The Feeling Cards exercise is a great tool for raising self-awareness. It involves the participant picking words that they feel represents them as a person and that they think others would choose to describe them. It says in the trainer’s notes that strong facilitation skills are required for this, this is a definite. The exercise worked well in that it made people think about perception, their own and that of others. I also found that it was a useful feedback tool as in all cases the participant got stuck in picking the right words and there was always someone willing to give their opinion. Again this had to be managed through strong facilitation but proved to be an invaluable benefit of the exercise. The exercise proved to have just the right balance of fun, opportunity for self-reflection and a forum for feedback.

I conducted a 3 day workshop where I included personality assessments on senior management level and combined this with training. First off I started with the "Feeling cards". I used this because the managers I was working with were known for the fact that they are incredibly efficient and effective, but at times too goal directed. This indicates that they often ignore or overlook the feelings/emotions of their colleagues and subordinates. I thought the feeling cards would provide them an opportunity to share their own feelings at home and at work. I believe this warmed them up a bit - and the most amazing is that it did "warm" them up to start the sessions. They really thought about the cards they chose and the difference between home and work stood out in a strong way. I have to mention that their was a participant whose home and work behaviour was the same - I think it is important to note these differences. The fact that there are a lot of cards, makes them think, whereas if there were only a few cards to choose from, it would be much easier for them. They really took some time to identify their priorities and values.