Special places – Part 2

The Fresh Air Learning Company creates game-changing leadership journeys for individuals, teams and organisations. We dare them to dream, to lead, to do. Bold, challenging, and sometimes uncomfortable!

Place and social setting have a powerful impact on how people behave and learn. Add expert facilitation and the outcomes can be dramatic.

Here are seven great reasons we have found that working outdoors works:

  1. Clients’ experience
  2. Changes in biochemistry
  3. Burnout recovery
  4. Boundary removal
  5. Inspiring metaphors
  6. Story creation
  7. Cost effectiveness

Let’s look at boundary removal and inspiring metaphor.

Boundary removal

Boundary removalHave you noticed how many of the boundaries normally encountered in the workplace limit creativity and relationship building? Have you noticed how these are relaxed or removed in the outdoors? And what about that sense of freedom that is created which triggers shifts in perspective, and enriches the nature of conversations with one another? Just how many great conversations are you not having right now where you work?!

“I remember the moment clearly, the moment when I started experiencing my colleagues as real people; people I wanted to be with, to really engage with, to lead the business with. Up until then we had been kidding ourselves that we were a leadership team!”

Inspiring metaphor

MetaphorWe all speak in metaphor. How many times are you caught between a “rock” and a “hard place”? How often do you walk through “treacle”? What about those meetings that are “battles” where people take up “positions”? What would these be like if you used something creative like “dance” or “architecting” as metaphors instead?

The outdoors excites all the senses and is super rich in metaphor. With expert facilitation the outdoors can be a source of inspirational thinking, fresh meaning, revitalised relationships and transformative action.

“I forgot I was there….I was absolutely in the moment… It gave me powerful images and metaphors with which to develop and anchor my thinking….Really, really powerful!”

Go on! Get outdoors and have the kinds of conversations you will never have at work!

Dave

Dave Stewart
Director
The Fresh Air Learning Company