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Overcoming Disempowerment
Duration: 7 Minutes
Synopsis

Marcus coaches Carol about respect after a complaint Michael has made against her. But when Michael asks Carol for feedback, she is harsh and rude, prompting another complaint. Marcus helps Michael deal with his negativity and introduces the black box, encouraging Michael to put his thoughts into the box. Marcus goes through the same process with Carol who is in awe of Marcus’ inspirational speech.

This episode begins with Carol and Marcus discussing a complaint that Michael has made against her for an inappropriate incident. Marcus reinforces the importance of respecting personal space. Shortly after this Michael asks for Carol’s feedback on a completed report. Carol’s feedback is abrupt and negative, prompting Michael to complain to Marcus about Carol again. Marcus helps Michael deal with his negativity by asking him to say some positive things about Carol and introducing the notion of the black box. Michael is encouraged to write down his negative thoughts and put them in the box. Marcus helps Carol to reassess after citing the positive things Michael had to say. Carol is very impressed with Marcus - and thinks he should be making speeches.

Key Learning Points

“Poor feedback creates frustration and conflict. Acknowledgement and recognition creates motivation.”

HOW TO EMPOWER PEOPLE

Don’t be dismissive
INSTEAD: Acknowledge effort

Don’t give insensitive feedback
INSTEAD: Be constructive and supportive

Don’t focus on weaknesses
INSTEAD: Accentuate the strengths

Don’t make unreasonable demands
INSTEAD: Set realistic goals
 

WARNING - These videos are designed to provoke discussion and response. They are contemporary, fast paced, short, character driven TV style comedies that take a new approach to reaching today's learners. By laughing, discussing, sharing outrage, reacting to the behaviors on screen, we can use these strong feelings and thoughts to develop a clearer shared view of how we want to behave, how we manage these situations, and how we want our team to behave and respond.

Psychological Rationale to Learning The producer, psychologist Eve Ash, has created this specific comedy approach to engage learners who are a media saturated generation that increasingly report being uninspired, unchallenged and bored by traditional or outdated training videos. Eve wanted to create a series that people want to see more of, want to discuss and then refer to when similar occasions arise at work- but with shared insight.

Whilst some people find them insensitive or outrageous, the vast majority of viewers and users have found them refreshing, stimulating and great for getting energy and enthusiasm back into learning. They can of course be coupled them with other programs like the SWITCH ON series, or WORKPLACE EXCELLENCE.

Recommended Audiences
  • All staff
Distributed in the following format(s)
  • DVD
Available in the following language(s)
  • English
Media Type
 Video Recording
Presentation Style
  • Drama
  • Comedy
STOCK CODE
CEC05
ISBN
9781921910050
Published
Melbourne, Australia
Filming location
Los Angeles, USA
Release year
2011
Copyright owner
Seven Dimensions
Publisher
Seven Dimensions