Using the outdoors for team development training

Examples of our work in this area

Leadership development for an ambulance service

The need:
An Ambulance Service recognised the need to ensure its teams were able to cope with the growing demands from national targets and constant change. They developed new Team Leader roles and needed to ensure that post holders were equipped to meet the demands of the job.

Our role:
Salomons designed and delivered a tailor made one-week residential leadership programme. This programme enabled participants to develop skills necessary for success and also to increase their confidence in their abilities to manage the challenges ahead.
The programme included outdoor activities as well as diagnostic tools, skills input and group discussion. The outdoors provided opportunities for participants to develop their leadership and team working skills and receive feedback from their colleagues in a safe, supportive environment.

The outcome
The programme was a huge success and more programmes were commissioned than originally intended. This was due to the overwhelming positive feedback of the participants and recognition by the service of the huge contribution the programme made to enhancing the leadership capability of the Team Leaders.

Building a new team for a rapid response service

The need:
The problem this client faced was that the team is "virtual". It is an emergency team that only comes together in emergency situations. At other times the individuals are geographically remote working in different professional areas.

Our role:
Salomons designed a programme using a range of outdoor activities to help team members develop their understanding of each other, build stronger relationships and put in place processes that would enable them to work effectively together when called upon to do so.

The outcome
The virtual recovery team now understand how they will work together and draw on each other’s strengths in a crisis. The challenging exercises they successfully achieved together have given them the confidence to perform under pressure.

Bringing together professionals from across an organisation in a new multidisciplinary team

The need:
To achieve their new strategy, our client needed its engineers to work in new ways and buy in to their vision to make this happen. The engineers from mixed disciplines needed to come together in a new cohesive team. The individuals in this new team would need to work effectively together and overcome differences to be successful.
The first day of the programme was facilitated by the client, looking at the model of their new way of working and their vision for making it happen.

Our role:
Salomons worked in partnership with the client to build on its vision and new structure. In a two day residential programme, the engineers were able to understand how to make the vision a reality and think about how they would work together. We introduced the team to the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI), a psychometric instrument that aids self-awareness and the awareness of others. This awareness and learning was reinforced as the team tackled outdoor challenges and reflected on the practicalities of returning to the work place.

Outcomes:
The new team was able to return to the workplace with a much clearer view of how they could all work with each other drawing on the differing skills and knowledge within the team. They were able to use their insights to take forward the new way of working to the benefit of the organisation.

For an initial conversation please call our team on either 01892 507696 or 0141 548 8140 or email ask@salomons.org.uk