Last month I participated in the IPS Leadership Team retreat held at Montgomery Bell State Park. One of the first items in our agenda was a team activity titled “The Big Picture.” For two hours the group worked on painting a canvas that represented what IPS does: Making lives better for Tennesseans. The picture we had to paint was a depiction of IPS’s presence and impact throughout the state, highlighting all of our agencies’ services through different landmark buildings, objects and symbols. The purpose of the activity was team bonding. 

Our canvas was divided into four parts. I searched the dictionary for the technical word and definition for such type of painting and found out that it is called a quadriptych: A work of art divided into four panels, or sections, where each panel depicts a different but related composition. 

Two of our canvas sections were already delicately drawn out, ready for the shapes to be colored and the contoured lines traced, (still not an easy task) and they were positioned diagonally to each other when all four sections came together. The remaining two sections, also diagonally placed, were completely blank. We had to use freehand drawing by observing a small picture print, and then color those shapes, all somehow in harmony with the work going on at the same time but independently at other tables in the room, on the rest of the sections. Suddenly two hours did not seem like long enough time! 

The facilitators divided us into two groups (we didn’t pick our teams), and each group got their canvases, paint and brushes, pencils and erasers, water cups to clean the brushes, aprons, etc. Each team received instructions to select a leader, two artists-in-residence, and a mixologist: a person who selects and blends paint to achieve the desired shade of colors and to create a harmonious look throughout the painting canvas/canvasses. This definition did not come from the dictionary. 

The artists-in-residence started freehand drawing the blank canvases. The mixologists were busy mixing, and the rest of the people were painting the already traced canvases. Some were stressed, some were loving it, and the rest somewhere in between. I thought to myself: this very much feels like a typical day at work, and I started seeing some parallels to our daily jobs at IPS: 

1. Some days we show up at work where the next challenge is a complete surprise, something we have not seen or done before, something that we think we are not going to be good at. What if we fail? Do we give up, do we love a good challenge and dive right in, or do we scratch our heads before taking the next step? After overcoming the initial sense of surprise and feeling unprepared, each member of our group gravitated toward what they thought would be the best contribution they could make. No task was too small, but most importantly, we saw how one does not have to be an artist to contribute to a painting! 
2. Our group was assigned into teams and asked to work together while using limited and perhaps unknown tools. At work too, sometimes, we don’t get to choose our team, nor the tools available to us. We have to work with what is available and make the best of the circumstances. Establishing trust in the midst of the unknown, while staying focused on the task at hand and the short deadlines, is crucial. We must learn fast and know that we will not have all the information we think we need, nor the perfect team, in order to still come up with the best solution for the day, one that contributes toward our common goals. 
3. Finally, while we were all busy rushing to do our own thing, we knew that at the very end, the four canvases placed next to each other had to look like one seamless artwork. The phrase “Making lives better for Tennesseans” laid out across all four canvases had to appear with letters matching in color, size and shape. The color mixes had to have the same shade throughout all four sections. Isn’t that what we try to achieve each day working for IPS? 

Whether we are in Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis or anywhere in the state assisting those we serve. We may be physically apart when we do our job, but we keep “The Big Picture” in mind, knowing that when each of our contributions come together, it must look like a seamless canvas, a beautiful tapestry, done with passion and dedication, regardless of the many unknowns and difficulties along the way. At the very end, we placed the four sections next to each other and were looking at the painting from a distance, admiring our hard work and perseverance. It was not perfect, but it was our best effort.