Once upon a time, it was no big deal to be in a room with lots of people. Now it is. Going back to my Design Thinking roots as a coach. Joyful presence. What a creative⛵ blast!
I’ve been in the field of innovation with 💕Design Thinking for about 10 years because I love it.
So, when in-between digital coaching and VR gigs, I get a request, I make it 👍🏽possible.
Getting out the sharpies, collecting egg cartons for rapid prototyping, and packing tons of post-its; there’s always a full suitcase of materials. “Material” that is tangible. Together with an agile agenda, it is easy to adapt, listen to group dynamics and turn people-centric ideas into experiments that create 🤩value.
„I like(d) the clear and detailed communication of the fundamentals of design thinking”
„I like(d) the good balance between input and hands-on work”
Recently I’ve written about the sense of “presence” in virtual reality (VR). The intense feeling of being in a virtual space with others and how this can be leveraged for immersive learning and for collaboration. I compared these VR experiences with my Design Thinking on-site and to that what you get in 2D with Zoom or MS Teams.
And my findings? 🤔
Moderating a live Design Thinking workshop convinced me that:
- Keeping focus
- Team and community building
- “Playing” in the warm-ups and energizers
- Empathy created by sharing (food 🍎🍐 and stories)
On-site is much better than what I’ve done in 2D digital offerings. Maybe not so surprising?😉
And when on-site is not an option, I’d recommend combining on-site sessions (like a workshop kick-off) with VR meetings. The combi is an excellent way to practice New Work flexibility and boost cross-team collaboration. This translates to using VR not only to include but to amplify the emotive human factor in a digital environment.
This is a good option for global and remote teams. A variety of virtual reality headsets are here to buy or rent (admittedly the setup is still a little wonky) and prices are dropping.
In virtual reality, our perception is open to feeling a strong sense of presence thanks to spatial audio, expressive avatars, and hand tracking. This helps people or users to feel more connected and move and react more naturally 👏🏽than in 2D space.
For me, this is part of New Work(ing) in a digital space. Collaboration that involves upskilling and the willingness to try out new ideas and adopt what works for you and your company culture. Design Thinking is an agile problem-solving and change process that incorporates this stance. It encourages a growth🙂 mindset that dovetails with the so-called New Work or New Normal mentality.
“It was FUN to build prototypes”
And the end of the <del>story</del> day, folks want to establish caring professional relationships, enjoy learning without fear, to (hopefully) perform better together. And this is what we did during a sunny on-site workshop in Düsseldorf with a large 🌎team flown in from across Europe.
“It was a very good workshop with motivated participants and a very good trainer team”
“I like(d) that the tasks were fun and engaging. We can get 🤩 inspiration from what we learned and apply it to everyday work”
Karla Schlaepfer