“Here, we do ‘challenge by choice.’” Does that sound familiar? Choice Philosophy helps give participants a sense of control, assuring that they have the final decision on what they are and are not comfortable with, hence promoting their emotional safety. At The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) Team QUEST, we steer away from the ‘challenge by choice,’ and incorporate ‘choose your challenge.’ This twist of words encourages the positive possibilities rather than giving the participant an opt-out perspective.
As facilitators, how do we know the fine-line between coaching someone to push their comfort zone and jeopardizing the choice philosophy? It’s important for us to read when participants merely need a little encouragement from the other participants or us. Or, is the group encouraging them excessively and the possibility of negative peer pressure exists?
We were talking about this the other day at UNCG Team QUEST and the Director told a story, “I had this girl that was adamantly afraid of the high ropes…I talked her through it. At the end, she embraced me and said, ‘Thank you so much. I could never have done it w
ithout you.’” My first reaction to myself was “Oh that’s so nice!” As I thought that, she said, “And I thought, OH NO! We are not here to make someone feel dependent on us. If they feel they couldn’t have done it on their own, then how will they be empowered next time that happens? Sometimes, the best learning comes when people don’t complete something successfully, and then after they wish they had done it. Next time they have an opportunity, they won’t pass it by.” Then, I had an Ah Ha moment! It made sense, but why didn’t I ever think about it from that perspective? I believe the human element of selfishness can get in the way. As facilitators, we tend to want our group to ‘be successful’ by completing the element. Now there’s some food for thought…
Author:
Katelyn Chapman
Leadership Graduate Assistant
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)
As facilitators, how do we know the fine-line between coaching someone to push their comfort zone and jeopardizing the choice philosophy? It’s important for us to read when participants merely need a little encouragement from the other participants or us. Or, is the group encouraging them excessively and the possibility of negative peer pressure exists?
We were talking about this the other day at UNCG Team QUEST and the Director told a story, “I had this girl that was adamantly afraid of the high ropes…I talked her through it. At the end, she embraced me and said, ‘Thank you so much. I could never have done it w
ithout you.’” My first reaction to myself was “Oh that’s so nice!” As I thought that, she said, “And I thought, OH NO! We are not here to make someone feel dependent on us. If they feel they couldn’t have done it on their own, then how will they be empowered next time that happens? Sometimes, the best learning comes when people don’t complete something successfully, and then after they wish they had done it. Next time they have an opportunity, they won’t pass it by.” Then, I had an Ah Ha moment! It made sense, but why didn’t I ever think about it from that perspective? I believe the human element of selfishness can get in the way. As facilitators, we tend to want our group to ‘be successful’ by completing the element. Now there’s some food for thought…Author:
Katelyn Chapman
Leadership Graduate Assistant
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)
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