On June 15, professionals working at local Jewish organizations joined Center for Jewish Philanthropy (CJP) for a morning of game-based collaboration training hosted at Temple Chai in Phoenix. The 30 professionals from across all backgrounds including leaders of local synagogues, youth programs and nonprofit organizations enjoyed a morning of professional development as they dived into a hands-on training led by CJP’s campaign manager, Yosef Funke.
The professionals that gathered represented Temple Chai, Jewish National Fund-USA, Temple Kol Ami, Pardes Jewish Day School, Bureau of Jewish Education, Women’s Leadership Institute, PreK Academy, Jewish Tuition Organization, Temple Beth Sholom of the East Valley, Center for Jewish Philanthropy, Hillel at ASU, Gesher Disability Resources, Jewish Family and Children’s Service, and Arizona Jewish Historical Society | Cutler-Plotkin Jewish Heritage Center. The fun and and interactive training experience featured the internationally acclaimed, FreshBiz Game Simulation that was made in Israel. The game was designed to generate lasting mindset shifts and open up participants to become more collaborative and resourceful.
“Summer tends to be a slower time of year for many of our Jewish communal colleagues, and we were excited to use this time as an opportunity to provide professional development training,” shared Kaylie Medansky, Senior Director of Community Engagement at CJP. “We believe collaboration is the key to our community’s success and the ability to share ideas and open ourselves up to collaboratve efforts through this game was very exciting to see.”
After a brief introduction, participants were put into teams of four where they traveled through the game on a mission to win, while gaining skills, understandings and strategies that not only help them to achieve the goals in the game, but also to excel in their lives. The game is designed to challenge participants to consider their personal patterns, belief systems and habits and whether they serve them or their organizations well.
Once the game was completed by all teams, all participants had a chance to debrief with each other and learn some of the interesting takeaways that their colleagues found while playing the game. Yosef reiterated that the patterns of problem solving and creativity used during the game were key takeaways for everyone to take back to their work and personal lives.
“A noteworthy takeaway from the training was the shift from an individualistic ‘I’ mindset to a collective ‘we’ mindset. Participants quickly recognized the immense power of collaboration and teamwork, understanding that by working together, sharing ideas, and supporting one another, they could achieve far more than they could as isolated individuals,” shared Yosef. “This shift in mindset fostered a sense of unity and reinforced the value of collective efforts in realizing shared goals for the benefit of the entire Jewish community.”
Some of the other takeaways participants shared included how much easier sharing resources can be when you make your own resources known to others and how easily the teamwork developed as the game progressed. Community leaders were thrilled to get to know other professionals in a non-traditional way and many said they can’t wait to participate in more opportunities like this in the future.
See the photos from the morning below and reach out to CJP’s Director of Community Engagement, Jennifer Starrett, at jstarrett@phoenixcjp.org, if you’d like to be included in the next professional development opportunity.
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