Reconnecting with your purpose at Natural Leaders
In October 2021, BEC asked the ICE team for a Natural Leaders experience for their team. The team, like so many teams, had been through a period of change, challenge and evolution in how they have worked due to Covid and arrived at Brookside Farm with a mission to re-connect, re-envisage, rejuvenate and re-energise through a unique facilitated and guided experience.
The morning was structured to support the team to explore and reconcile what they had been through, what has been lost and gained and to reconnect their purpose and to recognise and celebrate quite what they had achieved in an incredible tough journey, to create a renewed energy. The session witnessed every team member sharing in incredible depth and passion about the things that mattered to them – as you can see below from the ICE graphic metaphor development. The key themes were graphically captured as they emerged, an incredibly cathartic and energy giving exercise.
Visually capturing key themes created space for team to discuss the things that matter to team, to sense make and re-anchor after their experience to drive forward the actions and commitments captured on the day.
Team spent time designing their commitment to self-worth, recognising that their work needs them as a team to be real and connected to their worth in order to be psychologically safe to challenge themselves, each other and their partners to make the difference that they want for society
Following on from the ‘At best’ exercise, which moved the group into an aspirational head space, we focused on the BEC future to describe in detail the why, how and what it will be like. We explored what the group believes the system could be, what they want the future to be and what is most important to the group. We shaped the discussion to build and develop a set of personal beliefs and attitudes that link to BEC values.
“The day created a platform that helped highlight the growing the understanding of where and how the next stages of development within the Team can be made. There is no doubt that it was of significant benefit to our team and consequently the health and wellbeing of the company.“
Nigel Catterson, BEC Chairman
The final part of our strategic experience moved the team into commitment – the ‘simple steps’ to what we should do next, launching the focus into a problem-solving space ready for the afternoon activities where they had fun and practiced the identified new ways of working together.
Moving outside to the Cumbrian fells, the BEC team were challenged with a range of activities designed to accelerate the leadership, teamwork and strategic thinking they had described. We tapped into team skills and capabilities through a range of powerful activities that included sheep dog trialling, mastering the art of dry-stone walling and planting hedgerows as a symbol of starting anew and planting fresh seeds to grow.
The activities were bespoke to BEC’s requirements to empower and energise the team based on the desired outcomes:
- Understand your primary way of working, and master you at your best
- How to trust yourself and let go of fear
- Develop a practice for channelling your energy; physical, emotional and cognitive
- The art of connecting to people, exploring clear and compelling public narrative
- What it needs to build and nurture psychological safety as a team
The BEC team had a powerful and fun packed afternoon to turn their objectives into reality.
Through this work we were able to build a very solid platform for both personal and professional growth, the day supported our understanding of where we need to grow. It provided confidence that we are making a difference.
The hospitality enjoyed on the day was second to none, the food and nourishment provided was home cooked, wholesome and lived long on the tastebuds. In the words of Oliver……more, more please!
Michael Pemberton, Chief Executive Officer, BEC
