’re implementing both Executive and DEI Leader circles where peers can offer and find support with one another.
  2. Support Employee Resource Groups. Actively supporting employee resource groups is a growing strategy to preserve authentic safe spaces. Brie Manakal leads the client solutions team at TikTok, and says the primary way they connect and grow their employees is through ERGs. “ERGs provide us the opportunity to find more work-life balance and show up as our authentic selves at work. That’s why these groups are so important: they speak to who we are as individuals. For instance, I’m very connected with both the Asian Pacific Islander ERG and the Women’s ERG. Beyond that, I also think about ways I can be an ally for colleagues across the company.”  Protecting and promoting ERGs ensures not only a safe space for employees to be themselves, but also a way for them to support each other.
  3. Promote Psychological Safety. Is it OK to make mistakes where you work? How many? Psychological safety doesn’t mean not considering performance–in the end, work has to get done. It simply means there is enough trust and security to fail, voice dissension, and communicate out-of-the-box ideas and opinions. At the very least, ensure there is a system in place for addressing harassment and/or microaggressions–and that employees feel safe enough to use it! In addition to promoting authenticity, this recent Business Leader article describes psychological safety as crucial to high-performing teams, because it creates “an environment where people are willing to share ideas for the collective, rather than individual win.” As it turns out, creating safe work environments contributes to the bottom line!
  4. Provide Diverse Connection Groups. One benefit we’ve seen our facilitated circles providing for customers is the chance for employees at all organizational levels to connect with one another. The potential for a new hire to engage a circle with a mid-level manager–or the president of the company–communicates volumes about authentic company culture. One DuPont employee described his experience like this: “One participant in a recent circle was the VP, GM of Business. His presence didn’t inhibit anyone’s ability to share.” That’s because the circles platform and services promote safety and authenticity, allowing human connection at work.

Does an AI like ChatGPT need a safe space to bring its whole self to work? Time will tell–I’m just figuring out how to get it to write for me. For now, at Circles we’ll continue designing inclusive spaces where human beings can authentically connect and grow.

Top Ten 2022 Circles Outcomes

As the year comes to a close, we’re celebrating all the ways circles have served our customers this year. From safety and inclusion to connection and growth, here are ten customer quotes highlighting some of the top words used to describe Circles in 2022.

1. Connection. Circles’ primary purpose is connecting people together. “The struggles that I am going through in my company were discussed in depth. Connecting in the group helped me realize that the same challenges I face are the same in all parts of the world.” Harvard Business School’s Executive OPM Network

2. Growth. Meeting in Circles has helped JumpCrew identify and develop rising leaders. “I contribute a lot of my professional growth to Circles–I’m so thankful to have grown from a sales rep into a director, and from a participant into a facilitator” Amber Gold, JumpCrew

3. Community. Some of our customers gather professionals into communities from across organizations. “It was the first time in a training where there’s space to exchange with colleagues and interact. We shared the challenges we are facing, and I feel I am part of a community.” Milagros Jimenez, The GenderSmart Community

4. Inclusive. Circles provide inclusive spaces where teams can connect and grow. “Circl.es creates space for inclusive conversation, where people can think and exchange in a different way than the normal day-to-day business transactional conversations.” JP, Canadian Red Cross

5. Safe. Psychological safety must be present in order for people to truly open up. “I do not use the term “safe space” loosely–as a woman of color, I feel safe spaces are hard to come by. There is an immediate welcoming and safety that I feel comes with Circles, and that seems to be consistently stated by any of our colleagues joining a circle for the first time.” Karla Talley, Glassdoor.

6. Learning. “When I look back over the past year I am amazed at how much I have gained and learned through my Executive Growth Alliance circle – way beyond my expectations.” Oystein Bach Novartis, The Executive Growth Alliance Community

7. Facilitate. Our trained facilitators expertly guide circle conversations. “Circle is so simple, but it can change your life. When you have a really good facilitator who sets the tone and the participants settle upon agreements together, people slow down and listen not to respond, but to understand. We are attracting people who want to be relational, not transactional. So it’s a beautiful fit to have a platform and technology that is bringing people together to truly communicate.” Frances Kraft, Weave the People

8. Human. In circles, the design features and agendas enable authentic human connection. “Today’s circle was the best, and so relevant. Hearing that people are feeling how I am feeling is so comforting!” Stryker participant

9 . Listening. The platform and agendas promote growth in active listening skills. “One growth aspect that I appreciated was participants developing empathy non-judgemental listening skills. They were actually listening to people’s needs and emotions without giving advice. The circles agenda really helps–there were different tips on how to handle change and uncertainty.” Georgios Topolos, DuPont

10. Culture. Outsourced marketing firm JumpCrew connects their distributed workforce through circles. “Circles are a great tool to cultivate culture and transform the way that I think of “work” when I leave my house in the morning. To me, work isn’t just a job that I clock in, clock out, and collect money from; work is a place where I feel valued, seen, heard, and equipped with the tools to succeed and contribute to.” Adriana Wright, JumpCrew

Whether learning from peers or growing in active listening skills, facilitated circles change company culture by connecting employees on an authentic, human level. We can’t think of a better gift this holiday season than inclusive spaces to connect and grow in the new year. Contact us to schedule a demo today!