When the team gathers weekly for the HIGHs and LOWs round table, sharing their highest and lowest moments of the week, it is the ultimate moment to see and be seen. It lets the team form a shared understanding and safe space where individuals are accepted as they are. There are no rights and wrongs, and it is a sharing ritual.
Sometimes it is just better to enjoy each other and have gratitude for being surrounded by people. We all have our light and dark sides, but in the end, each spirit has something worth to be celebrated. Just because it is work and our job, it does have to be taken all the time seriously.
Having a weekly moment of relaxation and celebration in the team softens the team dynamics in a good sense. Like you are easing tense muscles after a long workout.
It takes a certain maturity to take a step back and forget the daily challenges and even quarrels – look beyond them. In non-violent communications, this maturity is personified by the giraffe.
Nonviolent Communication – Wikipedia
Marshall Rosenberg
“In order to show the differences between communication styles, Rosenberg started to use two animals. Violent communication was represented by the carnivorous Jackal as a symbol of aggression and especially dominance. The herbivorous Giraffe on the other hand, represented his NVC strategy. The Giraffe was chosen as symbol for NVC as its long neck is supposed to show the clear-sighted speaker, being aware of his fellow speakers’ reactions; and because the Giraffe has a large heart, representing the compassionate side of NVC. In his courses he tended to use these animals in order to make the differences in communication clearer to the audience.”
You might assume maturity comes with age. It is partially true. But you don’t need just to expect years to pass by to obtain it. Reading a lot helps a great deal.
I combined inspiration from two idols, Marshall Rosenberg and Joseph Campbell, in one short blog. Well, that is the beauty of writing.
Don’t forget to enjoy your team and enjoy your manager. Our time on earth is too short, so we better spend every moment trying to appreciate the riches brought to us. People that surround us are a big part of that.
You don’t ask what a dance means, you enjoy it. You don’t ask what the world means, you enjoy it. You don’t ask what you mean, you enjoy yourself.
Joseph Campbell
Highs & Lows Method 
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