By Antje Bauer

A couple of months ago, my business partner, Jill Sheldekar and I facilitated an off-site team development workshop. On one hand, there was a lot of cognitive content, but on the other, we required the team to go out of its comfort zone and think creatively about its future. We knew the “success” of this team development workshop hinged on them pushing through this barrier.

How did we go about that?

We asked them to create a physical representation of their future vision using only organic materials sourced from the land we were staying on. It was amazing to observe how the team playfully converted concepts into a manifestation of their vision.

Initially, they were confused about why they were doing this exercise at all and about our request to use only organic materials. As you can see from the pictures above, they created beautiful metaphors for the challenge we had set for them.

All 20 people were truly stunned to see what they had created with only a few props and materials from the land where we were staying. It spoke to all of us at a deeper level. And oh, btw, the white flowers 🌼 symbolize the happiness of the employees - I liked that most of all.

So, what was the success?

You could say that getting the team to work together to create their visions for the future was a success. Or you could say that getting them to think creatively was the real success. However, in the eyes of my business partner Jill and me, the true success was creating a flow that brought the best out of the team. We did our part by setting the container in which they can unleash their creativity - that's one of the things we love doing for teams.

As a coach, you can never quite predict what aspects of a workshop or training will be the catalyst for change. But, if we can meet our core goal of bringing out the best in a person or team - we consider that a meaningful and lasting success.

If you’d like me to help bring out the best in you or your team, do connect with me about StrengthMiner® Consulting LLP’s personalized workshops and services.