Head Smashed In, a division of men in the Canada region, holds a vision that resides at the team level and higher: “We are all in the same boat powerfully moving forward with clarity courage and commitment in the river of men’s work. All of our paddles are digging deep and pulling to the beat of the same drum. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. We enjoy the journey as we expand, co-create value, and success for ourselves, our families, our communities and the world.”
A growing community of men (they tripled in size under DC Eric Mortimer), this division of Canada in the Calgary area holds a number of forward thinking men. Here is some input from a handful of those men:
Gary Wojciechowski, MDI and HSI Social Media Manager
I’d say a solid team needs to share in a common vision that is broad enough to include all and inspiring enough to motivate action. Our division’s vision and MDI’s vision and mission align with these themes. When men feel inspired, they act and pull together to make things happen. A cause greater than ourselves, greater than our differences. is important.
I see two perspectives for leadership – one is the top down, the other a little more bottom up. We have the visions, of MDI and our Division, to guide and inspire us, but it takes the work at the team level to build trust and take action.
Ian Galvin, Division’s MTP Manager
Our division represents an umbrella for us to gather under. We have solid teams unified under an “umbrella organization” with men in sync; it makes for an attractive space for other men to join and grow in. The organization helps us to be unified in purpose (and yes following the same doctrine) and to create a space for teams to have a much better chance at longevity. In my experience, little off-shoot groups don’t grow or last.
Trevor Thibodeau
Team Kings of Heart just had a 42-hour Overnighter. Our Context was: “In Steel on Steel, We Trust.” From the Bible, Proverbs “As iron sharpens iron, so do men sharpen men.”
It was fucking profound. Men’s team, and perhaps our Division more than most, is not only about men supporting each other in the way our Vision pictures it, paddling in time in a boat in one direction. That is fucking fantastic, and necessary for success, but not sufficient.
Balance is the key. So what will bring balance to such a Vision, such a Context? Since I have been around, coming on seven years, what captured me from my first fire was the way men challenged each other. With raw but heartfelt honesty, authentic masculinity, sometimes shooting straight, sometimes sneaking up from behind, we do whatever we can to help each other sniff out our own bullshit and see our own blind-spots.
I saw this in my father and in my grandfather. They lived it. They worked together, drank together, and fought together. They didn’t put up with each other’s bullshit. Men must keep their men sharp. No one else will.
Rob Miller
Men’s teams are the base of our Vision and Mission. We members are Mentor Discover Inspire and we create, maintain and help men find a men’s team where they can get in touch with their personal truth and recognize their potential so that they can begin to make commitments to realize that potential.
Being openly exposed to the experience and wisdom of men will help gain confidence in personal masculine power. Being heard, learning to listen and sometimes being told difficult-to-hear truth delivered with encouragement IN trust, makes it acceptable, appreciated and can be used to make changes to move forward.
Men make that happen for themselves by showing up consistently and telling the truth. If every man on a team does that, it creates a unique team spirit that helps move men to explore and discover who they really are, what they really want and how to show up in the world to get it. Through men’s teams we learn that the best way to get what we want is to lead.
Through our organizational structure, leadership opportunities are provided and by owning the role and giving it creative energy, we learn to become better leaders and support Mentor Discover Inspire’s Vision.