A variety of experiences with F-Act Training & Coaching.
We asked Christine Terwiel (Chris Teksten Inc.) to interview our clients.
André Mutter,
CEO Omgevingsdienst Midden-Holland
Leadership Coaching
“It is always wise to keep working on yourself. As a director, I don't have a direct supervisor providing feedback. That's why I entered into a personal coaching trajectory with Raymond van Driel from F-Act. Since then, we discuss practice examples together.”
André Mutter, director of the Environmental Service Midden-Holland (52), has a coaching session with Raymond on leadership every three weeks. His surroundings notice the change, and he receives compliments for it.
He got in touch with Raymond when he was involved in a mediation process. “It's not like we heard there was a great guru somewhere. He is in Gouda, just like us, and that was practical,” says André. “But after an introductory meeting at our office, both I and the other party really wanted to continue with him. In my opinion, he asked the right questions. After several sessions, Raymond conducted an analysis, and we entered into a follow-up trajectory. We came to a good resolution together.”
Making it tangible
“It is always wise to keep working on yourself. As a director, it’s hard to get honest and direct feedback from others. That's why I entered into a personal coaching trajectory with Raymond. He also interviewed my environment. Since then, we discuss examples from my practice. In those conversations, it became very clear to me how to interact more effectively with others. He made that very clear to me by providing me with tools. Sometimes, this was done very vividly with diagrams on a flip chart.”
My surroundings notice the change
“If you see these tools in isolation, they might seem like tricks, but I see that it's not a bag of tricks. Some habits I've built up over a lifetime, and I'm training them out relatively quickly now. And it works because my surroundings notice the change; I often hear that.”
Raymond as a coach
“What Raymond brings is calmness. I find that very pleasant. I think he is analytically and theoretically very strong. He can explain well what is happening to you and what behavior would be more appropriate for the moment. He's just a very nice, amiable guy. Occasionally, he tells about what else he's working on, and you can see that he's proud and that he enjoys his work. That's contagious. He is enthusiastically reserved. I like that kind of people. What I also find very strong is that he works with a red thread that we follow while also improvising. He is flexible, and he adjusts the program based on how someone is coming in.”
Why collaborate with Raymond?
“If you ask me why I would recommend someone to work with him, I'm very businesslike: simply because he provides what you need. I needed a coach who could hold up a mirror to me and give me a larger toolbox. If you're looking for that, he's your man!”
Ralf Wetzel,
Associate Professor for Organization & Management,Vlerick Business School
Immense increase of well-feeling and well-being
“My story about Applied Improv is straight forward: The contact with Applied Improvisation was a true game and life changer to me and, more metaphorically spoken, a start of a metamorphosis. The name Raymond van Driel was no less than a major catalyst in that.” Ralf Wetzel, Associate Professor for Organization & Management, Vierick Business School tells us more about his experiences working with Raymond.
Two years ago I was a usual professor at a top 20 European Business School, specialized in change management and organizational dynamics. I was facing two challenges. On the one hand I was desperate to establish a strong didactical relation with my students and on the other with finding proper methods to turn the theoretical (mainly sociological and psychological) knowledge about changing modern societies, changing organizations and agile leadership into a powerful classroom experience. Both struggles went on already for a while without much of progress and I started to get really frustrated.
A different way
That changed fundamentally after I met Raymond accidentally at the Applied Improvisation Network Conference in 2014 in Berlin. During an introductory session on Applied Improvisation, I experienced this overwhelmingly strong mind- and skill-set for the very first time. The way Raymond conducted this workshop had a major impact to that impression.
‘Pimping’ a business school
Since then, Raymond and myself have been in constant exchange, mainly supported by a project funded by the Flemish Government on enhancing a Business school with the power of improvisation. In fact, it was Raymond, with whom I started the ‘infection’ of the school as an outcome of this initial meeting in Berlin.
Together with Nathalie Van Renterghem from Inspinazie, a pioneering applied and theatrical improvisation company from Leuven (Flanders), Raymond and myself revamped almost my complete teaching program and re-built it on the foundations of improvisation. Furthermore, we supported as much the teaching, the research, the company-specific as much as the administrative part of my school. A mayor part of Raymond’s work was the new development of a 5 day course on “leadership & organizational change” for the school’s St. Petersburg Executive MBA program. Since then, he provided me and the school with constant high level insights and a highly appreciative support and coaching.
It changed my way of teaching
The more I delved into the subject of Applied Improvisation, the more I not only realized its power and potential for aspiring leaders of today’s and tomorrow’s companies. It just changed my way of teaching along the way. The more I became ‘playful’ (in Raymond’s own conceptional understanding), the more the contact to any given class changed to the better. The more I became present while teaching, the more I let participants take responsibility, the more I started to build on what came from the audience and the more I made myself vulnerable by leaping (and trusting) into a process of co-development of any session, the better the class experienced eye-opening moments, and the more I enjoyed teaching myself.
