Momentum SUP in conjunction with SHQ now offers a range of corporate and community programs using a fleet of high performance stand up paddleboards and the expert instruction and corporate knowledge of Momentum sup, led by Tim Draffen, SHQ SUP Ambassador and Corporate Development Professional.
Why are we doing this?
Organisations are emotion soaked places these days. The ambient levels of angst are at record highs: fear, stress and uncertainty course through the corridors. Emotion fuels activity but deadens performance; it drives unnaturally high states of perpetual alertness and endless activity, but also reduces our ability to think, create and prioritise. We do more, but it’s less thoughtful, dumbed down.
Emotion fuelled activity is great if what’s needed is repetitive, low-level task execution. Unfortunately we live in a different world now, and just when the complexity and speed of global markets require more complex and creative thinking than ever before, we’ve contrived to create a working environment psychologically guaranteed to reduce our intellectual performance, not to mention our physical and mental wellbeing.
What’s UP?
Momentum SUP will help you uncover what is really going on in your organization today. It’s amazing how learning to SUP actually shows us how we manage change - if we know where to look.
How we learn as individuals parallels how organisations develop and behave.
The enthusiasm, cautiousness, ideas and anxieties, the search for comfort and steadiness juxtaposed against the desire to change.
Momentum SUP will help you identify and then relate your group’s SUP experience to themselves, their role and their workplace and organization.
This activity will help tap into the key decision making processes i.e. how we think, how we choose, how we buy, how we sell. Think of how useful that knowledge can be!
Why SUP?
SUP is one of the fastest growing sports in the world for a number of reasons. As a new sport it can be learnt quite quickly; with the right equipment, basic learning challenges can be overcome in 10-30 minutes resulting in a basic level of proficiency – something that cannot be claimed about most adult sports – golf, tennis, sailboarding, swimming, surfing…
It’s challenging but easily achievable, and also fun, but they are not the main reasons.
Certainly, the physical aspects of SUP are critical, but more importantly Momentum SUP has found that there are many connections and learning points that can be transferred back to the workplace. One of these is the physical and mental concept of ‘balance’, not just on your board but also in your job – refer to the program called ‘Finding your Sweet Spot’.
Your first session on the water gives rise to many learning issues that are real, not derived from a survey. Observing these reactions provides us with real information from which we can decipher several things, including how we learn and how we deal with change.
There are not many other easily learned sports that focus our attention so quickly. Momentum SUP draws in contemporary learning in neuro science and psychology to help us understand the key issues SUP engenders and in turn, can help you and your group build awareness and then sustainable practices that will lift your performance, both at work and other important elements of your life.
Our key programs focus on building relationships, engagement, understanding change, innovation and organisational decision-making.
The use of SUP is a unique and excellent learning tool because it:
In addition, the SUP Session(s) will get you on the water, which has many benefits, some of which are only now being revealed and understood.
As touched on earlier, it also provides us with an individual challenge that can be used to uncover many aspects about how we operate.
It is not a survey or a questionnaire – its real and apparent.
Karen Lee, Age 54. First ever wave after 20 mins on a SUP
Building Relationships
Relationships are central to our lives and wellbeing.
Strong relationships help us live longer and to be happier and healthier, physically and mentally. We cannot thrive unless we have strong relationships.
Technology has enabled us to connect to more people, but due to the demand all those relationships place on us, we have more shallow interactions, we shy away from the intrusiveness of the phone call or face to face; we are more connected but more isolated.
Our mania for speed, stimulation and multitasking means we dive less deeply into conversations; we are less present and so we build less fulfilling relationships.
Research shows we are better off focusing on fewer close deep relationships than lots of shallow relationships.
Giving is good for you; it makes you healthier, happier and more resilient to stress, so give more to your relationships that matter.
One of our programs focuses on how we support each other and build relationships.
