Kate Downing Khaled | Founder & CEO
Question: How do you invite a team of highly-decorated professionals to dance to Lizzo….in a group of people they want to impress?
Answer: Veeeeerrrrry slowly!
We recently kicked off a facilitated retreat for a client with a series of movement exercises led by SHAPESHIFT, a Minneapolis dance collective.
We began by standing quietly and observing the natural smells, sounds, and feelings around us. After some yoga-inspired movement, trust-building exercises, and practicing a simple viral dance, we ended our session blasting Lizzo, with SHAPESHIFT choreographers jumping into the middle of our circle to show off some amazing freestyle dance moves.
These movement exercises created an incredible connective tissue between us for the work that lay ahead. We spent the rest of the day supporting a new team to bring their best genius forward in order to effectively mobilize philanthropic resources.
Building transformative strategy always requires untethered creativity.
And to get creative, we need to tap into a type of wisdom that doesn’t come from a book. Instead, we need to bring our subjective lived experience, our ability to dream, and our own humanity to the strategy table.
Using movement to get clear on the stories we hold in our bodies, along with any biases and baggage we’re bringing into a room, can unlock the potential for new possibilities.
I’ll be honest — I don’t know of any other strategy consulting firm who would elect to begin a facilitation with a movement exercise. Embodying our whole selves is really not promoted in school, or the workplace.
The myth of “objectivity”, which is so prized in professional settings, runs counter to embracing our human connection and what we know to be true in our bodies.
I have a Master’s in Public Health, and I’ve contributed to a LOT of research projects. But I know there’s no such thing as objectivity. We all bring our own lenses and biases to every project we touch.
If we dismiss or ignore that reality, then we’ll repeat the historical patterns of harm that “objective” methods uphold. And that has no place in our work to build strategies that advance justice, wellness, and prosperity for everyone.
At Imagine Deliver, we lean into resisting objectivity. We still employ rigorous and data-based research methods, but we use tools like movement and storytelling to acknowledge the humanity that exists alongside the data.
Movement in particular can help us acknowledge what’s inside ourselves, so we can better connect with others, be cognizant of our own biases, and tap into the superpowers that we all possess.
Just because intentional, artist-led movement isn’t data-driven does not mean that it’s “fluffy” or “woo-woo” work.
Getting in touch with our bodies is essential to clarifying our purpose, understanding our goals, and preparing to work together collectively to build something more beautiful.
And if it happens to include a little Lizzo or Beyoncé? All the better.
If you’ve ever participated in a movement or somatics-based workshop, I’d love to hear more about what that experience was like for you. Connect with us and share!
