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Episode 1: How not to be a teacher
1.1k Plays1 year ago
Host Marcus Wylie, Insights Head of Culture, speaks with Al Goel, Sanofi’s Head of Learning Delivery Management, exploring his fascinating journey and top tips on how to create those light bulb moments, "without being a teacher."
Based in New Jersey, USA, Al has facilitated Insights Discovery for over eight years to new starters, and those becoming people managers for the first time at Sanofi, a global healthcare company.
Take a break and enjoy an intriguing ride of discovery.
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Transcript
Introduction to Voices with Insights
00:00:01
Speaker
Hello to our Insights community who continue to change lives around the world. My name is Marcus Wiley and welcome to the Voices with Insights podcast. I hope you're feeling colorful to your core today as you join us on a ride of discovery. We will chat with practitioners from across the globe to discover their fascinating untold stories.
00:00:22
Speaker
Whatever you are doing listening to our podcast, let's see if we can uncover an idea or two that will help you to create high performing teams through awareness of self and others in a powerful and simple way.
Meet Al Gol
00:00:37
Speaker
So I am joined today by Mr. Al Gol. He is a Discovery Practitioner from our global community based out of New Jersey, actually, North America, which is fantastic. How are things with you today, Al? Marcus, hello. Good morning. Good to see you.
00:00:53
Speaker
Great to see you after the GLM, it's been a while. Thank you so much for having me here. Brilliant to have you with us today. You know, I've always been curious about how the sharing of stories helps us to shape and cultivate the culture that we all experience. And today we're going to hear a little bit from Al about his story.
00:01:13
Speaker
And in getting to know Al today, I actually wanted to draw on the strength of a great Scottish poet, chap named Robbie Burns, who said, wad the power, the gift to geus, to see ourselves as others see us, which in plain terms means,
00:01:29
Speaker
Wouldn't it be good to know how others experience us or how others perceive us? So before we get to know you, Alan, you tell us a little bit about yourself and your day-to-day role, perhaps.
Al Gol's Self-Perception and Energy
00:01:41
Speaker
How would the person who knows you best describe you through the Discovery Color energies?
00:01:48
Speaker
Well, right off the bat, you could probably tell, full of energy, full of energy. But with the person standing across from me, I would hope that they would see me for who I am. What you see is what you get. And I've often heard that from different participants and other practitioners. It's, all right, you're a straight shooter. This is exactly what we like. And thank you for being you.
00:02:12
Speaker
I hope that answers that question. It does. And what color energies might they perceive first coming from you all? You know, Marcus, it's interesting because I've actually been all around the wheel with my different roles over the years. But absolutely, I'm a flaming yellow. I mean, I just come off as flaming yellow, and I leave the room as flaming yellow. And it's pretty funny.
00:02:34
Speaker
Flaming yellow, I like it. You've taken the fiery part of the fire red and the sunshine part of sunshine yellow and just merging that all together. Absolutely. We already know that we all have all four energies, but the yellow is what drives me. I have good days and I have bad days with the yellow energy. It's really up to me to
00:02:55
Speaker
to do what I need to do to fill the gaps. So it's more than not, I have great days. Brilliant. Love to hear that. So tell our audience today a little bit about your day-to-day role. What is it you do and what do you get up to? Yeah, thank you. So Marcus, I'm very fortunate because I actually have two roles.
Roles and Journey to Facilitation
00:03:13
Speaker
My day-to-day role is Global Head of Learning Delivery Management. And what that means in simplistic terms is when anybody goes through training, my team is behind the scenes sending out the pre-work, the post-work, supporting the facilitators during the session. So it's very administrative.
00:03:31
Speaker
But I'm fortunate because I also have the opportunity to be a facilitator. So not only for insights, but for six or seven other well-known content providers. And so I actually am in that room, not only from a delivery management perspective, but as the facilitator. And I love it. And that's my day to day. It could be one or the other or both. Love it. So it's a lot of fun from my perspective.
00:03:57
Speaker
Love it. Love that you have the combination of roles. And so as we get into sharing some of your story, let's go back to the past and think about how you perhaps became an insights discovery practitioner amongst all these other things. What were you doing before that? And what was one of your early experiences of insights discovery?
00:04:20
Speaker
Yeah, so thank you. I often tell the story, especially to my kids, because you just never know when that door is going to open up. And the way I stepped into Insights was I was the head of North America Operations for HR leadership development. And it just so happened at the time where we had a few of our team members go on short term maternity leave or any or another type of leave. And
00:04:49
Speaker
So we kind of looked around the room and said, okay, well, who can help us to do insights as part of our three-day management series? And so I was just sitting there, head of ops. And the head of HR said, Al, why don't you do it? Why don't you become facilitator certified? And why don't you do it? So it was like a three-hour session of our two and a half day program. And I looked at her and I said, I'm sorry, but I don't want to be a school teacher.
