On 25 September, six HR and development professionals came together by invitation at BEUM in Dorst for a DEaLflow Experience Day. A day to experience the method, work with it and jointly explore what it makes visible in practice.
The same exercise, different responses
One of the most valuable moments emerged during a joint exercise. There, the differences in perspective became tangible: people look at the same situation in different ways.
Making pace or taking time. Seeking depth or looking at the bigger picture. Zooming in on what lies concretely in front of you or zooming out to see how things connect.
What helps one person to join in can cost another more energy. When the pace or the approach changes, engagement can change with it. That made the exercise recognisable for situations we encounter daily in meetings, presentations and collaboration.
What does the challenge ask for?
The question then becomes: which movement helps us move forward here?
Do we need to push through, decide and finish? Is space needed first to explore, create and renew? Or does the situation call for structuring, organising and monitoring?
DEaLflow provides language to explore those movements. The method connects five steps: context, looking, moving, energy and choosing.
What does the challenge ask for? From which perspective do we look? What do we actually do? What does that movement do to our energy? And what do we then choose to do?
Differences in perspective are equal in value. Detail, Focus, Overview, Coherence and Panorama say nothing about level. It is about zooming in and out whenever the challenge asks for it.
Development on both sides
The Experience Day also brought new insights for us as facilitators. Participants thought along, asked critical questions and shared their experiences. That feedback helped sharpen the explanation and application of the method.
That made the day valuable in both directions. We worked with the method and at the same time learned from what happened while working with it.
A movement that asks for more energy is not necessarily a wrong one. It may be necessary for the challenge and offer room to practise, to learn and to broaden your repertoire.
After this session we decided to word things differently. It is about words: we now work with perspectives of equal value — Detail, Focus, Overview, Coherence and Panorama. That was one of the outcomes, together with the sharpening of the reporting and of the analysis, which brought an enormous upgrade to the method for the DEaLflow itself. A valuable session.
From experiencing to applying
The differences in perspective made tangible what DEaLflow is about: how people look, what they do, and how that movement relates to their energy and the situation.
This opens a conversation that goes beyond recognition. What do we want to do more of? What less? And what differently, so that we move forward together?
Thanks to the participants for their openness, critical questions and willingness to explore together.
People are not profiles. People move.
Curious how the method works in practice? How the DEaLflow Method works
