Written by Jeremy Capdevielle, Founder, CEO, and Creative Director of Mosaicli
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I look at people differently since the time I heard my dad speak his first language. By “heard” I mean really heard. As a US immigrant, he didn’t speak Spanish at home with us; still, he spoke Spanish with our family in Mexico City nearly every day.
When I was twenty-two I learned Spanish in Ecuador. I’ll never forget the moment I returned home and dad picked me up from the airport. As we drove along the freeway, his phone rang and he answered, “Bueno.” Suddenly, tears filled my eyes.
As he continued in Spanish I could see layers of his expression I’d never known. I thought about our misunderstandings. Avoidable conflicts. Ways we struggled to connect growing up. I thought about a time I felt hurt by my dad’s tone and my mom said, “I don’t think he meant it that way.”
Sometime after that moment I remembered when, as a kid, he and I made art together. It was freeing and joyful and we felt connected. We didn’t think about it back then, but art helped us understand each other when spoken words fell short.
Upon reflection, I think many of us would discover that our purpose and values are connected with generations prior. My grandfather was a watercolor painter and his father a painter, furniture-maker and woodworker. He showed me that joy is attainable in pleasure, play and presence. My aunt was a therapist and nature-guide. She showed me that joy springs from grief and being in touch with difficult emotions like anger, sadness, hurt, fear and frustration.
Among others, my aunt and grandpa shaped who I am and the gifts I bring. Who shaped yours?
Great Company Culture
At Mosaicli we define great company cultures as ones that foster joy and deliver effectively on a meaningful mission. Influenced by our partnerships with fortune 100 companies and leaders across sectors, our work builds on a premise that joy and organizational success are interdependent.
Recognition is the driving force of great company culture. It’s rooted in relationships and “seeing” of one another. Recognition means, looks and feels differently for everyone. However hard to sometimes bear, recognition honors truth and wisdom through learning, increased understanding and action. It continuously builds trust and incrementally opens communication within and across teams. Recognition is alive and active.
Lack of recognition can feel like giving 110% and receiving a gift card to Baskin Robbins when you’re allergic to all things cold. It looks like being misgendered and no one says anything to correct the mistake. It sounds like the words “we’re like a family” and feeling deeply otherwise every time the phrase floats by.
We’ve all felt tension at work and whether or not we’re directly involved we feel the impacts. Martin Luther King Jr. and countless others say that our freedom is interdependent and that, in one respect, your expression is tied to mine. David White, an Anglo-Irish poet, says:
“To be human is to become visible,
while carrying what is hidden
as a gift to others.”
Great company cultures recognize the gifts their people bring through ongoing learning and action.
Interactive Art—A Foundational Language for Recognition
Like a meal made with care, interactive art can bring people together with warmth, gratitude and delight. As a shared language, art creates equal opportunity for expression and, with ample guidance, enables everyone to contribute their unique gifts, stories and perspectives to a bigger picture. In these ways art is foundational for creating a great company culture where everyone is recognized.
When art is effectively integrated into training, learning outcomes are shown to increase by 10%—that increase is estimated to be greater for English as second language speaker