Leading a team through change isn’t just about the strategy; it’s about understanding the emotions that come with it. It's important to focus on feelings because they can seriously affect how well a team moves through change. How often have you heard that "we need to keep our emotions out if it!" This archaic and outdated model of leadership overlooks the fundamentals of human behaviour. Instead you MUST pay attention to feelings, both yours and everyone else's.

In a recent HBR article about Storytelling That Drives Bold Change, Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss listed the 10 Underrated Emotions in Change Narratives that we often overlook but can be incredibly influential when leading through change:

• Frustration: Can drive us to find better solutions.
• Regret: Reminds us to learn from the past.
• Enthusiasm: Fuels our energy and commitment.
• Devotion: Deepens our connection to the mission.
• Happiness: Builds resilience and a positive culture.
• Discomfort:...

In a recent interview with R&E Founder Jeremy Dean, Professor Michael Parke from the Wharton School provided some fascinating insights into the role of emotions in the workplace. His thoughts offer a refreshing perspective on how emotions, often considered a workplace taboo, can actually be a force for good in fostering creativity, teamwork, and overall employee well-being.

Here are the key takeaways from the conversation.

1. The Power of Affect Labeling

Parke emphasised the importance of 'affect labelling', a process of articulating negative emotions at work. "When people are able to voice things like frustration or anxiety... it can actually be seen as credible and help managers understand and address the underlying issues," he stated. This approach challenges the traditional notion of keeping negative emotions under wraps and highlights how acknowledging them can lead to constructive outcomes.

2. Creating an Authentic Emotion Climate

Another significant insight was the need...

Bringing out your inner facilitator

People often tell us that facilitating scares them. They’re worried about controlling a room of people, or ensuring that those people get real value from their sessions.

The good news is that great facilitation is something many of us can learn. And the Online Masterclass Course is a great way to focus your facilitation skills to get the most out of the Deck for everyone involved.

Why it works – in their words

We get tons of feedback from people who’ve done the Online Masterclass Course about how it has helped them. If you’re wondering whether you’re going to get everything you need, please take a few minutes to read a small sampling of the comments we’ve received:

"I think at the beginning, I was having doubts and was anxious on how effective I would be, especially for my first sessions. The Course though emphasised practice and routine, and patience in failure in order to improve so, with that, I will just...

by Joanne Free-Pameli reposted from LinkedIn >

It was sometime during August of 2020 when I first encountered riders&elephants and completed the available ECD Online Masterclass. I was hooked.

As a Change Management practitioner for more than a decade by then; I was keen to find tools to help Change Leaders and their teams improve their alignment, collaboration, and the change ready culture within which they worked.

The Change Transformation program priorities I’d seen, time and time again were frequently on the project plan, scope, timeline, and budget with far less focus on how the project and change teams including leadership were functioning during the change programs delivery and, how the changed-future state was then transitioned to the “business as usual” team. It was often project, cost, timeline and whoever is part of it- just get it done.

I needed something that would help me build the essential recipe for any change...

We’re thrilled to announce Anna Clayton's remarkable achievement in becoming a Specialist Elephant Rider! We feel proud and grateful for Anna’s incredible contributions to our Community over the past 18 months. Her infectious presence and relentless focus on placing the human at the core of her work are inspiring. Read more below about her journey to becoming our newest Specialist Elephant Rider.

We asked Anna about her three biggest lessons along the path to becoming a Specialist Elephant Rider, and she said:

“There are A LOT of emotions out there! I have learnt so much about individual emotions and as a result I have increased my emotional granularity. This has made me a better communicator and connector.

“Anyone can (and eventually will) talk about emotions. There were times I was nervous about facilitating with some teams or individuals as they were often quite 'closed'. I found out that although someone may appear closed they often...

At the start of 2023, we set out to make everything we do 5% better. We wanted to slow the pace down a bit in the R&E Lab and hurry a bit more slowly. But as I sit here at the end of 2023 and look back on the year, I chuckle to myself. Wow, what a year it's been.

