Case Study: Programme on Conflict and Teaming, using Art-Based methods

1. Case Study
Conflict Resolution: Team-
Building & Communication
Programme for high
performing IT Managers
Conducted by The Painted Sky.
Facilitated by Soni Bhattacharya and Anirban Bhattacharya
Bangalore, July 2011
The Painted Sky

2. Conflict Resolution: Team-Building & Communication Programme
For High Performing IT Managers
Bangalore, July 2011.
Raju, a seasoned manager for a team of 15 IT professionals had a problem. His team comprised
stalwarts within the company – champion product designers handling a huge budget and always
delivering on the goals. Yet, over the last year, him company (a US$ 2 billion behemoth) and his team
have been hit by attritions. And the resulting churn has changed the composition of his team drastically,
with new team members coming in as replacements.
The challenge: While not obviously visible, Raju felt that
there were undercurrents and conflicts developing in his
team, which, if not addressed in time, could become a cause
for concern later. The new entrants were not feeling
welcome and felt isolated and under-valued. The senior
team members also felt threatened by the newcomers, and
vented their insecurity by undermining their junior
colleagues. As a result, the juniors were increasingly
withdrawing from discussions, and losing interest and
passion in the work. As yet, this was under control, and did
not impact performance or morale adversely. But as a smart
manager, Raju could sense the growing discord, and resolved
to do something about it.
The solution: Raju spoke to his HR and Training
managers, who suggested running a programme where the
team members would work together to build camaraderie,
harmony and respect, while at the same time allow for free
exchange of thoughts and ideas. The plan was to design and
develop a workshop where, over two days, participants
would work towards re-building a cohesive team. At the
same time, Raju wanted to ensure that the newcomers were
made to feel just as empowered and important as the
veterans of the team, and that they should build on their
confidence and communication skills to come up with ideas
and opinions, and contribute to the growth of the team.
The idea was also to do something novel and different, that
allowed participants to explore their creative side and relax
in a non-threatening atmosphere.
The Painted Sky was approached to run this programme for
the team, to offer participants an interactive and fun
platform with paints and canvasses to allow for creative expression, towards the above objectives. At
the same time, it was mandated not to bring to the surface the underlying differences and issues, so as
to develop motivation without any tinge of negativity.

3. The Painted Sky is a Bangalore-based People Development organization, focusing on various high-end,
differentiated Behavioral and Skill development programmes. The Painted Sky is the pioneer to design
Art-Based corporate training initiatives in India, and also runs various Soft Skills programmes that help
develop business communication and personal effectiveness skills to succeed at the work-place.
For this assignment The Painted Sky created a customized
two-day programme, in which participants were to go
through a series of exciting activities that would allow them
to introspect, connect with their inner self and express
themselves for experiential learning and have non-
confrontational exchange of ideas. The objectives of the
programme were to increase team effectiveness through
bonding over a whole host of activities, which were to allow
each participant to understand and appreciate each other
through exchange of ideas. The aim was to develop respect
and acceptance of each others’ strengths and personalities
as they unlocked creative ideas, and let their minds free for
out-of-the-box thinking.
Over the two days, over various activities using vibrant
colours and with rocking music, each participant were to
improve communication and collaboration among team
members, which aimed to reduce stress levels and improve
motivation and positivity. At the end, each participant was to
come away feeling excited, energized and motivated, with
deeper understanding and respect for team dynamics and
collaborative work, proud of the team they were a part of.
The result: The green and peaceful ambience of a resort
close to Electronic City welcomed the participants as they
drove in, early on a late-July morning. After a quick check-in,
everybody assembled in the conference venue, and looked
suspiciously at the piles of canvases and paint-boxes in the
corner. But soon, after a musical ice-breaker and symbolic
introduction session, the guard started to drop, as everyone
enthusiastically started to participate in the activities.
Participants relaxed when they realized that it would be a
couple of days of fun, and soon embarked on an exhilarating
voyage of intense and collaboration, in mixed teams, to express themselves on canvas.
First as individuals, then as teams, using the theme of ‘Collaboration’, the teams painted with
enthusiasm and focus, coming up with many brilliant depictions of their thoughts and team visions. It
was an exercise in bonding and co-creating, breaking ice, understanding each others’ communication
and working styles, as barriers dropped off and everyone took part with great gusto. The ideas of team-
work and partnership were augmented with the focus on communication and presentation, which
allowed each participant to face the audience and discuss ideas freely and creatively.

4. Over two days, through a mix of art-based and class-room activities, experience sharing and open
dialogue, great progress was made towards building a cohesive and close team, making each participant
realize and appreciate each other’s capabilities and creativity, building trust and bonding, and
confidence and self-respect.
The feedback: The feedback received was extremely positive, with most participants emphasizing on
the elements of collaboration, understanding and communication as the key takeaways. They spoke of
the opportunity to get away from work and spend two days to get to know each other and understand
individual strengths and weaknesses and focus on how to work together towards a common goal. They
also outlined some key learnings from this experience of working as a team, namely,
 The importance of prioritizing and planing in advance,
 To communicate ideas freely and brainstorm till consensus is reached, before execution,
 To handle disagreement and discord over ideation and execution,
 To allocate work according to strengths of team members, for best results,
 To appreciate differences, in approach, communication and execution styles, and
appreciate the same,
 To develop respect for each individual contributor, and appreciate that each
contribution leads to team success.
At the end, the participants left with a huge sense of positivity and connection with each other, a feeling
of empowerment over their own strengths and capabilities, and a renewed confidence in their abilities
to communicate and be heard. The participants continued to come back with such positive feedback,
over their whole-heartedly delight at being a part of this Art-Based programme, which was fun, and a lot
more!