Cultivating Team Success

This article was first published in our Cocooners N° 15
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How can an international development agency effectively unify its expanding team, align strategic planning with on-the-ground action, overcome silos and reinforce alignment in the face of rapid growth and evolving challenges?

Here is the story of UNDP Maldives’ team that, in a pivotal moment in their journey, decided to seek not just to plan and deliver, but also to cultivate shared purpose, resilience and bonds through a three-day Strategic Offsite.

Cocreate the flow

When we met, the UNDP Maldives team had experienced a sudden growth, tripling its size in just two years. The upcoming staff retreat marked the first in-person gathering since the pandemic and was seen as a crucial event to tackle the developmental challenges outlined in the new Country Programme. To ensure the offsite success, we set up a preparation team involving key people from the customer side, to agree on the objectives, format and expectations, as well as the necessary arrangements for the workshop.

A shared identity

One of the primary aims of the retreat was to bridge interpersonal gaps, reconnect to organisational values, and enable team members to leverage individual differences for collective success. When the 34 participants finally met in presence, the first day was intentionally dedicated to a deep dive into personal and team identity, with a focus on where efforts and energy were allocated, and what value was generated and how. Supported by our CORE2 methodology, the team engaged in open dialogue, letting emerge a shared understanding of their current work-system as-is.

Open Space

Despite initial apprehensions, the adoption of Open Space Technology introduced at the end of the first day proved to be paramount in fostering meaningful dialogue on topics that truly mattered for the people involved. By eschewing rigid agendas in favour of organic conversations, the team discovered the power of emergent discussions in driving innovation and problem-solving. Through the fluid exchange of ideas, they unearthed insights and identified evolutionary tensions to guide future actions, getting ready to converge their energy on concrete goals, with much more alignment and clarity.

Actionable steps

The whole retreat was conceived as a safe space in which everyone could contribute to define their vision for how UNDP Maldives wants to show up as a team. Merging a carefully designed process with customised facilitation tools, the third day was dedicated to define the key objectives and concrete activities that would help them achieve their desired results. By aligning individual aspirations with collective goals, participants gained clarity on their roles in driving sustainable outcomes, laying the groundwork for impactful collaboration and truly owned accountability.

Navigate Change

Amidst the evolving landscape, the offsite provided a playground for the team to recalibrate and envision its future trajectory. By fostering a culture of adaptability and effective cocreation participants were empowered to navigate challenges with courage and creativity. Through the exploration of emerging tensions and opportunities, the team identified pathways for evolutionary growth, leveraging the new tools, the renewed enthusiasm and their collective wisdom as a soundboard to effectively keep working and powerfully resonating with the context after the retreat.

Final thoughts

“At the beginning there was scepticism, but throughout the process trust took over. We ended up in a good place, people can see where we are going and now believe they collectively can surpass any kind of future challenge. It was the most important thing for me to see.”

E. Gaveglia, UNDP Maldives