The world we work and live in was already making unprecedented demands on us. Work smarter, work harder, work longer. Trying to balance work and life demands through a thousand little hacks gets things done but leaves us depleted and unfulfilled. Layered on top of the ordinary challenges most of us confront is the extraordinary journey of navigating the twin pandemics of coronavirus and the systemic racism that is pervasive in many of our institutions and society. 

What if the answer to not just surviving but thriving in the complexity of modern life isn’t adding new tools to our belt, strengthening our outer defenses or finding balance…but instead delving deeper within ourselves? What if the key to being and engaging in life as the 21st century evolves is in how well we know ourselves and our boundaries?  

Developing the Organizational and Personal Self (D/OPS) is an opportunity to do just that.

This workshop enables you to be more intentional, effective, and joyful in how you lead your life and bring your best self into focus. D/OPS can be a place to redefine yourself and see yourself beyond the labels and roles placed on you by the world - by work, family, friends, and yourself. 

Using group and individual self-exploration activities, this intense advanced personal growth experience will guide you through greater self-knowledge and choice in interactions with others. You will: 

• Gain greater clarity about the organizational and personal life you want and the steps to achieve those. 
• Take greater control of your boundaries and better understand the effects they have on being the person you want to be. 
• Understand the projections and transferences you make onto others. 
• Uncover and eliminate self-diminishing behaviors. 
• Identify personal values, strengths and qualities essential to becoming the self you most want to be. 
• Communicate more clearly, directly, candidly, and authentically with others, and with yourself.

One Reason why this Matters...

The dramatically changed landscape of work and life is creating demands most of us have never experienced. These require us to rethink and reimagine how we interact with the world around us. In a time that has necessitated immediate, large-scale change, many of our systems and relationships are broken open in ways that allow us to create new experiences that are better, more effective, more inclusive, and more professionally and personally fulfilling. D/OPS is an opportunity for participants to consider what they need and how they might interact within that “new experience,” enhance the skills needed for today and tomorrow, and continue exploring who they are and want to be.

How does it achieve results?

D/OPS is designed to enhance your personal and professional development through a variety of interactive learning experiences working in small groups and large community learning sessions. Each day will include a combination of small groups, learning pairs, individual reflection and personal exploration, and community sessions for learning theory and participating in experiential learning exercises. (Some community sessions will be joint sessions with participants in the Human Interaction Learning Laboratory that will be running concurrently, giving D/OPS participants an opportunity to hear from and interact with a broader group that is also focused on growth and development.)

Who should attend?

This lab is designed for people who want to understand their interaction patterns, how they can be more intentional in their interactions, and how they can more often be the person they want to be—their best self. It represents an advanced personal and professional growth experience, and requires that all participants have previously attended a foundational program such as the Human Interaction Laboratory. 

Participants will likely come from a broad range of backgrounds and positions in the fields of business, industry, health and social services, government, education, religious institutions, and the volunteer sector. All participants will be encouraged to identify areas of personal growth and development they wish to pursue in this lab. The lab will offer participants unique understandings into how groups and teams function; build on and maximize their competence in working with people; increase their awareness about interpersonal dynamics and communication skills; and increase their effectiveness in giving and receiving feedback. Individuals will need to be open and willing to work on themselves and on the ways in which they relate to others.

About D/OPS

D/OPS began in 1985 and had been held over 20 times since then in the United States and Australia. D/OPS has assisted many individuals throughout the years in re-thinking and re-organizing and for some re-affirming life choices and their lives. We are thrilled to bring this experience to Canada for the first time.

What is the schedule?

D/OPS will begin on Sunday, July 9th at 1:00pm and end at 6:30pm on Thursday, July 13th. Most days will start at 9:00am and continue through 6:30pm, with a break for lunch. One day during the week will break early to provide some down time to participants. 

Some session time will be spent in joint sessions with participants in the Human Interaction Laboratory, happening concurrently, giving D/OPS participants an opportunity to hear from and interact with a broader group that is also focused on growth and development.

D/OPS is an advanced personal and professional growth workshop. The following are requirements for participation:

• Previous participation in a Human Interaction laboratory, a training group (T-group) based workshop or a multi-day personal growth experience.
  
• A desire to learn more about themselves and how they see and organize their interactions with others. 
• Commitment to attending every day of the lab. Should a participant need to miss a day or an activity, it is the responsibility of the participant to inform the facilitators of the reason for the absence.

Other information to consider:

• Participants in this lab attend because they choose to attend, and not because they are sent because of a work situation.  
• Participants should be sufficiently familiar with the nature of a personal growth learning laboratory in order to make an informed decision about attendance.
• During our history of offering similar programs, a very small percentage of participants have experienced significant stress. There is no effective means of predicting such reactions, screening out or otherwise identifying those predisposed to such reactions based on their prior medical history or any present emotional challenges that may have been identified. It is important, therefore, that participants take the responsibility for "self-screening" in this matter. Attendance should be discussed with appropriate professionals, including medical doctors or psychotherapists, should the participant have any concerns. Responsibility for obtaining this recommendation rests entirely with the participant. 
• Participants may discontinue the lab at any time and by so doing choose to forego completion of the lab. In instances where individuals miss sessions with reason, it will be up to the facilitators to determine whether the individual has participated sufficiently in the essential processes of the lab to warrant a certificate of completion.

Not sure if this program is for you? 

If you have questions, please contact us at chrcs@concordia.ca

We are concurrently offering the Human Interaction Laboratory, a 6-day foundational-level workshop ideal for those who have not previously participated in a multi-day personal and professional growth experience.