Live what you preach
In this process I experienced Raymond as a true incorporation of what he preaches. I never experienced someone who lives more effectfully the ‘making your partner look good’-principle and who subcutaneously demonstrates the power of ‘Yes-and-ing’. Beside the fact that he can provide what he teaches in a highly convincing and impactful way, he truly lives it, which gives all his professional activities a true sense of authenticity and of strong credibility.
Impactful influence
This metamorphosis led me eventually not only to enter joyfully and excitingly the improvisation theatre stage myself. It led me to rely on improvisation principles in none-business contexts too, to the immense increase of well-feeling and well-being. All I can say is: Thank you very much, Raymond, for such an impactful influence on my life. I hope I can continue to profit from your consulting, coaching, partnership and camaraderie.
In November 2018 Ralf became one of our valued associates.
Bas Naber,
Director, teacher and coach lecturer, and coach at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and manager of the International Office.
"You always get more than you expected.”
“The big eye-opener for me was: you are allowed to make mistakes. It sounds cliché because, of course, you are allowed, but it was precisely in the F-Act training that I discovered the importance of spontaneous following. Following what the other person offers or following what comes up in myself. When I do that, all sorts of things happen. Sometimes it goes wrong, and I have to correct it, but most of the time, interesting and enjoyable things spontaneously happen. I found that truly enlightening.” Bas Naber (59) is the graduation coordinator and coach at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and the manager of the International Office of a program. He has collaborated with Raymond in various ways.
Seven years ago, he worked at a organizational consulting firm where he received several trainings from Raymond van Driel and Joke de Vries. “We more or less had these trainings imposed on us by our bosses. The trainers knew that and responded to it honestly and skillfully. As a result, it became positive and energetic. I found that very clever. I noticed that Raymond was knowledgeable and warm. I already thought, “This is a special man.” I discovered that his training was largely based on improvisational theater. I found that interesting because that approach breaks many barriers and works quickly on the openness of the participants. We talked about it."
Using improvisation in training
Two years later, when Bas started working as a trainer and coach, he took a training for trainers and managers with Raymond. “Those days were extremely inspiring. In a very short time, I grasped the principles of improvisational play and learned to apply them in my own training practice.”
Positive flow with “Yes, and”
Bas now often uses improv exercises in his training. “But you can also use the techniques you learn outside of training. It's useful to conduct meetings with a “Yes, and” attitude. It doesn't mean you can't be critical, but it helps to stay in a positive flow if you don't quickly reject ideas but build on them. Then you explore together what is possible or pleasantly discover what is not possible. A proposal then gets the space to be thoroughly examined.”
Enthusiastic students in the honors program
At the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, where he now works, he was a coach in an honors program, a program for students seeking extra challenges. “For those students, I asked Raymond to give several trainings on how to use the “Yes, and” principle in complex projects with people who do not know each other well or with difficult clients or hotelguests. They said they loved it, very much.”
Everything is discussable
That doesn't mean it always goes exactly as hoped. When Bas became the team coordinator for 35 teachers, he hesitated to ask Raymond as a trainer. “Some of the teachers thought such training was useless and quite challenging. I honestly discussed this with Raymond. In the end, everyone really liked it and found it useful. The nice thing about Raymond is that you can discuss this with him: before about your own concerns and afterward about how it went. He will also honestly say if he finds something difficult. This makes you know very well what you get with him, and it works very well.”
Préau
“This year, I went to an improvisational theater week that Raymond organized with a colleague in France. I doubted a lot beforehand whether I would join because, by nature, I am shy, but I haven't regretted it for a second. It was useful, fun, safe, warm, hearty, cozy, and energetic. Raymond had an infinite supply of exercises, games, and formats. Even in such a recreational week, he thinks carefully about the design, but it feels very natural. And if he notices that the group is going in a different direction than planned, he adapts to that. That shows Raymond's experience and mastery. All participants in France said before the end of the week that they would come again next year.”
A bit too modest
According to Bas, Raymond is still a bit too modest. “Did you know he has been Dutch improv champion four times? He can act very casually about his knowledge, but it is enormous, and he is terribly skilled. He can deal well with difficult groups and with all levels, whether it's directors or porters. But what really stands out is that he is very calm and peaceful. He combines that with warmth, kindness, and openness. He gives both the client and the participant a feeling that they are in good hands and that making mistakes is not a big deal. And he always seems to be excited; that is hugely important to notice. He has a lot of energy, and he talks, meets, and discusses just as he trains. He is very authentic. And that is very effective.”
Skilled and fearless
Why would you recommend someone to work with Raymond? “A collaboration with Raymond always works, even if you think it's complicated. Raymond thinks along with you, contributes his own input, and with him, you know for sure that it will lead to a solution. He is open to everything that happens with you as a co-trainer, client, or participant. He keeps checking if it works and if everyone is comfortable. It's very remarkable if you're not used to it. If something doesn't go well, he doesn't make a big deal out of it. He doesn't panic. He just looks at how you can fix it. In that, he is both skilled and fearless.”
