1. Building Community in Times of Transition
Hetty Baiz and Susan Danoff
Office of Information Technology
Princeton University
Mid-Atlantic Educause, Philadelphia, Jan. 2009
Copyright Hetty Baiz, This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

2. Agenda
Overview
Try it out
Wrap-up

3. Background
Office of Information Technology plans move to new building off campus (Fall 2009)
150+ staff impacted
Change of culture – new work groups, new location (distant from customers, miss beauty of campus)

4. Background
Educause lists “Change” as top 10 issues for IT organizations in
“IT organizations large and small, private and public throughout higher education are under constant pressure to advocate or influence institutional change.”
Change Management -- two dimensions
Fostering culture change
Handling regular IT changes (patches, upgrades)
Change Management requires planning for change
Defining what change is
Understanding how affect existing systems
Communicating & evaluating once implemented

5. What Princeton Is Doing
Change Mgmt Task Force, coffee with CIO, cross-functional teams
Workshop: “Building Community in Times of Transition” to enable discussion / identify challenges & opportunities
Presented at an all-OIT meeting
Invite 15 participants per session
3 sessions / 45 staff to date

6. Workshop GOALS
Understanding transition in life and the work place & knowing the tools we have to deal with it
Understanding challenges and opportunities
Remembering that in the midst of change, we carry unchanging gifts and qualities
Appreciating our colleagues and what they bring

7. Sample Workshop Activities
Stories
Brainstorming
Group discussion
What is transition
Where / when does it occur
Transitional moments in story, life, work
Manual for transition
Changes in work place
Challenges, opportunities
What you bring that doesn’t change amidst change?
Visual exercises

8. Sample Agenda Story of something you’re carrying with you
Story told by Susan / Group discussion
explore nature of transition
transitions in life / work
manual for change and transition
Model of transition / Group discussion
Changes in workplace
Challenges and opportunities
What do I bring/carry with me that doesn’t change

9. Why Stories Compel us to listen
Engage us emotionally /provide shared experience
Are metaphorical -- allow reflection in a personal, non-intrusive, way
Provide raw material for discussion, brainstorming, sharing, and listening
Capture the essence of our common humanity
Listening to stories, we recall our own stories

10. Why Stories
"A senior official at the World Bank, Steven Denning, found that 'time after time, when faced with the task of persuading a group of managers or frontline staff in a large organization to get enthusiastic about a major change, storytelling was the only thing that worked.'"
-Story Proof, The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story by Kendall Haven, page 4

11. Example – “Visual” Story

12. What Do I Carry With Me? – A “Visual Story”
Collaboration, Team Work
Communication Skills
Problem Solving
Knowledge, Skills
Personal Values
Temperament
Passion and Engagement
Creativity, Vision

13. Example – Oral Story
Rainbow Crow – story told by Susan Danoff

14. Question for Participants
Imagine that the story “Rainbow Crow” is your guide for living through transition. 
As a group, brainstorm the underlying ideas in the story about living through/coping  with/ understanding transition. 
(Ask one person in your group to be the scribe and write down all of the ideas that the group discusses.)
Examples: - Transitions offer opportunities for transformation. - Transitional moments can cause suffering.

15. Testimonials
“Sharing with the group creates a bond with the group, making its member more comfortable and more eager to share.”
“ The relaxed and casual environment to discuss a stressful change is beneficial for individuals to talk with others in the same situation.”
“It helps to build group bonds and also pushes you to think more deeply about the subject of change.
“This should be a workshop all staff are required to take.”

16. Questions?
Contact: Hetty Baiz
(609)