OneForsyth's Incubator

Submitted by Brooke Rose

On August 28, I had the pleasure of attending OneForsyth’s Incubator event at the FoCAL center, an annual event designed to give organizations and businesses tools to develop an equitable workplace. At this mini-conference, I attended three sessions.

My two favorite quotes of the day: “Similarities allow us to communicate. Differences allow us to learn.” and “What you teach creates awareness. What you tolerate creates behaviors.”

“Unlocking Potential: How Culture Drives Talent & Retention in the Modern Workplace”

An Nguyen, a local entrepreneur and leadership consultant, gave the keynote address on the topic of building a team of individuals in the workplace. He presented the idea that “similarities allow us to communicate. Differences allow us to learn.” A successful organization grows by embracing its team members’ differences and builds a culture of collaboration and open-mindedness. In his businesses, Nguyen uses the Genius test, a personality quiz that focuses on four personality types: Dynamo (creative), Tempo (analytical), Blaze (people-oriented), and Steel (goal-oriented). Each personality type brings different strengths to the team. Nguyen encouraged everyone to seek out and talk to a person in the group who seems different from them and to be open to learning from what they have to teach.

“Bridging the Generational Divide at Work”

This session consisted of a small panel made up of a woman in her mid-60s who is retired and a man in his mid-20s who runs his family’s landscaping business. The moderator opened by stating that most companies have about 5 generations working for them: Silent, Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z. They discussed various stereotypes and misconceptions of the generations, such as the technological gap, and divergent learning and communication styles. The older generations can offer problem-solving skills through experience and historical context and the younger generations through progressive ideas. With a collaborative effort and mutual mentorship, an organization will maximize the strengths of each generation. It is important to have the structure and foundation to support progress and growth.

“Coach, Leader, Mentor, Facilitator: What’s the Difference?”

Mike O’Keeffe, the Performance Ambassador for Syensqo, outlined the differences among Coaches, Leaders, Mentors, and Facilitators. Coaches train and guide a person to success; they show them how to get to an answer so they can get to it themselves the next time. This can be very time-intensive. Leaders develop the team’s skills so they can reach their full potential. There are three types of leaders. Authoritative leaders don’t necessarily “care.” Empathetic leaders carry a burden of information that can affect their decision-making, and Passive leaders are often “in their own world.” A mentor helps and advises over a period of time. While coaches guide to answers through curiosity and promote critical thinking and self-reliance, mentors advise based on their own successes and use their subjective views to guide. Lastly, a facilitator is someone who helps bring an outcome by providing indirect or unobtrusive assistance, guidance, or supervision. A good facilitator is nearly “invisible.” O’Keeffe closed by emphasizing that leadership takes practice and encouraged the attendees to care, lay out expectations, and set boundaries and limits.

We ended our day with “A Mindful Exit.” The speaker led the group through breathing exercises and reminded everyone to take a moment of each day to breathe.