Collaboratory Melbourne Meetup June 2012: Creating a Culture and Practice of Collaboration Through Applied Improvisation

Want to learn to play better with others?

“The need for more truly powerful collaborations, where the collective intelligence of a diverse set of minds is harnessed toward a common goal, is greater than ever. And yet we find collaboration vexingly difficult to do. We need better collaboration.”

Register for June’s Collaboratory Melbourne Meetup here.

Last year, thanks to Michelle James, Lee Ryan and Viv McWaters I was introduced to the genius of improv and a set of brilliant creative principles that I’ve found invaluable in creating the conditions for generative, innovative and collaborative experiences for all sorts of group work.

And it seems I’m not the only one who’s discovering the value of Improv - particularly in the way it can contribute to better working environments…… and a culture of collaboration.

Improvisation is transforming the way we work:

And according to research from MIT “improvisation may be the key to successfully managing change”.

This month join our special guests, Ian David (Melbourne Playback Theatre Company) and Viv McWaters (Beyond the Edge, Applied Improv Conference*), in a fun, insightful, experiential Collaboratory Melbourne Meetup. We will:

  • explore ways we can build improve the way we collaborate,
  • discover how to develop our collaborative intelligence,
  • learn what we can foster a culture of collaboration at work, home and play, and
  • have a whole heap of fun

As usual, arrival from 6pm for drinks, nibbles and a quick catch up for a 6:30pm start. Official proceedings finish at 8pm followed by drinks and whole lot more conversation. :)

Please note that as this is an interactive experience this month, we have room for limited numbers, so please get in early with your registration.

Register for June’s Collaboratory Melbourne Meetup here.

*Viv has kindly offerred a 15% discount to the Applied Improv Conference: Thriving in Uncertainty. You can register here, use discount code: collab

 

Ian David: Ian has been working (or should that be playing?) with Melbourne Playback Theatre Company, for 13 years where he started as an actor, and is now a teacher and Conductor.

In their work in the corporate, community and education sectors Melbourne Playback Theatre helps organisations and groups to gain insight into their own culture, by taking their stories and experiences and translating them into interactive performances. As well as entertaining, this helps participants to awaken new perspectives, build greater levels of trust, empower them to forge a shared vision, and can often transform their organisation into one that thrives.

 

Viv McWaters: Publicist, researcher, community educator, evaluator, trainer, social historian, author, event designer, facilitator. As soon Viv felt comfortable doing one thing she’d be off learning something else. This is how she discovered improv theatre – and a different way of seeing the world and working with others.

What matters to Viv is going beyond how we usually do things – going out on her edge; encouraging others to their edge; risking failure, making discoveries and breakthroughs. She enjoys connecting people and ideas, looking for patterns, and finding new ways to relate to each other.

Her current projects include an Edges of Work collaboration with colleagues in the UK, a comparative analysis of rooftop and subterranean bars in Melbourne (with fellow Collaboratory members) and curating an Applied Improv Conference: Thriving In Uncertainty in Melbourne, July 12th and 13th with Melbourne Playback Theatre Company.

“There’s a sense of trust, and when you feel safe all kinds of amazing things emerge.”

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David Hood

Social Systems Architect and Catalyst for Change
David has been working with not-for-profits and community organisations for close to 15 years. His mission is to help people and organisations doing something good to realise the potential of the strategic use of the social web, emerging models for business and collaborative networked communities to build better futures for all, together. A graduate of the School for Social Entrepreneurs program in 2011, David was named Melbourne Social Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012 and one of The Age's Melbourne Magazine Top 100 most "passionate, powerful and provocative personalities of 2012".