The initial silence spoke volumes. As fifty people from a global bank gathered for a Reflection Point session to mark Women’s History Month, no one said a word. The assignment was to discuss Aimee Bender’s workplace fairytale, “The Color Master.” Growing in a new role, an apprentice to an expert Color Master meets a difficult set of orders from an important customer. The story elegantly explores client service, mentorship, and the struggle to achieve excellence in the face of emotional and ethical challenges.
The Color Master’s fanciful story seemed a world away from the investment professionals’ practical work. What could they possibly learn from a team of artistic dressmakers who bring the colors of nature to life in high-priced garments?
“I know you aren’t dressmakers in a fanciful shop, but you do have demanding clients who expect the sun, the moon and the stars,” Ann Kowal Smith, CEO of Reflection Point, told the group. “I know that learning the intricacies of color is not in your job description, but I also know that, like the main character in this story, most of you have had times in your lives when you had to step up when you didn’t feel ready and have also coached others in the same boat. I know that asset management is not an inherently emotional business, like color and artistry are. But how does emotion play into your work and where should it? The Color Master’s shop is not your workplace, but it is a metaphor for every workplace that has ever employed a human being,”
And with that, the session broke into small groups and the flood gates opened. Dots connected. Insights flowed. Colleagues—some who had never met before—connected on a whole new level.
“I was in awe of the brilliance of my colleagues and incredibly humbled by the experience. The ability to connect the literature to the workplace was surprising and resonated deeply,” said one participant.
At one point the Color Master orders her apprentice to “put anger in the dress.” Jarred by this strange request, the young apprentice tries and fails. “Have any of you ever been asked to put emotion in your work or to be less emotional?” asked Kowal Smith.
Every woman in the room nodded. “It’s really telling that every woman here has been told to be less emotional. Yet no one ever suggested to anyone here, male or female, that they should dial up their emotional sensitivity to be better leaders, even though research shows that this kind of leadership makes for more intelligent teams,” said one woman.
The group also talked about how the Color Master is the most talented in the kingdom but gets zero recognition. Invisibility–something we don’t often think about at work. But colleagues are often invisible to each other in a global firm. Faces are replaced by functions. Relationships are often transactional at best. This session was designed to be an antidote to invisibility. It brought together people from all levels, different geographies, and diverse functions – with the goal of sparking connection, and deepening relationships.
“This exercise clearly demonstrated the benefits of fostering an open dialogue and soliciting different perspectives.”
