Teamwork At The Edge®
What does it take for a team to perform exceptionally when faced with deadlines, long hours, heightened expectations, partial information and pressure from above? How do you unleash a team’s full potential in such challenging conditions?
The Teamwork at The Edge® program helps executives, senior managers, leaders and team members understand what it takes for teams to perform successfully at "The Edge" - the highest possible level of performance under conditions of adversity, uncertainty and change.
The Teamwork at The Edge® program draws on a compelling story from our suite of Metaventures® - the drama of the 1998 Sydney-to-Hobart Ocean Sailing Race and the AFR Midnight Rambler, one of the smallest yachts to ever win the race. Using photographs, illustrations, video, discussions and exercises, participants become immersed in the story and feel like they are literally part of the adventure.
Our use of story and metaphor to teach and develop leadership and teamwork and to change management skills provides participants with an experience more powerful than traditional learning – an experience that allows for deeper understanding, better retention and stronger motivation to apply what has been learned.
The AFR Midnight Rambler Story
This Metaventure® is based on the true story of the AFR Midnight Rambler and the challenges its crew encountered in the 1998 Sydney to Hobart Race. This 723-mile, deep water sailing race is considered one of the toughest in the world. Unpredictable weather and seas make each race particularly challenging, however the 1998 race proved to be the most treacherous in the race’s 61-year history.
As the starting fleet of 115 boats sailed south down the coast of Australia, an unexpected “weather bomb”—a massive storm that created 80-foot waves and near 100 mph winds—descended upon the fleet. Six sailors perished in the maelstrom and another 42 were saved, in what became the largest search and rescue operation in Australia’s history.
While many tried to maneuver around the storm, the AFR Midnight Rambler crew chose to head directly into its path through the notorious Bass Strait. After battling mountainous waves and hurricane force winds, the diminutive (35ft) AFR Midnight Rambler arrived in Hobart, Tasmania, over 88hrs after setting sail from Sydney.
The decision to head into the storm, along with their extraordinary tenacity, optimism, courage, teamwork and leadership, enabled this group of “amateurs” to out-perform the professionals on bigger boats. The skipper, Ed Psaltis and his crew of six, were proclaimed overall winners and awarded the coveted Tattersalls Trophy. This exciting story explores the nature of building and leading a high-performance team in the context of change and adversity.
Learning Objectives
As a result of the Teamwork at The Edge® program, participants can better:
Understand their unique teamwork “Edge” – both its challenges and opportunities.
Learn about what it takes for teams to succeed under conditions of adversity, uncertainty and change.
Apply proven strategies for effective teamwork to address their own team challenges.
Core Program Description
The Teamwork at The Edge® program can be customised to meet a range of participant needs and client objectives. It has been used successfully in a variety of formats, ranging from 90 minute keynote presentations to half-day, full-day and multi-day programs.
The program is customised for the given group and will be designed to make a strong connection between the story, the team work and leadership lessons which emerge from it, and the “real world” of the participant. Where we are allowed the time, our skilled facilitator will then ensure this “transfer of learning” is given traction by facilitating the following process:
An identification of the key learnings relevant to the particular group and individuals.
The prioritisation of the key learnings for application in the participants' settings.
The introduction of a simple yet highly effective “One Page Plan”, which will implement the priority learning into the participants' settings.
The above process has been specifically developed and proven over many years to deliver maximum return on investment of time, energy and budget for individual participants and their organisations.
Teamwork at the Edge®, Leadership at the Edge® and Metaventure® are registered service marks of the Syncretics Group Inc. and are under exclusive license to Quest Group Global and Sales Shift in Australia.