Re-Connection to Creativity
Have you ever noticed how often you have your best ideas in the shower, or when you are in bed? The reason for this is that, at those times, our default network is in full swing (possible one of the few times these days). It is making fresh connections, and playing with alternative meanings in order to store the information. This process is, by its nature, a fairly creative process: creativity happens when new associations are made – new connections that take two or more pieces of information and combine them to make something totally fresh. Since the default network is playing with new connections, its not surprising that, from time to time, it will happen upon some surprising ones – some big insights or ‘eureka’ moments This fiddling with new associations by the default network is central to all creative thought. Momentum SUP will show you how to connect to your creativity.
Corporate Programs
Businesses these days are making hard work of it all.
The interest in offsite developmental programs has been dramatically cut back. Learning programs have been radically pruned or dismantled due to skepticism, expense and the so-called ‘harsh realities’ of post GFC business today. Company Boards and CEOs have tugged hard at the profit lines and scaled back on anything that has fallen to the title of ‘discretionary spending’. Not only that, we have all experienced programs that have had seemingly little if any long-term impact. At least that is the popular diagnosis, and the accountants are loving it! – expenses have been cut!
But that’s not all that’s going on. Busyness has taken over. Companies have taken on the “we’ll do more with less” mantra. Email and texting have quadrupled our information flow and speed of response expectations.
A Survival of the fittest mentality rules.
And as the pace and expectations have been elevated, bigger problems start to take root. A Lack of clarity and strategy. (Who needs clarity anyway?)
Retention figures go down. (We can just get new people who are better can’t we?) Stress and anxiety surface. (People just have to learn to get on with it, don’t they? Toughen up, Buttercup!)
Has productivity really improved? (Look at our 5% year on year growth!)
Are people able to concentrate on their key role elements? Or are they distracted by trying to meet the infinite range of stakeholder demands?
And what about the reality that people need development and direction and will quickly move companies to find it and ‘drag the chain’ if they don’t?
We have seemingly got stuck on the freeway of busyness, and don’t know where to get off. Corporations are confused, and change management has been supplanted with project management and doesn’t deal with the mindsets.
It is within this context that Momentum SUP has been created.
Have a look at the key program themes outlined below.
And then contact us to see what might work for you and your organisation.
Corporate Programs with Momentum
Breaking Busy – How to arrest control of your role from your busy workplace and rekindle creativity and innovation and get back control.
Workplace Change and You – Exploring the facets of workplace change, resilience and flexibility - Incorporates the 4 Rooms of Change concepts
Finding your ‘Sweet Spot’ - A contemporary approach to Performance Management and personal mastery linking with change psychology.
Re-Connection – Steps to real performance improvement and personal re-engagement and health.
Blue Mindedness – Expanding innovation and creativity – thinking better.
Feedback Enhancer – How to tune into and receive real feedback from those people that are different to you.
Relationship Builder – The key factor in corporate success – What does real support look like?
Mastering Management in a Morning (or afternoon)– Fun SUP session that refreshes and engages tired workplace minds & bodies, infused with principles of contemporary management thinking.
Inclusivity in the Workplace – Tips and tricks to encourage understand and utlilise difference.
Building Optimism (and resilience) – the 10 key learning’s
Creativity in the Workplace – How to harness the creative process and progress it.
Momentum SUP also offers programs specifically designed for Schools, Community Groups, Sporting Teams and Coaches
This is a change intervention like no other.
All SUP sessions will involve;
We use Stand Up Paddle as a way to learn. This is not just a Learn to SUP program; it’s really a SUP to Learn program.
Typical Corporate Programs consist of
Building Positivity
Positive emotions broaden our attention, helping us learn and lay down the resources and psychological capital, which will be used for the rest of our lives. Negative emotions are about short-term survival; positive emotions are about long-term growth and capability.
Positive emotions broaden and build our relationships in a couple of ways. Firstly, they broaden your attention, making you more likely to notice subtle signals from the other person. When attention is broadened we are more likely to ‘get out of our heads’ and more readily appreciate and empathise with the other person’s viewpoint and feelings. By increasing our powers of observation and understanding we also learn more about that person and ourselves. We grow, and in so doing, help the relationship to grow. This is a foundation principle of Momentum SUP.