00:05:16
Speaker
And that's exactly what I told her. It's like, I don't want to sit there and tell the children to calm down, take their seats, listen up. And she started laughing. She's like, you're not a school teacher. You're literally a maestro, a composer, or a facilitator. And if you can get the participants to talk and help answer their own questions, you're really facilitating that session. And you have to know the content.
00:05:42
Speaker
So that's when I first learned that facilitators are not school teachers because my own experience and perception is always, all right, well, you got to show up on time. Take a seat. This is the content that's going to be shared. Make sure that you learn it and apply it back at the job. That's it. So I always thought it was a school teacher.
00:06:02
Speaker
approach. But I took that challenge and it really stemmed from the fact that she thought I could be a really good facilitator. So that's how I stepped into insights. And that was I think maybe seven or eight years ago. Right. Fantastic. And can you remember the first moments that you experienced your own profile or learned about the color energies or started to work with the content?
Impact of Insights on Al's Career
00:06:24
Speaker
Can you describe a little bit about that moment?
00:06:26
Speaker
Yeah. And that would have been maybe 12 or 13 years ago when I was a finance controller in Sanofi. So I moved from controller to procurement to HR. And my profile did change every time I had a new role, but that was my first exposure to insights. And for me at the time, it was really, I had to check the box.
00:06:48
Speaker
sometimes that's what we that's what we face as facilitators but mostly as participants okay when i sat through it okay i got my profile great i'll read it whenever i read it i'm just too busy doing these things so that was my first experience i didn't take it seriously the first time i took insights right and you mentioned a couple of times that you.
00:07:09
Speaker
You've been around the wheel in the different color energies. Do you think that's just the demands of your environment that has brought different preferences for you, or what's been the story behind that? When I was in finance, I absolutely led with blue energy, just with the details and the money and the budgeting, the forecasting. I was kind of forced.
00:07:29
Speaker
to start thinking that way. And it's because when I took the profile, it was keeping my work in mind. And so I really loved being in that role, but it was a little harder. It was very draining for me to come home every day. And I told Mike, I have two girls, and I told both girls, never go into finance. And my wife's in finance, and I told her, don't go into finance. Isn't it funny that they both went into finance because they felt that it was very easy? There you go.
00:07:59
Speaker
And they lead with blue energy. So it's really funny because I don't think I ever really led with blue energy. I just kind of forced myself to lead with blue when I was in that finance role. For sure. And as with all roles, it's the color energies that you bring to it, which would be the flare.
00:08:16
Speaker
for you there was maybe some cool blue and pretty sure some other color energies wouldn't be too far behind as you brought brought to that and so then bringing it forward then to around seven or eight years ago head of ops getting involved in this uh you know three three day part of a two and a half day program
00:08:35
Speaker
And then I guess that started you on a journey of being an insights practitioner.
Challenges and Success in Facilitation
00:08:40
Speaker
So maybe share a little bit of your story there and some of the biggest hurdles you might have faced and how did you get over your hurdles or get around them or what were some of the challenges that you had? Yeah, so in our company, all the facilitations are for internal employees, of course, right? And some of the hurdles, some of the challenges that any facilitator faces
00:09:02
Speaker
is having the participants actually show up, making sure that if it's class for 20 or 25, that they all show up. But I would say that the biggest challenge was really understanding and knowing the content. What is insights? What's its intent? It's not just standing up there and reading off of a slide. And while that could be a challenge for most, it always goes into preparation. Am I prepared?
00:09:30
Speaker
And one of the benefits I found was as the head of operations for HR leadership development at the time for North America, I already had the relationships with all of the vendors, not just insights. It's all of the main vendors. So once I saw that I was able to understand, prepare, and deliver a session for insights,
00:09:52
Speaker
Now it piqued my interest and also the head of HR at the time of you know, why don't I get certified in all these other Programs not every single one but out like what interests you and then I started down that that road of becoming certified in other content and it's just mind-blowing it just it absolutely just blew me away of Wow, like this is what the the CHRO was saying is that you can be a great facilitator and
00:10:20
Speaker
You just really have to understand the content. And the most important challenge is for a facilitator not to be a school teacher. Help people to really understand what is that light bulb or wow moment for them. And that's where everything really changed for me. And to answer the last part of the question,
00:10:40
Speaker
I would say it was probably, and I'm jumping a little bit, but during the pandemic, no one was traveling in 2021. We were still trying to get an understanding, is it safe to travel? Do we wear a mask? Do we not wear a mask? It was requested that the head of sales for consumer products division, the head of sales, said, I heard about this guy. He does insights.
00:11:04
Speaker
I want him to do my leadership team meeting in Missouri. And it was in 2021. Nobody was traveling. I had to get permission to travel from New Jersey to Missouri, which is central USA. That's what it hit me like. I think I've arrived where now people are requesting for me to do insight sessions. And that was a great feeling. That was a great feeling. Cool. So you've gone from like this finance chap into head of operations.
