Amplifying My Effectiveness at AYE
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This past week I attended my 1st Amplifying Your Effectiveness, AYE, Conference. The conference was hosted by Esther Derby, Don Gray, Johanna Rothman, Steve Smith, and Jerry Weinberg (host emeritus) and held at the Embassy Suites in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona.
I had been eagerly awaiting the AYE Conference since 2009 when I first heard of it. So many friends had shared a wealth of positive feedback on the conference that my expectations were high. I also knew this conference was no ordinary conference. There would be no theater style seating, projectors or MS Powerpoint; the workshops would be experiential and I would need to come prepared to work.
Arrival
Arriving on Saturday evening, I was pleasantly surprised by the location which has been designed to feel like a mini resort. Nice! Nancy Kelln and I immediately connected with friends and enjoyed great conversations over dinner with Ben Simo, Paul Carvalho, Fiona Charles, Cindy Bloomer, Griffin Jones and Jerry Weinberg. These are the opportunities I have learned to relish at conferences. Sometimes hallway, coffee or dinner conversations can offer more learning than the sessions themselves.
Day 1
The 1st day was the Warm-Up Tutorial. This day is focused on introducing participants to the vocabulary extensively used at the conference to ensure everyone shares a common understanding of the basics. This includes the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and several of the tools, techniques and concepts of Virginia Satir, such as: triads, safety, feedback, congruence, making contact, the communication stances, and the interaction model.
As the first exercise kicked off I was already nervous as it included drawing. For those who know me I am incapable of drawing stick people so I knew I was in trouble. As it turned out I coped very well and even managed to creatively depict my thoughts. Success already! At lunch I benefited from an excellent conversation with Jerry over lunch in which he educated me on the Rule of 3. An important rule for an NT personality like me that tends to think in binary 1′s and 0′s, black and white.
The remainder of the session included a recap of the MBTI which I had previously done years ago and exploring the interaction model which I found very useful. The day wrapped up with a Welcome Dinner and the opportunity to meet a whole bunch more conference attendees.
Day 2
Day 2 started by attending Johanna Rothman’s session “You Are Here. You Want to Go There?”. I immensely enjoyed this session focused on performing project, process, or organization assessments. In the afternoon I attended Don Gray’s session Reading the River: Using the Organizational Currents to get you Where you Want to Go”. This session provided valuable insights into the currents of an organization and leveraging those to influence change.
Day 3
Day 3 kicked off by attending Steve Smith’s session “Coaching Your Personal Board of Directors”. This session explored our inner board members; the parts of ourselves that are constantly interacting inside our head. The session was profound for me as I realized I had entire directors missing from my board. It was also fascinating to see the dominant players in each of our BOD and the effects on our daily lives.
In the afternoon I attended Jerry Weinberg’s session “Coaching the Coaches”. As always, Jerry’s sessions are very insightful and I immensely enjoy his storytelling style. This session provided me with many great takeaways around the importance of first contact.
Day 4
Day 4 began by attending Steve Smith’s session “Power, Authority and Teams”. This session explored sources of power and the effects of power on team dynamics. The exercise was very effective in highlighting the exchange of power within a team and the effectiveness of self organizing teams.
In the afternoon we swapped out a learning session for a brain break. Selena Delesie, Fiona Charles and I were very fortunate to have Steve Smith take us out to Old Town Scottsdale for some sightseeing. It was my first opportunity to see the landscape and prickly greenery of Phoenix.
The evening wrapped up with the Closing Dinner and many sad goodbye’s with friends, both new and old. I am hopeful to see many of the same folks again next year as I am thinking I need to make attending an annual event.
If you are interested in reading about this year’s program, visit the AYE Conference website. If you have not previously attended an AYE Conference, I hope you will consider doing so in 2011. AYE is a truly unique conference experience.
Thanks again to Ben Simo, Steve Smith and Mark Vasko who graciously transported us ladies around to and from the conference. Many thanks to all my wonderful friends who made AYE an unforgettable experience. See you all again in 2011!
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