Brigadier General John Andrus has a message. As he prepared for his first Senior Leader Offsite (SLO) as Commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s 711th Human Performance Wing (711HPW), he wanted to ensure that his message was heard and understood, loud and clear. Being a longtime leader, a career Air Force physician, and a very smart person, BGen Andrus knew he could benefit from some expert guidance.
BGen Andrus enlisted Wright Brothers Institute to plan, design and guide the two-day SLO, to be held at WBI’s Springfield Street headquarters near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. WBI’s experience with workshop facilitation is well known; their innovation and collaboration experts are trusted with translating visions into straightforward plans of action.
“General Andrus has ambitious goals for the Wing,” said Bob Lee, WBI’s Open Innovation Project Manager. “He had a tremendous amount of material to get through in the two days allotted. He was really charting new territory for his workforce. He will lead a change in culture that will benefit the work, the people, the Lab, and the Air Force.”
Lee and the WBI team – Jennie Hempstead, Director of Communications, and Peter Werwick, Innovation Project Leader, met with a team from the Wing to design a program which would leave attendees with a clear understanding of their commander’s vision and, most likely, a new way of thinking about their own role in the Wing’s continued success.
WBI’s planning included setting a framework for group discussions based on Gen Andrus’ recommended reading material: communication, emotional intelligence and resilience. The team designed discussion tables with rotating participants – musical chairs-style! – that took on subjects such as hard conversations; best experiences; scientist v. leadership roles; and navigating the current organizational culture. On the second day, participants turned their expertise to finding ways to implement the best way to navigate the relatively new hybrid work environment.
As always, the WBI team captured key discussion points while ensuring the conversations stayed on point. Ms. Hempstead’s graphic recording illustrated meeting high points with colorful whiteboard illustrations, giving participants another avenue with which to access the information shared.
An important aspect of WBI’s facilitation process is in its follow-up: Feedback was requested, notes shared, and the team shared lessons learned and best practices, while the Wing leadership took on its various action items.
One conspicuous indicator of the SLO success came at the end of Day 2: The WBI team received a standing ovation from the Wing participants, who left with not just a lot to think about, but an invigorated outlook on their personal and professional mission.