00:11:33
Speaker
thinking it's all about being a school teacher, but become a facilitator. So I guess you must have had some defining moments on that journey along the way, right? Where you had those shifts, like the example you said, in 2021. Have there been any other moments along your journey that have really stood out? And what's been the learning as you've experienced some of these moments where things have shift? Yeah, so Marcus, thank you. I will tell you the biggest learning for me was
00:12:01
Speaker
to really step back and understand when a participant is asking a question, and from what perspective or vantage point are they asking the question? It could be, what is the preference flow? What does that mean? That can take a lot of time. For me, the most defining moment was, okay, well, this person I already know leads with this type of energy or this color energy. They're asking this question,
00:12:29
Speaker
So I need to start to understand and really be able to answer that question so they can understand what the reason or the rationale is. So again, it's not just off of a slide, it's understanding what the content is. Right. And do you feel that in terms of your own personal journey, experiencing different color energies in different environments,
00:12:51
Speaker
Has that lent itself in any way to help you appreciate the different approaches, or what's the question behind the question that's getting asked from some of your participants and delegates over the years?
Mentoring and Giving Back
00:13:02
Speaker
Yeah, it definitely gives me gravitas. I love using that word gravitas. It also helps to solidify and support empathy. I was in your shoes, and this is how I was in your shoes, so when I was in finance.
00:13:17
Speaker
I led with blue energy. And then when I moved to procurement, I led with red energy, just very direct, let's get to the point, give me the data and just get out of my way because I want to get this contract signed. I want to get this negotiations done. And then going from procurement to HR and leading with yellow energy, it's sort of like, all right, well, let's do the rah rah, or I need to be the motivator now. But what I didn't realize that I always had that motivator in me, it was always there. But I let, I allowed the role that my job,
00:13:47
Speaker
to dictate which energy I showed up every day. So that's where I teach back, not to use the word teach as a teacher, but convey back to the participants. Once you're cognizant and understand what energy and all of them and how they play into your day to day, and you understand who you are, it just makes that relationship so much easier, so much easier. So it sounds like a discovery has played a role in your life in helping you find
00:14:16
Speaker
your path and your journey. I know your daughters went the way of finance, you said. But you're now on your own path. And I guess it sounds purposeful for you all. So what role has insights or discovery played in that? Or maybe it's the combination with some of the other learning and the other systems that you talked about that have all been part of that story. Yeah, so it's played a great role, important role for me, in a sense that I now know what
00:14:44
Speaker
I want to do and that is what i'm currently doing is mentoring a hundred percent of what i do now marcus is a give back so yes i work for sanofi doing leadership development but all my free time i'm volunteering i'm mentoring high school and university students i'm mentoring young professionals yes it's really rewarding i don't do it
00:15:08
Speaker
to have the accolades, a pat on the back. But I just recently had one where I was recognized by the governor, New Jersey governor's office, and I was invited to celebrate Diwali, my holiday. I was invited to celebrate Diwali at the governor's mansion 10 days ago because of what I do and giving back. But that wasn't the intent. It's just insights allowed me to really understand who I am, what drives me.
00:15:36
Speaker
And what drives me with yellow energy is making others feel better and be better. And so that's what I do, Marcus. I love that. You know, I've I've often found and heard stories over the years that being a practitioner of discovery can can be full of surprises and it leads to opportunities and environments you didn't expect to be in like the government governor's office there. And OK, I'll maybe just ask you one more question if I can slip it in. And
00:16:03
Speaker
I guess for our practitioners around the world, if you had one wish for the other insights practitioners, what would that wish be and why?
Advice for Practitioners
00:16:13
Speaker
So the wish and the recommendation for all practitioners, right, Marcus, is go in
00:16:20
Speaker
and drop the teacher mentality. You're not the teacher. You're the conductor, the maestro, and just facilitate that class to the best that you can because then your intent will absolutely come through. It's not about you as the facilitator.
00:16:35
Speaker
It's about them as the participants. Love that. And so practitioners creating the experiences for the learners to thrive and grow on their own journey.
Closing Thoughts and Global Impact
00:16:44
Speaker
Al, the goal was fantastic to spend a little bit of time and dialogue with you. I loved actually hearing about your own journey as you've transitioned around at least three of the color energies as your lead color in different roles. Who knows if that earth green is in the future. It's certainly a part of who you are. Al, any last comment from you?
00:17:03
Speaker
No, Marcus, thank you. And thank you for what you do and Insights does. And thank you for the forum to allow others to learn and hear from me. So thank you for that. Brilliant. So that was our goal with this story today. And I hope you have taken something from it. Thank you, Al. All right. Thank you, Marcus.
00:17:27
Speaker
Well, that was a truly fantastic story we shared together today. I love the fact that our community of practitioners make such a huge difference across the globe. That's all for today, folks. Thank you for listening to our Voices with Insights podcast. Look out for the next story in our series.