I had the privilege to participate in a sensory blindfold dinner organized by Gina Badenoch/Capaxia. I have to admit that at the beginning I was not crazy about it. Going in with your eyes covered gave me anxiety. I had fear to fall, drop my glass, eat something nasty since I could not see. As time went by, I started letting go of all those feelings to start feeling at ease, comfortable with my surroundings, listening more to what was going on around me. The fear turned into excitement. The anxiety turned into peace. It was an amazing experience that everyone should have the chance to do once in their lifetime since it is transformational.

My first emotions were that of curiosity and excitement, a challenge that I was willing to try. As the initial minutes flew by and realizing how challenging walking, hearing who was talking to me, finding my glass of water and even forks to eat the initial sense of wonder quickly transformed into frustration. It made me think about how amazing sight truley is, how little are we grateful for it, but at the same time I started to realize how I started to rely on my other senses and how this became the most insightful. With my eyes closed, concentrated on hearing I could not avoid just thinking about the chaos that surrounds us, noises of everything just overwhelmed my brain. Taste and textures of foods in my mouth became quite an amazing experience. Above all the senses, I thought that because of not really knowing who is out there you could only interest with people beside you, might seem lonely at first but lead to some very deep conversations without any judgement of how that person looked physically or how she was dressed. Very interesting indeed.

The unknown and darkness is around and before any leader who is aware of the challenges they face. Technology, society, climate change and future innovation, financial growth and profit challenges, are all examples of this. Gina opens up our understanding of this phenomenon with skill and grace – leading leaders to understand how they navigate in the complex and uncertain world that they need to lead in. Her session is at the cutting edge of our understanding of how leaders can develop the skills to navigate the challenges of the 21st Century.

“Gina led us through a sensory blindfolded dinner during one of our team offsite meetings recently. It was incredibly impactful for the team, we understood the power of silence and the need to listen, we gained confidence by being with colleagues in a dark yet safe space, we were inspired by the stories and the art of the possible. The chance to experience something out of the ordinary, yet during an ordinary activity such as dinner, was an important and valuable lesson for all of us”.

“Culture comes down to how people treat each other, the permission people feel to be themselves and take risks, and the environment that’s created around the work we do”