Do you remember Gumby?
You know, that gangly green Claymation creature that made his television debut in the 1950’s and later starred in a 1995 stop-motion film alongside his red horse sidekick Pokey. Gumby is a longtime favorite of children and adults alike, showing up in promotions and commercials for decades. If you’ve forgotten this classic character, let me refresh your memory with this introductory video that kicked off each cartoon episode.
But what does Gumby have to do with the training and coaching work that I do? Well, over the last year I’ve started giving out six-inch bendable Gumby figurines to the participants in my Everything DiSC® workshops. We spend time discussing how being “Gumby-like” is useful in the workplace, and how adaptability, flexibility, and agility have evolved to be essential skills in today’s complex and fast-changing work environment. Key to these skillsets is making personal connections – on teams, with supervisors, and across the entire organization – but even the best relationships require “bending” on occasion.
When I hand out the green Gumby toys, I invite class participants to keep them as a model of the available responses to a difficult situation or person. Gumby serves as reminder to be flexible and adaptable to meet the needs and styles of the various people and problems we face each day. I’ve found that participants treasure their Gumby toys as a helpful validator of the concepts taught in the workshop.
Why Gumby-like Reminders are Important
The Future of Jobs Report from the World Economic Forum explores how jobs and skills will evolve over the next five years and found that six in ten workers will require training before 2027. Among the priority list of skills that employers are focusing on, the report cites resilience, flexibility, and agility – all strengths that Everything DiSC® Assessments help us to recognize within ourselves and others.
So yes, Gumby is a fun and somewhat silly toy, but he is also an excellent reminder of what kind of leaders and managers organizations need today and in the future.
Want to learn more about using Everything DiSC® in your organization and the impact that it has on engagement, resiliency, and collaboration? Contact me at sgaynes@geewizwow.com. And, we can even talk about what Gumby can add to the experience!