Our name - Momentum
The difference between success and failure is often about the degree to which we are able to build momentum. Successful changes build on momentum; the unsuccessful ones flounder in the force of the oncoming stream. Put simply, our progress towards change will be in one of three states at any time: it’s moving in the wrong direction; it’s not moving; or it’s moving in the right direction. Building sustainable momentum is more important than the speed at which change happens. Once you’re moving in the right direction, once you have momentum-whether you are an individual or an organization – your task becomes infinitely easier. The starting point is always to get momentum working in your favour.
Blue Mindedness
Recent research has now attributed water sports as creating a ‘blue mindedness’ that enhances resilience, collaboration and mental and physical wellbeing. All of which come as no surprise to those involved in watersports.
More interestingly however is how often these attributes are now linked to business success. Innovation and productivity rely on the ability to have deeper relationships, independence of thought and the ability to make more of an impact. and is recognized as essential to success where work is no longer repetitive and systematised.
Breaking Busy
Applying principles of Balance to how we operate in the work place.
We have all heard of work life balance and probably have some ideas about what it means. But what about workplace balance, and more importantly, your role balance?
How well balanced is it?
Are you achieving the things you want to achieve?
The things your boss wants to achieve?
The things others want to achieve?
Who is winning?
Chances are, if you are like most of us in a busy workplace, it’s probably not many of the above.
Your time is probably stretched to breaking point
Quality is probably an issue.
And demands just keep coming, many unforeseen.
Unfortunately no one seems to be able to manage the change issues.
Lets step back and see what’s really happening and how it can be addressed.
Courage and Confidence
Courage and confidence are key facets of leadership more so today than ever before and are central to the self efficacy that is required to build relationships, teams, and changes required in today’s complex and uncertain times.
Learning SUP clearly evidences these traits and makes the learner mindful of the step changes and push through of anxieties to get to the next level and obtain a level of self-mastery.
Learning to manage our emotions (and they are highlighted when learning SUP) is a critical first step in the progression from rampant busyness to a more positive approach.
However to move to a more promotion focused, positive strategy in the face of too much, we need to do more than just control our negative emotions; we need to feel confident. Specifically we need to believe more strongly in our capability, our ability to deliver value in ways other than busyness. When we feel confident in our ability, we are more likely to make our own choices, walk our own path. Since moving beyond busyness means taking a stance against the social norm, confidence enables us to do what it takes to thrive. To tread a different path to build your confidence.
In addition, focused time in nature activities activates other parts of our brains, giving our fatigued frontal lobe (associated with executive function, cognitive control, and supervisory attention) a break. Areas of our brain associated with emotions, pleasure and empathy can now take over, providing a calming influence that is measurable in brain scans and blood tests alike.
The Momentum On-Water Team
Tim
Tim has spent his life in learning and business environments where engagement, relationships and creativity have been focus points for success.
Its also no coincidence that most of these experiences have never been far removed from his love of travel and life long connection to water and movement activities, such as surfing, swimming, skiing and more recently his interest in the fast growing sport of stand up paddle.
“I have learnt many things through my connection to these activities and know they have had a profound influence on who I am and how I think and behave.”
Working in Human Resources and Organisational Development roles in Corporate Australia, Tim has observed first-hand how our use of email and IM has generated a busyness that starves organisations of the ingredients necessary for learning, engagement and sustainable improvement and just as importantly, the inadequate responses to remedy this.
“There are many things we can do to address these issues, unfortunately businesses are too busy or too confused to adopt the changes and mindsets necessary to achieve the breakthroughs. Individuals are caught in a web of email, different opinions, a desire to please and spiraling demands”
Having lived in Hawaii, California and Alaska Tim now resides just off the Pacific Rim in the leafy bayside suburb of Brighton.
