You’ve gotta know Brandon Giles…
…because whether or not you’ve needed his help before, you’re gonna need it eventually.
I’ve known Brandon for over 3 years; he was one of the first friends I made upon moving to Portland. In that time, there’s been a lot of reciprocal (metaphorical, professional) back-scratching: he’d help me focus my efforts on developing a writing workshop, I’d provide support with his web copy, etc. As a result, I’ve spent hours talking with him about what he does and, naturally, how the heck to describe it.
As someone who professionally identifies as a “writing coach”, I sympathize with the plight of a “collaboration facilitator” like Brandon. Unlike “dentist” or “teacher”, “collaboration facilitator” doesn’t conjure a clear connotation for most people. No elementary school student has ever said, “When I grow up I want to improve work culture for values-driven businesses by making meetings more productive and emotionally safe!”
But good lord do we need that. And that’s what Brandon does.
He’s got a lot of catchphrases he uses with clients. One of them is “I’m the dumbest person in the room”. He says it in a way that reminds people that there is something to be gained from objectivity and outside status. That’s one way in which he taps into the power of a beginner mindset.
Here’s another: Brandon is at his best when he is helping people approach challenges that feel new to them. A lot of what you see him doing around Place to B is supporting people with new and nascent businesses. Whether he’s guiding people to steer their own initiatives or substituting in to provide executive functioning, he helps teams discern better: What is the big vision? What part of that vision needs attention now? What is the “15% solution” that can resolve a pesky problem well enough for you to move the heck on?
Take Circle Werk for example.
I know you haven’t forgotten the posters.
Circle Werk is an occasional window of time for coworking at Place to B, with a light curatorial touch that is classic Brandon: queer professionals who are trying new things, mostly on their own, and are willing to give and get a little bit of support from a neighbor. “Hey, what does this logo make you think of?” “Can you tell me if this email feels too aggressive?” “Does anyone know how to do simple formulas on Excel?”
It’s clear why Brandon is approached, primarily, by people who are newly launching their businesses.
But I don’t think that’s the best way to describe his secret sauce. It’s deeper than that.
Brandon draws a clear distinction between times when helping helps and when helping is more like one-too-many hits of the snooze button. He knows that, often, doing hard work for other people doesn’t actually solve the deeper problems that stall their initiatives. He’s much more drawn towards empowering people to form habits that are better for them and for their initiatives.
It’s about helping people manage new circumstances, which, Idon’tknowifyou’venoticed, our world is full of. He’s great at quelling a crisis, but I want to see more people approaching him when they’re facing positive development. Opening a new market, launching a new product, managing the complexity of a growing team, transitioning to new leadership.
In times like this, Brandon describes, “there are individuals who feel like there’s too many things to do and so they don’t do anything. And there’s also the groups of people who feel like there isn’t enough done and so they’re always working. And even though being reminded about what mattered isn’t their favorite experience per se, they recognize they had literally hired me to keep them on the tasks that they were supposed to be doing.”
We all wind up in situations that we must approach from a beginner mindset; We don’t outgrow beginning. And beginning, even when it’s good, comes with growing pains.
Now, the thing about Place to B is that we work primarily in silos, and professional courtesy forbids giving advice to people who don’t ask for it (what the rock climbing community would call “beta spraying”.) So if you are stuck with a dilemma that feels new, don’t wait for a situation to resolve itself. You need to ask for someone to help you turn it into a growth opportunity…