The PeopleMap and Project Link: Powerful Potential
St. Croix, US Virgin Islands
February 1-5, 2010
James stood in front of the 10 foot wall and looked at his classmates with intensity. “This wall,” he said, “represents graduation. And it is our job to make sure everyone gets over the wall together. We can do it but we have to use teamwork and all our strengths. We’ve learned about our strengths this week so let’s use them.”
I stood sweating in the 85 degree heat with the sun beating down on us and felt a chill go down my spine. He was using what he had learned about his Leader personality type in the Peoplemap Training Workshops to inspire his classmates to achieve a goal. By tying it to a bigger picture and bigger goal they were all working on, getting their high school diploma, he spoke a common language that motivated them.
I had done my job.
Let me give you some background as to how we had gotten to this moment. I was asked to lead a Peoplemap Training Workshop for the students of Project Link by the director of the program, Dr. Susan Diverio, a friend and colleague of mine. Project Link is a collaborative program funded by the Department of Education and the Department of Labor and sponsored by the Women’s Coalition of St. Croix. The participants in this program earn their high school diploma from the American School Home School Program. They had found traditional school just didn’t work for them, for whatever reason or circumstance, and now were determined to get their diploma and graduate. The first graduation was held in June, 2009. The second will be held in June, 2010.
For one week I spent between 60-90 minutes per day with this group of young adults who ranged in age from 16-29 teaching them about the strengths and Achilles Heels of their personality types. The first day I set the context by telling them the story of, The Spyglass by Richard Paul Evans. This parable demonstrates what can be done once people see the possibilities. I used this as our theme throughout the week reminding them of the story’s repeated phrase, “you have seen what might be, now go and make it so.”
After an introduction to the survey I administered it to the group. Because some of the words were unfamiliar to them, we defined each word before they made their selections. As we tallied the scores, the group broke down like this: Leader – 3; People – 5; Free Spirit – 7; Task – 0. The director, and two tutors were Task, People, Task, respectively. Not a surprising breakdown at all. And as I thought about the fact that there were no task types in the group, it made the ‘task’ they were tackling even more daunting. The program they were in required them to do independent study and testing as they completed 8 exams per subject. The subjects ranged from American and British Literature, to algebra and geometry, to American history, earth science and biology, psychology, and career planning, among others. This was a hard program requiring focus and organization and the free spirits were in the majority!
As they learned about their strengths and weaknesses they saw where they were getting hung up and what was getting in their way. And we talked at length about how to use their strengths and the strengths of the other types to reach their goal.
Because I was in the class room every day I was able to do a good review on each topic and the day I reviewed the Achilles Heel I used Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married” film. At the beginning of this film there are 4 short scenarios where we are introduced to the four couples. In this scene they are all acting out of their Achilles Heel. I asked the kids to identify the personality type and the Achilles Heel. They nailed it! It was clear they knew what to look for. Then, I asked them to rewrite the scene for each couple around their strengths. What could the characters have done in this scene if they had been using their strengths? Again, they nailed it.
Each day as I came into the class room they would ask me questions that they had thought of the night before or shared something they experienced at home regarding a personality type. One young man said, “I can’t get this stuff out of my head. Everyone I talk to I’m thinking about personality type and how to talk to them. Even as I watch TV I see the personality types so clearly.”
One day, before we had done the Achilles Heel part of the workshop, there was a disagreement between a tutor and a student that escalated. The student, a Free Spirit, ended up leaving the class angry. The tutor, a Task, didn’t understand why the student was angry at her and was adamant that student was wrong. Here was an opportunity to show how the Peoplemap could be helpful. The student understood how she had acted out of her Achilles Heel, resistance to authority, and was able to articulate what led her to leave. She also was aware of what it cost her because she missed a Peoplemap session which meant a lot to her. She could process how this has tripped her up in the past. She now saw it was part of her personality’s Achilles Heel and vowed to be more on top of this in the future. I wish I could say that the adult tutor understood how her Achilles Heel took over but I can’t. She continued to live out of it and withdrew from the group in anger and hurt. However, with grace and courage the students brought the tutor back into the group at the ropes course on the last day.
Which is where this article began in front of the 10 foot wall at the ropes course. Dr. Diverio and I felt that a great way to end the week of learning would be with an experiential learning on the Ropes Course to see if they could apply what we had been talking about all week. And they exceeded our expectations.
The wall was our last activity of the morning. Prior to that they had worked together to walk a tight rope, to climb over tires, swing through the air on a rope, and get their team through obstacles safely. There had been lots of laughter and much collaboration. The disagreements about the best way to do something did not escalate but became the basis for further trouble shooting. Everyone was involved including the tutors and the instructors. Everyone’s point of view was needed and respected.
But by far it was the wall that put it all together. There were no ropes or ladders to help them climb this wall. Just a 10 foot wall. They sat down and planned it out. It was clear that size and strength was going to play an important part in this challenge. It was clear that some folks were totally terrified of the wall. It was clear they were all going to get over it.
Forming a human chair or step ladder they began by lifting the tallest among them and then the strongest. Once these two young men were on top their arms became the ropes hanging from the top of the wall that the others would grasp to get over the wall. One by one they were hoisted and pulled and lifted. They alternated the heavy with the light to help the young men to conserve their strength and not tire them too quickly. One young girl was terrified as she approached her turn. Another girl got in her face and said “look at me. Now breathe in deeply and exhale. On the next exhale, put your foot in his hand. Ok, now breathe again and on the next exhale step up on his shoulder and reach.” In a few seconds she was over the wall.
Then there was only one left. He stepped back, took a running start, jumped as high as he could while those on top held the tallest and the strongest over the edge of the wall so they were able to grab his hands and up he went. He was up and over. They stood there beaming! I could picture the same smiles on graduation day. They had seen what could be and they had gone and made it so!
The debriefing on that exercise proved to be very inspirational as they talked about how they have to encourage each other, help each other more, get more focused on the task at hand, work together and all walk across the stage at graduation together.
They’ve asked me to attend their graduation. I’m looking forward to it.
Nancy Leport
Certified Peoplemap Trainer
February 1-5, 2010
St. Croix, US Virgin Islands