“We don’t have the surf, but we do have the bay, and that’s a great place to get started in Stand Up Paddle”
Joe
Joe is currently studying a degree in outdoor recreation with a focus on water-based activities at Monash University and is combining this with a bachelor of education. In amongst that, Joe can often be found surfing on the Mornington Peninsula. Joe has been surfing from his pre-teens and has participated in sessions helping people with disabilities to surf.
In September Joe paddled for a week down the Murray River, standing most of the way. He has also had a recent trip to the outer islands of the Mentawis where he witnessed SUP on another level.
Connie
Originally a Melbourne girl, Connie has spent the last 10 years in a small town called Castlemaine. She is now back in Melbourne and studying International Business at RMIT where she will also do a second major in Public Relations.
Connie also holds a Certificate 3 and 4 in fitness and is a gym instructor and personal trainer at Fernwood Fitness. Connie loves all things health and fitness and will make sure our muscles are warmed up and stretched out before we hit the water.
Jann
Jann is a qualified Personal Trainer, who has been personal training for 15 years. Before that she co owned a fitness centre in NZ. She has had had a lifestyle change by moving to Melbourne 4 months ago and is living in Black Rock close to the beautiful bay where she often goes paddle boarding with her husband on the weekends. Jann is currently Personal Training and running Bootcamps in Brighton.
The Off Water Team
Anna
Anna Rowbury is an installation and object artist who creates painterly three-dimensional still lives. Drawing on classical expressions of nature morte and landscapes, her works explore the subtleties of memory and textures. With an emphasis on the surface patina of objects, age, wear and muted colours, there is often a nostalgic and transportative element to her work.
Anna explored painting and drawing before finding a footing in ceramics which in turn led her to look at the processes of crafting and making. Using ceramic components, drawings, constructed elements, sound and found objects she recreates emotive and ethereal spaces. In removing objects from traditional presentation (wall, easel or plinth) she produces an environment that shifts the work from the literal to an opportunity for poetic imagination. She is inspired by spaces and their atmosphere as well as the objects found within them.
In 2012, Anna completed her BA Fine Art (Ceramics) degree at RMIT (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology) and was awarded an ArtStart grant from the Australia Council for the Arts (July 2013 – June 2014).
Darren
Darren has been a consultant for twelve years, the last five as an organisational development consultant. Culture, engagement and performance improvement is what gets Darren out of bed and to this end he uses The Four Rooms of Change® to transform the way people approach themselves, their colleagues and their lives.
Darren facilitates large or small groups to de-censor and has tools to measure the climate of the organisation in real time “in the room”. This enables teams to understand their readiness for change, innovation and improved performance; and to formulate the best options for the future.
Darren’s practice is high touch not hi-tech and pays due attention to the needs of humans in organisations.
Victor
Victor Bolger is a Psychologist who works with individuals and groups to help them make key choices. Victor has over 25 years of professional experience and brings to his sessions an entertaining style and approach not often seen in his profession. Victor has specialized in several areas including Developing Authenticity and Managing Optimism, both areas that fit comfortably into the Momentum credo. Victor also practices what he preaches and left the bright city lights to raise his family in country Victoria. Having done that, Victor is now returning to the city, on occasions, and able to share his skills and expertise with us.
Program Composition
Corporate SUP
2 water sessions/2-3 Indoor sessions/ 1:1 coaching sessions
2 paddle group sessions on weekend.
Breaking Busy (one of the programs)
This program is a premier program encompassing both on and off water sessions with a special emphasis on key issues such as busting busyness – a key issue for time pressed executives – Building energy, confidence and sustainable practices to lift engagement and productivity in complex and fast paced workplaces.
Community SUP
1 Water session/2 indoor sessions
Focus on
School SUP
1-2 Water sessions
Pre and post water indoor sessions
Focus on
Sports SUP
1-2 water sessions
Team SUP
1 Water session
Focus on
Expand your horizons with a Day of Difference
Stand Up paddle is one of the fastest growing sports in the world
Find out why by experiencing the power and pleasure of this subtle yet sophisticated activity.
