Beautiful National Park

Situation

One of the nation’s most beloved and scenic parks was led by an unusually talented group of committed and hard working individuals. Therein lay the problem—they were a group of individuals, not a team.

Government’s traditional organizational structures encourage group isolation. Departments or functional units use such military term as “divisions”. In this situation, that division among the parts of the organization led to little coordination and no collaboration as, with their loyal staffs, these individuals each attempted to lead the Park through their own divisions.

While there were no open conflicts, relationships were restricted to functional interactions and conversations confined to polite, non-controversial topics. Without relationships, collaboration and the bonds of a unifying purpose, the group could not lead the planning and change functions that were being mandated by Congress.

Activity

The Park team asked Zelma to facilitate a four-day retreat for team building and collaborative planning at a remote conference center which was located near a world-class tourist/educational facility. In addition, they scheduled two monthly conference calls and individual phone conferences with Zelma, followed by a two-day retreat session three months after the initial retreat.

See the agenda for the four-day retreat

Results

The leaders needed to build relationships before any real Park planning could be effective. The opportunity to spend significant time together resulted in relaxed interactions and productive discussions. Through a variety of activities and full team and one-to-one conversations, issues were confronted and problems solved.

The two-day follow-up and subsequent observations have proven the effectiveness of the approach. In addition to significant synergy, the individual team members express greater job satisfaction and quality of work life. Most important, the leadership team has been able to withstand political pressures and has secured the Park’s vision for the future.