The Intersection of Personal Development and Company Culture | Meet Ohlay
Updated: May 10, 2022
By Alex Oh and Nikolay Borisov, Co-Founders of Ohlay
We are Alex Oh and Nikolay Borisov, and we are the two halves of Ohlay. We recently were guests on THIS. with Shauna Griffiths. where we did a live Social Journaling exercise. The result is the episode we are proud to share here.
Post-recording of the episode with Shauna, we did a reflection Social Journaling exercise. We journaled the same prompt we did during our recording as a way to reflect on our shared conversation and check-in with ourselves. We find that journaling on the same prompt after some time has passed helps us to get clear and grounded with ourselves, surfaces new perspectives, and deepens our personal learning and inner wisdom. Below are photos of our journal entries to give you a better idea of the process and the outcome.
ALEX'S ENTRY
NIKOLAY'S ENTRY
Now that you have that as a foundation, let us tell you more about our company and work at Ohlay.
Ohlay is an engagement design company. Our current work explores the intersection of personal development and company culture, asking: how do people connect more deeply with themselves, with their work, with others, and within their communities? We believe in a world where people show up more fully in every aspect of their lives — people who lead with heart and purpose, and where meaningful work and connections are the norm.
GET TO KNOW OUR STUDIO
Our Approach Encouraging & Intentional. We ask the right questions to listen for the greater need and emotions that drive the work. Our process of choice is social journaling, And the lens through which we approach our work is through our ME WE US Framework. We share more details at the end of this proposal.
Our Relationship Collaborative & Reflective. Our priority is to make this work for you and to bring value for your team. We are here to support you every step of the way.
Our Magic Immersive & Hopeful. We don’t just create workshops. We craft an experience and infuse your vision and content to ensure that your work connects with your audience in powerful, impactful ways
OUR METHOD & PRACTIVE OF SOCIAL JOURNALING
Social Journaling is our facilitated process for community exchange and self-driven learning. This practice combines personal reflection through journaling and community reflection through conversation to broaden perspective and to create greater opportunity for empathy and active listening.
Building on the education content, we start with a shared prompt. Each participant spends time to quietly reflect on the prompt through our preferred method of journaling (e.g. writing, typing, drawing, movement, breath). After our individual reflection, we move to small groups to exchange insights and experiences. Finally, we join together in the main room where each person has the opportunity to share their highlights.
At each stage, participants are challenged to reflect deeply and to process and communicate their thoughts and ideas in different ways. The layered practice helps to surface new ideas, thoughts, and connections with each iteration, and for the group to learn and connect through exchange.
ME WE US of Connection
ME WE US of Connection is the lens through which we view learning, community-building, and creating sustainable change. This framework provides practical tools to uncover the foundation and layers of a strong company. The outcome of this framework is the alignment of personal development and professional performance. Understanding the connection and contribution at every level of the organization is key to bringing and sustaining meaningful change.
ME centers on one’ s relationship with self. How can we build unity and alignment within ourselves? How do we need to create space and energy, so that we are healthy, kind, and well within and for our self. These sessions will be built around self-reflection, journaling and finding your voice. Our goal is to help individuals discover more of who they are and get clarity on their power.
WE examines the relationship “me” has with another. How do we communicate? How do we practice empathy? How do we listen? We learn so much about ourselves in relationship with others. These workshops focus on building stronger relationships and partnerships with others. The work with WE aligns with the work with ME.
US centers on the community as a whole. A company represents so many individuals, entities, departments, and values. How does each of these parts contribute to the whole of US? How does the whole shape and define the ME and WE? We examine the importance and beauty of the intersections of ME, WE, and US, and how that contributes to the impact internally and externally of every part - ME, WE, and US.