Speaker Spotlight – Cheri Torres

Lead Catalyst, Collaborative by DesignConversations Worth Having  |  LinkedIn  |  Facebook  |  Instagram  |  TwitterMonth: June  |  Theme: Wonder

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your practice. 
I believe we have the potential to co-create communities and organizations that truly work for everyone, that allow us to even surpass our most positive dreams for the future. As Lead Catalyst at Collaborative by Design, I partner with people to catalyze positive change in their workplaces and communities. The two simple practices I introduce give leaders and teams the power to strengthen relationships, expand possibilities, and increase productivity and engagement through everyday conversation. These practices are grounded in neuroscience, positive psychology, and Appreciative Inquiry, one of the most widely used approaches for systems change.

What did you want to be when you grew up?
A lawyer. Not even close!

Can you remember when you first learned about your field of work? How did you discover what it was, and how did you know it was what you wanted to do?
I have always been both a possibilities person as well as insatiably curious. Sometime in my early career I saw how many people limited themselves and others unnecessarily (including myself!). I could see we could be and do so much more but for limiting beliefs, instilled by the culture and our environment. I had no clue how to turn that into a profession, but I knew I wanted to be in the business of expanding potential and possibility in the world. The world of outdoor experiential education was a perfect profession for doing that. For 15 years, I facilitated teamwork and leadership. Early on I recognized that people were not learning it, they were discovering what was inherent for them. Eventually I made the correlation that it was the structure of the activities that brought out those inherent capacities. What needed to transform was not the people, it was the structures and systems that are reinforcing individualism. People and the planet can flourish if we redesign our systems to bring out the best in human beings and then give people plenty of opportunities to talk and work together. To do that, we need to be changing our conversations. So now, I am all about fostering those kinds of conversations.

What is the best part and hardest part of your job?
The best part of my job is watching people come alive, fully engage, and bring their best and most creative self to complex challenges. I love it when people at all levels of an organization bring their diverse knowledge and perspectives to a problem and together innovate amazing solutions. I enjoy seeing people discover what they are capable of when given the chance to freely contribute. The hardest part of my job is working with organizations to clarify the focus of whole system conversations and then design great questions: questions that disrupt the status quo, surface the positive core, and generate possibilities. 

What on-the-job tools do you use every day?
First and foremost, believing in the inherent brilliance of every human being. Then, listening, empathy, curiosity, positive framing, story, Appreciative Inquiry, and staying present.

What about your community inspires you?
We have all the makings in this community for radical transformation. With the passion, commitment, knowledge, skill level, and resources in the community, we could co-create a model for a community that genuinely works for everyone and then live into it. There are lots of people working on that already. We have the potential to accelerate that.

What is the best piece of business advice you’ve been given?
Do what makes you come alive!

Can you name a moment of failure in your business experience that you learned from or that helped you improve your business or the way you work?
I had a sales job for a tuition budgeting company that allowed me to travel the southeast. That was fun and it brought in okay pay, but it was not inspiring. During my second year in that job, I began to put together an idea for a non-profit child care resource and referral service, which would support children, parents, and child care providers in our community. That was enlivening! I’d decided to do the sales job for one more year, just to be financially secure through the transition. Before I started the third year, I was fired for not meeting my quota the second year. That stung; I’d never been fired from anything. And, it reinforced the message to do what makes you come alive! I went on to found the organization, ran it for 10 years, and passed it along to someone who tripled its reach over the next 10 years. I have never stopped doing what makes me come alive!

What books/resources would you recommend to someone interested in furthering their creative practice, or starting a creative business of their own?
I Am Her Tribe (Danielle Doby), Outrageous Openness (Tasha Silver), Conversations Worth Having (Stavros and Torres)

If you were magically given three more hours per day, what would you do with them?
I would like to think that I would do the things that renew and replenish me: Play, hike, spend time in the forest, sit by water ways and meditate, read, write, and commune with nature. I’m afraid I would probably continue working for whole systems change.

Who are your favorite creators and makers, local and beyond? 
Lissa Friedman, Cheri Bracket, Nan Davis, Kat Williams, Steebo