Momentum SUP has the experience, people and equipment to get you on the water and re-connect with your innate physical powers and inner balance.
Learn the joy of learning again in what is a very accessible sport with a really steep learning curve that has most people going from raw beginner to intermediate proficiency within 30 minutes.
Switch on to why so many adults are taking to the water like ducks.
Impress yourself with your own abilities and persistence.
Because the sensation is so innate, your natural drive to push through any initial difficulties will drive you to succeed. It unleashes your natural instincts to stand and balance and combine this with balanced movement. It’s all seemingly very human and almost primitive. Some people say it makes them connect to what life around water must have been like before the modern age.
How do you manage your mood and ability to get things done?
How do you deal with the noise, the distractions the nagging inner dialogue that distract and dislodge your homeostasis?
Where do you go looking for that inner calm?
What does it feel like?
Can you identify it?
Can you hold onto it?
Core Strength
SUP enthusiasts talk about building the ‘core’, referring to the core strength of the torso, which gets a great workout when actively, paddling and just standing.
Many sports now, as well as physiotherapists talk about the importance of core strength. Office workers, who sit for long periods of the day, are becoming increasingly more aware of the importance of their core strength in maintaining good posture. Sitting has become the new smoking say health experts, in terms of the negative effects it has on our backs, muscles, blood pressure, etc.
So from purely a health standpoint, SUP provides some real and sought after benefits. That’s important, but at Momentum SUP we see that more as a side benefit. The core is much more than just physical, it is an inner strength and awareness and very much about who we are and what we do. It is a foundation from which we develop. It is pervasive, and probably has more of an effect on our mood and attitudes than we are even aware. …Combine this with the blue mindedness that we receive when on the water, and we have a recipe for some strong influences on our thinking that we may only be slightly aware of.
School Programs
We all know that typical classroom learning techniques don’t always inspire or connect with students, particularly boys.
The schools programs take learning out of the classroom and into action
and then bring the themes back to the students in a more potent form and ignite referred learning and lateral thinking.
Typical school programs involve
A session on the water & selected learning experiments
Key themes are;
Learning, Supporting, Creating Confidence
And special insights into -
And if conditions are willing - SUP Polo
One session for 6 hours
Or 2 X 3 Hour sessions
Teams are Strange Things.
The team programs have been developed primarily for sport’s teams,
although the principles can apply to any team type activity.
Team building activities were very popular in the 90’s.
Maybe then we had more legitimate teams in workplaces.
For better or for worse, most people work largely independently in many roles now, however there is often a requirement to collaborate effectively on some aspects. When those situations arise, the concepts below can be valid. For real teams, like sporting teams, they are more than valid, in fact they are an imperative to team success.
Typical session involve
Testimonials
“Using principles of Design thinking and internal consulting skills, Tim has built a session that showed me things I didn’t know about my team members and myself – Our team was instantly able to utilize these concepts and skills back at work”
“Tim’s advanced facilitation and debriefing skills really made sense to me and I have no doubt I will be a better manager and a more authentic leader s a result”
“I thought the whole idea of learning through SUP was going to be a bit ‘out there’ but the ideas were really well grounded and practical and took ideas from real experiences that were refreshed in me”
“I laughed a lot but I also learnt a lot, best 4 hours of CPE I have ever done”
“I didn’t think it would be that easy and so much fun, Tim was a good Coach and helped me discover my confidence”
“Out team meetings at work are now more productive and more engaging. A number of really positive actions, including increased sales, have happened since that initial session. Something about self-belief connected in me. I have booked a follow up session for after Xmas.”
“I saw my boss in a new light and I didn’t think that was possible.
Puts people in a really good mood with a sense of accomplishment and the pre and post sessions really made this exercise a standout and great value for many. I have spent a lot more to achieve a lot less”
“The learning in Pairs really worked well and I learnt about being a supportive coach”