 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
 |
|
|||
 |
|
You
are here: Festival in the Workplace: Igniting Passion for World Class Excellence
by Roosevelt Finlayson and Patrice A. Francis
Work and fun. Rarely are these two words found in the same sentence. But recently executives in a small but increasing number of organizations worldwide have become interested in exploring the link between fun, creativity and productivity. As a part of this trend, a new concept, the Festival in the Workplace, has been developed in The Bahamas. Roosevelt Finlayson, Creative Collaborator with MDR Global Leadership and Innovation Network is the developer of this concept.
Finlayson said, "At its core, the Festival in the Workplace attempts to answer the question: 'How is it that many persons who are going at half pace or less on the job, get involved in more creative activities outside of the workplace, such as the annual Junkanoo festival, and become transformed, passionate and highly productive individuals?'"
African slaves started the Junkanoo festival over 200 years ago as their way of celebrating the Christmas season. Junkanoo has evolved into a world class festival wherein persons of varying ages, occupations, religious affiliations and social backgrounds, spend several months each year designing and building magnificent costumes and rehearsing powerful music and elaborate dance routines. In The Bahamas, Junkanoo is the activity through which many people choose to unleash their passion and creative energy, but in other parts of the world people may choose their favorite local festival or a similar activity that focuses and renews a community's energy.
"The important thing is that managers must spend time looking out of the windows of their organizations to find those activities where human energy is flowing," said Finlayson. "In some cases they may find a festival or a church choir. Whatever the activity, if we were to study it we may learn some important lessons on how to build a workplace culture that ignites passion, generates creative energy and improves productivity."
Many organizations in the Bahamas are experiencing a crisis in productivity. They have a high percentage of workers who are just "going through the motions" every day and only doing enough to get by. The basic purpose of Festival in the Workplace is to increase the level of passion, creativity and productivity by developing a work environment in which all employees are valued and celebrated for their gifts and contributions. Employees who feel valued for the unique contributions they make to the organization are in turn motivated to think of new and better ways to accomplish their work resulting in a win-win situation that serves the interest of management, coworkers and customers. The Festival in the Workplace is also intended to provide an empowering environment that facilitates learning, provide a nourishing environment for the soul, legitimize fun in the workplace, and increase an individual's sense of connectedness to their work and the purpose of their organization.
Organizations are encouraged to use the lessons from festivals to transform the workplace culture so that people will have a more positive experience each day. Organizations should also consider setting aside a period of time each year for their festival -- an evening, a day, a weekend or a week. Everyone in the organization will have an opportunity to sing, dance, read poetry, tell stories, perform in a drama, prepare a special meal or mount a display of craft items or flowers. This list is not exhaustive; what persons do at their Festival in The Workplace is limited only by their interests and imagination. The development of the idea for the Festival in the Workplace was inspired by several personal stories.
There's the story of Neville Henderson, dubbed "the original Junkanoo artist." Neville was a part of a Junkanoo group for as long as he could remember. Building costumes and "rushing" down Bay Street in Nassau during the annual Junkanoo festival was a way of life. But it wasn't until Neville decided to decorate his walls with his own Junkanoo-inspired paintings, which caught the attention of his manager, Tom Kessler, that the artist really took his own talent and work seriously. Kessler was so impressed with Neville's artistic ability that he helped to arrange his first exhibition. Before Kessler saw his paintings Neville was, to everyone at the organization, the maintenance man. After the exhibition Neville's coworkers, friends and the community saw another side of him and began to appreciate him in a new way. And Neville began to see himself in a new light. The maintenance man was transformed into the "Original Junkanoo Artist" because someone dared to highlight his special gifts and abilities.
Festival in the school
Finlayson said he is excited that the Festival in the Workplace concept is not limited to the traditional workplace. At Uriah McPhee Primary School located in Kemp Road, Nassau, Bahamas, this idea of valuing adults and children alike has become a reality. Three years ago Ashanda Curtis was a shy seven-year old who didn't think of herself as a successful and gifted student. But she had no idea what was in store for her! One day by "accident" Ashanda's dramatic ability was discovered when her guidance counselor observed her performing a series of dramatic improvisations. Once Ashanda's gift was discovered her fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Jacqueline Saunders, made every attempt to involve her in school events in which her talent could be showcased. Today, she is a more confident 10-year old experiencing academic success and continuing to develop her artistic ability. Ashanda's story led guidance counselor, Patrice Francis, to form a performing arts troupe: Players of Light, at Uriah McPhee Primary. Ms. Francis' rationale? If one student could be so empowered by her involvement in the arts and dramatically transformed because someone recognized and valued her gifts, many more children can be thus affected.
But Francis didn't realize that her attempt to transform students would spread to a transformation among the school's support staff. She discovered this when she asked office personnel, janitors, and security officers to help her organize the students during weekly rehearsals. Various members of the support staff agreed -- but they did more than just organize the students.
"At one point during the first rehearsal, I just had to step back and smile. Mrs. Marie Roach, the secretary, along with Mrs. Linda Brennen, the school security, was directing the Players of Light chorale -- with much more pomp and circumstance than I had!" said Francis.
Meanwhile Francis followed the lead of Mrs. Nathalie Morley, another secretary, who knew how to "keep the students in line." They all relied on Ms. Sheba Bain, the supervisor of the janitorial department, who taught the students songs and just gave them that authoritative matronly "look" when they weren't listening. And another janitress Ms. Mellie Bowe showed up with ideas of how to get the stage and set "just right."
Players of Light became a support staff affair and persons like Mrs. Brennen was so excited that she often asked Ms. Francis: "You need me today?"
Said Francis, "The support staff at Uriah McPhee have so many gifts and abilities that they can pour into the students and given the freedom to do so, that's exactly what they did."
Players of Light will be formed into a community performing arts troupe --current and former students of Uriah McPhee as well as other children in the community will continue to spread positive messages through the performing arts -- directed by Ms. Francis -- with, of course, the able assistance of the support staff at Uriah McPhee -- who have the consistent support of the principal Mrs. Thelma Dean.
Finlayson and Francis agree that what happened at Uriah McPhee was the creation of willing learners. The students were expected to read and memorize their scripts and songs -- but their learning took place amid laughter in a fun environment. In that same fun-filled environment, the support staff could transfer their gifts and abilities uninhibited.
Finlayson said, "The environment was just right for the students to be motivated to learn and the adults to be empowered to teach."
"That's exactly what happens in the Junkanoo shack and in other creative activities," Francis said. "People are free to be productive at something they enjoy in an environment that accepts and values them for who they are."
MDR plans to work with Uriah McPhee to hold a full-scale Festival in the School -- at the core of which they will explore how the motivational level of students increases when they are learning new concepts in a fun environment.
Festival in the Workplace has the potential of transforming individuals the world over. It can work in business corporations, government agencies, schools -- really in any place where people desire to be more creative and productive and to feel more fulfilled.
Roosevelt Finlayson is President and Creative Collaborator with MDR Global Leadership and Innovation Network. He is a specialist in the areas of leadership effectiveness, personal and organizational change, innovation and productivity improvement. He can be contacted via email at mdr@mail1.coralwave.com.
Patrice A. Francis is a guidance counselor at Uriah McPhee Primary School in Nassau, Bahamas and Creative Consultant with MDR. Her involvement in drama as a child introduced her to the blend of learning and fun. She is therefore an advocate for integrating the performing arts in education.
Copyright ©September 2001 New Horizons for Learning, all rights reserved.
, http://www.newhorizons.org/
E-mail: info@newhorizons.orgFor permission to redistribute, please go to:
New Horizons for Learning Copyright and Permission Information