A brief report on
THEATRE BASED INTERVENTION
in
65TH STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME
BHEL, HRDI, NOIDA
22.7.2002 – 03.08.2002
Parth Sarathi
Additional General Manager
Human Resource Development Institute
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd
NOIDA
BACKGROUND: -
The 65th STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME was designed within the pre decided framework to achieve the following objectives:
- To understand the Business environment and its impact on the organization.
- To become aware of organizational issues, problems and challenges, facing the organization.
- To understand the strategic decision making processes and the strategies being followed in the context of the present business environment.
- To enhance one’s abilities as a change agent.
This was held from 22.7.02 to 3.8.02 and 27 executives at the levels of Sr. Dy. General Managers and Addl. General Managers participated.
‘Leading with Vision’ was the theme of this SMP, ‘Strategic Thinking’ was one of the important inputs. Realizing the power of Theatre based interventions, it was decided to go with this experiment of two days duration.
METHODOLOGY
This intervention was unique and based on the change model – ‘Defreezing ----- Intervening ---- Refreezing’ and the Experiential learning theory (developed by Kolb) shown below helped in evolving the methodology ------
Experiencing
Applying Sharing (Publishing)
Inferring
Processing
A series of ‘Structured experiences’; punctuated by occasional sharing by participants and debriefing by the Programme Director (Parth Sarathi) was used.
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
The learning objectives to be achieved from this intervention were the primary concern while designing this module. A list was prepared on the basis of brainstorming, in-depth study of programme objectives, deliberations of Governing Council of HRDI, expectations shared by CMD and other Top Management during interactions in previous programmes and feed back of participants. Discussions were held between the Prog. Director and Faculty for this intervention and the following emerged as likely themes –
- Evolving space for common interaction
– Micro lab or defreezing
- The Mirror exercise / an exercise about dreams
- Self image (visually)
- Imagination with open eyes, reality & dreams
- Sensitivity towards self
- Opening / sharing of conflicts
- Venturing into unknown
- Common experience for the group to work on
- Improvisation – a way to spontaneity
- From structured to spontaneous response
- Leadership – individual – dyad to collective
- Strategic thinking and presentation
- Production or delivery (Customer Service)
- Comforts & discomforts in dealing with ambiguity
- Decision making
- Communication – non verbal & verbal
- Accepting the challenge
- Discomfort with given show
- Strategy formation
- Giving & receiving help
- Trust
- Encounter with fear
- Challenge the challenge
- Slow motion image formation
- Efforts for change
- Acceptance of challenge
- Challenge to face / deal with change
- Change agent- skills and opportunities
- Collective compulsion to challenge
- Organizational change
- Collective feedback session
- Re freezing
- Feedback for improvement at self, and group also for programmes
HIGHLIGHTS
The programme was conducted within the above mentioned framework, the highlights are presented below-
- Stimulating Creative thinking, getting in touch with feelings
Initially, the participants were given opportunity to experience and stimulate their creative thinking through various exercises – mirroring, dreaming indulging into non-logical activities, facing ambiguities etc. It was quite uneasy and difficult for most of the participants, as they were predominantly using their analytical thinking to derive meaning with a little or no use of imaginative and creative thinking. They could stimulate their imaginative and creative thinking only after realizing their constraints and intermittent debriefing. Adequate opportunity was provided to the participants for sharing their feelings, thoughts and concerns.
- Internalizing values of excellence and speed of response
After some experience of getting in touch with their feelings, they could focus better and get insights on the basis of their own and others’ experiences. With small acts and games (It will be good if we can mention the acts & games), few of BHEL values like excellence, speed and learning could be brought to the experience level, which provided valuable insights and got internalized by repeated practice.
- Managing in uncertain environment – experiences and insights
Managing in uncertainty is the greatest challenge before Managers today. With an episode ‘Venturing into Unknown’ participants playing blind men, were led from one location to another simply by vocal cues given by the faculty. In their way, there were different types of obstacles, and hurdles. How sensitive and alert they were for the cues, how little sound or movement of others were picked up for onward journey, how an unknown person could become so helpful without conscious effort, how help was sought and extended, fears, apprehensions, motivations, blockages, success, failure … all were experienced quiet intensely. The sharing of participants at the end of this experience - their feelings, imaginations and struggles provided different dimensions to managing in uncertainty. It was simply a great experience – the insights were many with very wide implications.
Envisioning, aligning others to one’s vision and getting the vision (plans & activities) executed emerged as other highlights. All participants experienced all roles – visualizes, influencer and doer. The practice was a great experience – dividing participants into pairs – assigning one person the role of visualiser, making him visualize some thing and making the visualization happen through the object -- played by another person; had a great process value. One could realize one’s strengths as well as limitations and disabilities in visualizing, persuading and motivating others to align. After this experience, the group moved towards climax!
Participants were divided into 4 groups, they were asked to Envision (visualize) some thing and execute it to gather in their respective groups. The groups separately prepared for 15 minutes and then executed one by one. The intra-group process was fantastic – visualizing individually, taking the risk and sharing with group members, selecting one out of so many alternatives, making improvements over others’ ideas – decision making, persuading ---- a no. of behavioural processes occurred providing valuable opportunities for learning.
- Leadership – Follower-ship revisited
Finally display by the groups, one by one. Every presentation aroused positive feelings not only in the players but the observers also. Leadership, follower-ship, replacement of leader, replacement of followers – the emerging feelings, impact on group effectiveness – provided intense learning in most interesting ways. The themes, which are difficult to be conveyed in 5-6 days, could be internalized in minutes! This epitomized the power of Theatre intervention.
At the end, another group exercise was conducted to reinforce (re freezing) the learning. Every group shared their insights and learning. Team work, risk taking, sensitivity to self and others, group appeal, creativity, generating alternatives, strategy building, assertiveness, cooperation, giving and receiving feedback etc. were some of the other insights conveyed by the participants. To sum up, everybody utilized the opportunities and resources available for unleashing their potential.
Shri Manjul Bharadwaj, the Founder Managing Trustee of Experimental Theatre Foundation, Mumbai, conducted this module on Theatre intervention. He is a trained Behavioural Process Facilitator and Social Activist, devoted to the philosophy of “ Theatre of Relevance”. This was jointly designed by him and Parth Sarathi, AGM (HRDI) who was the Programme Director. Periodic processing, debriefing and conceptual inputs made this module highly effective.
FACULTY /FACILITATOR
Shri Manjul Bharadwaj, a young theatre personality, conducted this module. He is the Managing trustee –Experimental Theatre Foundation set up by him and some like-minded people. He has performed over 30 plays multiple no. of times and conducted over 100 Theatre workshops in India and Germany. He is a social activist and works for rehabilitation of child labour. A trained Behavioural Processes Facilitator, Manjul is experimenting actively to take theatre to various other fields.
He was supported by the author in design, facilitation and debriefing.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
After seeing Manjul designing and conducting street plays on deep sensitive subjects instantly, the idea to use theatre intervention in training programmes nucleated. The response at this programme has opened new avenues for using theatre intervention in Management development. Many themes, which could not be successfully internalized after days of work, could be communicated, understood and internalized within no time. It was full of risk to carry out this intervention with high level technocrats who are attuned to analytical thinking but the variety and depth of interventions succeeded in breaking the initial resistance. After a couple of hours, they all started experiencing, enjoying and getting insights. If properly designed and conducted, theatre intervention has great relevance in management development.
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Contact: Address :Manjul Bharadwaj
The Experimental Theatre Foundation,
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