International
Bas mentions that Raymond is a board member of AIN, the internationally operating Applied Improvisation Network, and that he travels all over the world. “Then he's in Geneva, then in Helsinki, New York, Oxford, he gives training for free in Ghana, Nepal, and Tanzania. He does all of that, and he can do it all, truly exceptional.”
Truly tailored
Raymond has given training with Bas and six other trainers to volunteers of WarChild. “Then he builds a training from scratch and thinks carefully about what skills people need and whether the training aligns with the core values of an organization. He thinks along with the client and asks a lot of questions. Usually trainers talk about a tailored training but then pull out a frequently used program, but with him, it's truly tailored. He is at his best when he thinks along with you and is very honest about what is possible and what is not. This results in a training that fits the needs of your team and your organization. You actually always get more than you expected with him.”
Renatus Hoogenraad, CEO Sparks Training in Geneva
A Business-Reliable Interlocutor at a High Level
“Raymond is a seasoned professional who excels at dealing with people. He brings structure to training and teaches people to let go of existing structures and see new possibilities.” Renatus Hoogenraad (50), director of Sparks Training in Geneva, confidently entrusts his clients in the Netherlands and beyond to Raymond van Driel from F-Act. “As soon as I see an opportunity to use his skills, I give him a call.”
“In our line of work—training, development, and management consultancy—you often work with large groups, so I am always looking for people I can and want to collaborate with.” Raymond van Driel from F-Act is someone he enjoys collaborating with immensely.
They met in 2009 at a conference of the Applied Improvisation Network, a global network of professionals working with applied improvisation. Raymond is a board member, and Renatus is the European coordinator. Renatus says, “There are only a few people with the qualities that Raymond possesses: he is very dedicated, a good listener, and punctual. The latter is crucial for someone living in Switzerland,” he says with a laugh in his voice.
Bundling Positive Energy
Raymond and Renatus share a positive mindset. Renatus says, “We are focused on how we can improve things and on how we can do what we enjoy. Our collaboration is based on that. When we get excited about something and combine our energy into an action moment, something happens. Raymond is very good at that.”
Creating Safety, Confrontation, and Seeing Possibilities
How does Raymond work? “In his training, he uses three steps: first, he creates a sense of safety for the group. Then, through activities, he allows participants to make discoveries, possibly supported by cognitive information. From there, he playfully and challengingly confronts them with their behavior. In doing so, they learn to continuously look at what is possible, both personally and as a group. They also explore to what extent what happens during the training is representative of what happens at work. This makes the learning transferable to the work situation.”
Simplifying
He has also learned something from Raymond. “I have learned from him to simplify things in the positive sense of the word. The so-called PLAY! model that Raymond works with is a good example of that. It is 'simple yet very effective.' I have adopted the practice of consistently using the same wording and the same model during a training. That helps people better place what they have learned.”
Changing Organizational Culture
Renatus explains that both he and Raymond work on three levels: personal behavior level, group level, and organizational culture. “At the personal behavior level, it involves things like: Who am I? How do I deal with information, with what I am learning? How can I use that? At the group level, it is about how you can use that as a group member. But by intervening at the personal behavior level, we ultimately also change the organizational culture. That is a very intensive process.”
Different Perspectives Side by Side
He explains that, of course, you can do that with a PowerPoint presentation full of information, statistics, figures, and reasons why something is the way it is. “But then what? How do you know if it works? How do you know if the information is getting across and if something is changing? Therefore, we prefer to put people in situations where they have to figure things out for themselves. Everyone then extracts something different from it. In the debrief, participants discover that it's not so much about the product but about the process.”
Added Value of Improvisation Training over Standard Training
“In that phase, they learn to listen to each other and realize that people have different perspectives,” Renatus says. “Multiple realities can exist simultaneously. And then you are purely in improvisation because in improvisation, the reality as we know it doesn't exist. We create it ourselves. To function well in that, it's useful to become so aware of what is happening around you that you can adapt to whatever is happening. That is improvisation. And that is a skill that you can very conveniently apply to your work. That is the significant added value that this form of training offers over a more standard training.”
Business Reliability and High-Level Conversationalist
Why would Renatus recommend someone to specifically collaborate with Raymond? “Raymond is business-reliable, meaning if he says something, he does it. He is professional, handles confidential information well. And he is a high-level conversationalist. He can get along with all kinds of people, including top management. He speaks the language of directors and CEOs, and that is a gift not everyone possesses.”
Paul Z. Jackson,
owner of The solutions focus, UK, a consultancy specialising in change management and organisational design
The job gets done to your specifications
“Raymond and me collaborate on training managers, trainers and facilitators, especially in improvisation skills. I first heard about him through the Applied Improvisation Network. My goal in working with him was an improved design and delivery of our courses. I chose to especially work with him because he is very much a professional, easy to communicate with, has very interesting ideas and a credible range of clients. Raymond is a great collaborator and colleague. He takes care of both the big perspective as well as the small details. He’ll ensure that the job gets done to your specifications.
I wholeheartedly recommend working with Raymond because you’ll have a great and creative experience.”