As I read the pages in this magazine below, I feel immensely proud, joyful, grateful, humble, and a little overwhelmed. This beautiful magazine showcases how much our Community and the people within it have grown. There was more ECD activity than we've seen before – thanks to the inspiring, generous, and thoughtful contributions of hundreds of Elephant Riders in our new Community Platform.

This year, our Elephant Rider Community grew to over 1200 people across 43 countries. We ran two ECD Online Masterclasses and welcomed 200 new Elephant Riders into our Community. Ten inspiring humans unlocked their Pro Elephant Rider Badges and became ECD Certified Consultants. Five Elephant Riders moved onto Specialist...

Originally posted on LinkedIn here >>

Over the last six months I've been on a journey to become a Pro-Elephant Rider using the Emotional Culture Deck from riders&elephants. Working with Jeremy Dean with a select group of 11 others has been amazing. We've done a deep dive into using the Emotional Culture Deck cards in so many situations.

For those that don't know about the Emotional Culture Deck (the ECD), they are a set of cards, black and white, with 47 positive feeling cards, and 38 negative or more uncomfortable feeling cards on them. They can be used in so many ways - with individuals and teams - helping people to discover the incredible power of knowing and using emotions in workplaces. The ECD has a range of tools - handbooks and canvases developed to use with it, and this journey has introduced me to them all.

It's been a great journey as amazing workplace cultures are so important to me. It's something I've valued for a long time and it's become my...

Start your journey to Mastery.

You can download The Emotional Culture Deck for free, and that will give you a taste of the potential of the #1 game in the world for better workplace culture. You can buy your own Deck and work with our sanely simple card game to explore, understand and map your emotions and those of your team or organisation. But to really make the most of The Emotional Culture Deck, enrol in our Online Masterclass Course and put yourself enroute to mastery.

You can reserve your place right now here »

See results immediately, feel ripples indefinitely

If you're looking to unlock your full emotional potential and/or create a more emotionally connected workplace, The ECD Online Masterclass Course strikes the perfect balance between lessons and actions to ensure an enjoyable and enriching learning experience:

• Bite-sized videos explain The ECD in a structured and easy-to-follow way

• Practical tools and tips aid facilitation, training, and organisational...

Leadership doesn't happen overnight. It is nurtured, honed, and continuously developed. This is the ethos behind the Whanake o te Kōpara Programme—a comprehensive leadership development programme delivered by Women in Sport Aotearoa and Shift. Designed for young women aged 19-25, the programme is more than just a series of workshops and discussions. It's an investment in the leaders of tomorrow, specifically for a group that has often been overlooked: young women, particularly those involved in sport, active recreation, and wellbeing sectors in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Why It Matters

In a world increasingly cognisant of the need for strong, well-rounded leaders, the Whanake o te Kōpara Programme plays an instrumental role. It doesn't just aim to fill a professional skills gap; it strives to fill an emotional and mental one, too. Young women emerge from the programme with newfound skills, certainly, but also with an emotional intelligence that enriches not only their...

Navigating the intricacies of organisational culture and individual wellbeing often raises numerous questions. A frequently asked question that we get asked is,

"I've recently purchased both the Wellbeing Deck and the Emotional Culture Deck. I'd love to know your thoughts on when to use one set over the other." 

Whether you're centred on personal health or keen to enhance team dynamics, discerning the optimal scenarios for each deck can be pivotal. The Wellbeing Deck and The Emotional Culture Deck are powerful tools designed to address organisational health and individual wellness.

The answer to these types of questions is always "it depends." It depends on what you're trying to achieve. What problem you're trying to solve? Why are you injecting these tools into your teams and organisation?

But here's a breakdown to guide you when you might opt for one over the other:

1. Purpose & Focus:

   • Wellbeing Deck: Use this when your primary goal is to address...