Trust and Authenticity in the Outdoors
Every
year our church conducts a men’s retreat.
Last month a group of 35 men ventured two hours north to Westmoreland
State Park for an overnight camping trip: tents, campfires, and the challenges
inherent in manhood. In Christian
circles, the importance of fellowship and authentic relationships cannot be
understated. Two or three hours a week
is not nearly enough time to generate the level of trust and vulnerability
necessary to guide and mentor men into the fullness of life God promised
them.
I’ve
been acting as a spiritual life coach and mentor to men for over a decade and
have experienced the good, the bad, and unfortunately too much of the
ugly. In the process I’ve seen men
engage in deep, life-changing relationships.
By sharing their lives with other men, by being open and accountable,
and by participating in retreats, men have learned to trust and as a result,
shared in the enjoyment of a life fully devoted to other people and a purpose
beyond themselves.
Historically,
men and women have learned to compartmentalize their work lives from their
personal lives. From the hours between
8:00 am and 5:00 pm, people pretend, hide, and create a wall of invulnerability
around them for protection from backstabbing, gossip, and prejudice. As a result, they insulate themselves from
potential relationships and common visions that aid in synergizing efforts and accomplishing
significant goals. Ironically, the walls
meant to protect and preserve a person’s identity are actually preventing them
from experiencing a higher purpose.
Bill
Watkins, CEO of Seagate Technologies recognizes the importance of bridging the
gap between an employee’s professional life and personal life. By placing people in outdoor settings and
creating environments where people have to depend on one another, he has
bridged the chasm between “who I am” and “who I pretend to be.” Many employees are shy about admitting their
struggles and insecurities; however, in an outdoor setting like New Zealand,
folks are unable to hide and pretend.
Rather, the elements and events draw out the strengths and weaknesses of
each person. Teams are created to help
build upon each other’s strengths and shore up one another’s weakness. Like our men’s retreats, merely getting
people outside their comfort zone can bring longstanding insecurities and fears
to the surface.
Do you see value in the EcoSeagate team development process?
When I opened the men’s retreat last month I said, “If
you’re going to become someone you’ve never been, you need to do something
you’ve never done.” Interestingly, in a
Bloomberg Businessweek article, Watkins said, “How do you reprogram employees?
You ask them to do something they’ve never done before. You put them in an
environment where they have to ask for help.”
Whether it is a retreat or an outdoor training lab, one of the first
keys to a successful venture is getting people outside of their comfort zones
and placing them alongside other men and women with a desire to grow personally
and professionally (or in our case, spiritually as well).
Obviously, I am a firm believer in retreats and outdoor
labs. Office cubicles, Xerox copiers,
and all-day email have the tendency to rob individuals of the creativity
inherent is humanity and exploration. Confining
employees to cubicles and conference rooms mitigates the importance of
intergroup dependence and personal challenges.
Kayaks, cables, and gorges push employees through the mountains and
rivers of New Zealand. Memories are made
and relationships are forged that transcend financial reports, weekly meetings,
and the imposing pressure of deadlines.
Why would something like this be necessary in a high-performing
organization?
I am currently
reading Patrick Lencioni’s (2005) best selling book Overcoming The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. He opens the book by stating, “I honestly
believe in this day and age of informational ubiquity and nanosecond change,
teamwork remains the one sustainable competitive advantage that has been
largely untapped” (p. 3). Too many leaders
and managers assume teamwork is going to naturally and organically occur
without direction and supervision. While
teams will develop and similar chemistry draws people together, it is the
intentional integration and purposeful leadership that builds a highly
successful and united team from pockets people going in a myriad of directions.
Jeff O’Brien,
senior editor of CNN Money.com, quoted an event organizer as saying, “People
should not think of Eco Seagate as a reward, but rather as behavior modification.” That is where our men’s retreats and the
outdoor labs differ. Where the Eco
Seagate organizers are seeking to modify an employee’s behavior, we are
pursuing a heart transformation. Changing a person from the inside requires
vulnerability and trust that lasts long after the event. Watkins and the folks at Seagate believe the
same follow-up is necessary. This is
accomplished by building upon the revelations and experiences gained along a
New Zealand river gorge or a wooded campsite in northern Virginia.
Could your organization benefit from a similar activity?
During a YouTube video of
EcoSeagate, one of the event organizer’s said, “Trust is at the cornerstone of
everything we do. How we talk to each other and how we depend on each
other. We establish a deep sense of
mutual respect.” In Ten Virtues of Outstanding Leaders, Ginni and Green (2013) said,
“Outstanding leaders appreciate the value of truthfulness as the foundation of
widespread mutual trust within their organization. They also recognize that,
like cancer, deception is malignant” (p. 52).
Every organization benefits from a sense of mutual trust and
respect. As a military contractor, the
relationship between active duty military and the contractor can be like a
poker game; neither team showing their cards and bluffing for an
advantage. Though the leaders on both
sides recognize the importance of trust, the reality is that very few are
willing to be the first side to lean in and be transparent.
With
that said, our organization could certainly benefit from this type of
event. However, as long as people are
more concerned about the contract stipulations, very little ground can be
gained with new ideas, creative innovations, and deep abiding trust. Rather, folks quote contract references and
Air Force regulations at the expense of potential progress. It’s a fear-based relationship rather than a
mutually trust-based relationship.
Lencioni
(2005) also said, “When it comes to teams, trust is all about
vulnerability. Team members who trust one
another learn to be comfortable being open, even exposed, to one another around
their failures, weaknesses, and even fears” (p. 14). Participating in outdoor events such as Eco
Seagate and men’s retreats are great opportunities to connect on a level much
deeper than company goals and bottom line financial reports.
Steve
References
Chao, M. (2008). Eco Seagate. Retrieved
from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCOfOFMiLtE&feature=youtu.be
Ginni, A., & Green, R.M.
(2013). Ten Virtues of Outstanding Leaders. Malden, MA: John Wiley
& Sons, Inc.
Lencioni, P. (2005). Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-
Bass.
Max, S. (2013). Seagate’s
Morale-athon. Retrieved from
O’Brien, J.M. (2008). Team Building
in Paradise. Retrieved from
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/20/technology/obrien_seagate.fortune/
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