About Omega Transformation and Smartphone Quizzes: The 4th BusinessMind Alumni Lounge

“Hey, you pretending to be an Omega again?”

Several of my former BusinessMind participants tell me that the „Omega“ has definitely entered into the language of some meetings as a friendly insult among colleagues, and from there into some corporate cultures.

As a rule, this is actually quite unfair on your colleagues (and the Omega!) because the Omega is an important quality indicator in corporate culture, in meetings, in workshops, and in fact every aspect of life in general.

Because it points out deficits, injustices, addresses unpleasant issues and thereby shoulders the burden for others in the group (who may think the same but don’t dare to speak out.)

You’re now surely thinking „Uh, how? Uh, who?“

There are two things to say about this.

1. You absolutely must attend one of my moderation seminars or a train-the-trainer course. You obviously haven’t yet. Or it’s been too long since you have. ?
2. So what is this Omega?

According to the Austrian psychoanalyst and psychotherapist Raoul Schindler, there are rank dynamics in every group, governed by different roles.

For example the Alpha, the leader; the Beta, the expert; the Gamma (the ordinary group member) and – well, the Omega. Who is not in agreement with the goals of a meeting or a project and is therefore fondly considered the group troublemaker.

You can read more about rank dynamics (including the description of the Meta Alpha, missing from the above visualisation) in my book from page 25 onwards.

We moderators and/or trainers live in dread of these nasty Omegas, but luckily there are ways and means of nipping your Omegas in the bud, giving them space to air their doubts, accepting their input and at the same time preventing them from blowing up your group.

How to go about it?

It doesn’t take more than a few, well-chosen words. And these can fall under the sounding name „Omega transformation.“

When you do an Omega transformation you anticipate possible doubts & reservations by directly addressing and defusing them. To do this, you use the subjunctive (after all, it’s only about POSSIBLE doubts & reservations. You don’t want to be accusing your participants of anything!)

It could sound like this, for example:

„It may be that you’re looking at all this colourful, creative material and thinking „Crickey, what am I doing here?” But I can assure you that it has been scientifically proven that using a variety of methods, fun and colour has a positive effect on brain activity. You can work with it, but you don’t have to. However, it would certainly help us reach the projected result XX today, together, whilst having a lot of fun at the same time!”

See what I mean?

Give thought to who your participants are beforehand, what their possible doubts & reservations could be, and create a separate Omega transformation for each one.

It’s worth your while, you’ll see! Believe me, I sometimes forgot about the Omega transformation when in a hurry, or thought it wouldn’t be necessary, but I almost always deeply regretted it!

If you’ve got an important event, it’s best to talk your transformation through with colleagues – they can give you direct feedback about how your defusing works on them.

And that’s exactly what we did in the 4th BusinessMind Alumni Lounge, which took place once again at wonderful Magdas Hotel in Vienna, with 17 motivated and high-spirited alumni.

We tried out Omega transformation, practiced them in an informal environment, and laughed a lot as always.

Nicole additionally introduced us to kahoot.com (quizzes) and sli.do (surveys) two exciting digital tools for events. We rolled out stories and feasted on the international delicacies provided by Magdas.

And the participants loved it, as usual:

“BusinessMind Alumni Lounge = a refreshing (re)encounter with familiar and new faces, with a lot of fun and laughter, new methods and amazing experiences with unconscious competencies. Birgit and Nicole – many thanks for this! ?“ Susanne Meissner-Dragosits, FFG

„The BusinessMind Alumni Lounge evenings are a very special experience for me every time. Again and again, Birgit and Nicole successfully combine getting the contents and methods across in a really well thought-through manner, allowing you to participate and try things out for yourself, with an open and encouraging atmosphere and surroundings.  And as always, the BusinessMind team also ensures there are surprising moments that open up new perspectives on methods and experiences one is already familiar with. One thing is certain: after the Alumni Lounge, you not only return home totally inspired, but fortified all round!  A heartfelt thank-you for unflaggingly sharing knowledge and skills.”

Daiva Walangitang, AIT

So, what’s your experience with Omegas? Or are you yourself sometimes an Omega? But be warned: just being Omega doesn’t make you popular, even if the function itself can be useful! We’d be pleased to read about your experiences!

Best wishes, Birgit