Team Journeys
There are so many ways to incorporate outdoor learning and to create the time and space for people to step back, slow down and focus on what’s important. My approach is collaborative, practical and enabling, and draws on insights from complexity science, neuroscience and ecology.
Team Journeys
Time and space to pause, reflect and learn.
In short, developing a way of working that enables teams to flourish in times of disruption and uncertainty. I have considerable experience of working with leadership teams and supporting them in creating genuine alignment and in developing the capacity to think and act differently and to move beyond our conditioned responses.
The approach that I take places a particular focus on team effectiveness through building a shared ambition and creating a culture that brings out the best in each other. Bespoke design meets a team where it is and then maps out a journey that harnesses the collective wisdom (and breakthrough thinking) by embracing intuition and imagination in order to build responsiveness and impact.
Typical team journey elements include…
Diagnostic phase: confidential individual interviews, identifying underlying patterns/needs
Design of the potential journey (the workshop sessions and how they link together)
Aligning the development process with the real business needs (ensuring the leadership agenda aligns with the overall strategy)
Online workshops, typically a series of one-day session (and where feasible, to include the opportunity of meeting face to face)
The possibility of individual coaching
Learning reviews and the option of 6-monthly check-ins
I have worked in different parts of the world with many types of teams over the years (including Exec groups and senior leadership teams), mainly within the corporate sector, but also with a variety of NGO and not-for-profit organisations, and in a variety of settings from mountain huts, boardrooms through to outdoor and wilderness settings.
“Our perception of stress, our mental state, our immunity, our happiness, and our resilience are all chemically influenced by the nervous system and its response to the natural environment.”
— Your Brain on Nature, Eva M. Selhub and Alan C. Logan
Some examples…
Immersing in nature as a vehicle for mentoring and coaching of individuals (use of metaphor and symbolism, as well as working with nature as a mirror and a source of insight and meaning)
Mountain huts and other ‘off the beaten track’ venues; using very different settings to facilitate Leadership Team dialogue in relation to tackling organisational challenges and creating shared visions for unlocking new opportunities. Such sessions, as well as being enjoyable, also support a team to go deeper in creating a culture of trust and partnering
A waterfall walk with a European senior team that led to each person sharing what was important to them personally and which, in turn, underpinned the creation of a visionary leadership manifesto and a subsequent step-change in business performance
Working outdoors experientially with an Exec Team to set the foundations for a rapid organisation-wide cultural transformation programme (moving from fear to freedom), which unleashed genuine creativity, accountability, and increased profitability
For a global client, incorporating time spent outdoors as a core element for leadership development and as a catalyst for individual reflection and inquiry. And, in pairs, walks & talks to support peer coaching to explore new possibilities
