Posted by Jay Palace on Tue, Apr 26, 2011 @ 09:53 AM
I'm very proud to join the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics in announcing that we've renewed our partnership to help American sailors bring home medals in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Here's the text of the official release, which also highlights our upcoming events in Boston on May 26th and Annapolis on June 29th.
From: Dana Paxton
Sent: Monday, April 25, 2011 1:54 PM
To: Katie Smith
Subject: USSTAG news: Group Experiential Learning Renews Partnership
Online: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org/News/2011/GEL_Renews_Partnershiphtm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Group Experiential Learning Renews Bronze-Level Partnership
Contacts: Dana Paxton, US SAILING, 401-683-0800 x615, danapaxton@ussailing.org
Jay Palace, Group Experiential Learning, 888-435-8326 x23 jpalace@gelcorp.com
Group Experiential Learning Renews Partnership as Official Supplier of Team-Building and Leadership Development
Portsmouth, R.I. (April 25, 2011) – Group Experiential Learning (GEL) has renewed its bronze level partnership with the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics (USSTAG), US SAILING announced today. Initiated in 2009, the relationship marked the first official team-building partnership for USSTAG, and since that time GEL has delivered high-impact team building and leadership training experiences for USSTAG sponsors.
The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is made up of the country’s top athletes in each of the 10 Olympic and three Paralympic classes who train together with the common goals of winning medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Weymouth, England.
As part of the partnership in 2011, GEL will introduce some of USSTAG’s non-endemic sponsors to the sport of sailing, while offering sailing veterans the opportunity to sharpen their skills and enhance their teamwork on the water. Many GEL events will feature participation by USSTAG’s Olympians and Olympic hopefuls.
"We take great pride in helping USSTAG with sailing programs which support team members’ Olympic and Paralympic dreams and the business objectives of USSTAG’s other sponsors. The relationship also provides special opportunities for our own clients to sail with and simultaneously support the athletes,” said Jay Palace (San Francisco, Calif.), President of GEL.
GEL will host two introductions to their signature program “BoatWorks” in a one-day complimentary experiential sailing program for leaders and HR professionals. The first “Taste of BoatWorks” will be held on May 26 in partnership with Courageous Sailing Center, in Boston, Mass. On June 29, the second “Taste of BoatWorks” will be held in partnership with J World Annapolis, in Annapolis, Md. At both locations, participants will be introduced to GEL’s facilitated leadership development program offered across the country at various US SAILING-accredited Keelboat Sailing Schools.
Later this summer, GEL will team up with the Courageous Sailing Center to organize a special introduction to sailing and racing for USSTAG’s title sponsor AlphaGraphics. Franchise owners from the New England area will sail side-by-side with USSTAG members on the Charles River. The afternoon of racing will strengthen relationships and give participants a unique glimpse into the training, preparation and focus required to win medals at the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“We are excited to continue and enhance our relationship with GEL,” said Katie Smith (Newport, R.I.), USSTAG’s Commercial Manager. “We had a very successful event in Naples, Fla. last year where AlphaGraphics executives and franchisees got the opportunity to race with Olympian Graham Biehl (San Diego, Calif.) and gain insight to the teamwork and challenges involved with racing. GEL did a phenomenal job translating the passion for sailing into easily accomplished onboard activities. It was a very positive experience for everyone involved.”
For more information about the Boston or Annapolis “Taste of BoatWorks”:
May 26 - Boston Taste of BoatWorks Program
June 29 - Annapolis Taste of BoatWorks Program
About Group Experiential Learning
Group Experiential Learning (GEL) helps organizations forge high performance teams, develop leaders and enhance relationships with key clients through active, outdoor experiential programs. GEL is based in San Francisco, California, and delivers its services across the U.S. and in select international locations.
About the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics
The US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics is managed by the United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for the sport of sailing and sailboat racing. The top boats in each Olympic and Paralympic class are selected annually to be members of the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. US SAILING supports these elite athletes with funding, coaching and training. The title sponsor of the team is AlphaGraphics; other sponsors include Rolex Watch USA, Atlantis WeatherGear, Sperry Top-Sider, LaserPerformance, Harken Team McLube, Trinity Yachts, New England Ropes, Group Experiential Learning and Bow Down Training.
Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country. For more information about US SAILING, please visit: www.ussailing.org. For more information about the US Olympic Sailing Program and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics, please visit: http://sailingteams.ussailing.org.
Posted by Jay Palace on Tue, Apr 12, 2011 @ 12:19 PM
The idea that you will get better at things that you emphasize is a universal concept, and one that especially applies in the area of leadership development.
One business leader who placed a great emphasis on developing leaders was former General Electric CEO, Jack Welch. Christopher A. Bartlett and Meg Wozny examined Welch's approach in great detail in an HBS case, "GE’s Two-Decade Transformation: Jack Welch’s Leadership."
Welch not only required the top executives at each business unit to identify future leaders, but he made coaching, training and developing them a performance metric carrying practically equal weight to financial results.
One paragraph from the HBR article which leapt out at me highlights how Welch continued to invest, and actually increased spending when a major corporate focus was cost cutting. Sound like the environment we're in today?
"A key institution that Welch harnessed to bring about this cultural change was GE’s Crotonville management development facility. Welch wanted to convert Crotonville from its management training focus and its role as a reward or a consolation prize for those who missed out on a promotion to a powerful engine of change in his transformation effort. In the mid-1980s, when he was cutting costs almost everywhere else, he spent $45 million on new buildings and improvements at Crotonville. He also hired some experienced academics—Jim Baughman from Harvard and Noel Tichy from Michigan—to revolutionize Crotonville’s activities."
Welch’s emphasis on leadership development is one of the major reasons why GE posted a 23% total shareholder return per annum during his twenty-year tenure, and underscores the importance of investing in people.
This is especially true today, as many companies have reorganized their business units since the 2008 economic downturn, and may be asking employees to do more work with less resources. This environment requires more rather than less collaboration between business units. Cuts in layers of management have increased spans of control, but leading a larger team requires ratcheting up soft skills dramically and effectively communicating a vision to members of a team, who are fired up to execute with little top-down supervision.
I'd wager that most of the companies that have thrived in the midst of our recession are led by individuals who have successfully shared a vision, focused their teams on collabaration and continued to invest in their people.
Turning back to GE, the organization is still a powerhouse years after Jack Welch's retirement. And of course, it just so happens that GE has utilized GEL's BoatWorks program in the forging of a new group in the organization. The video below provides a taste of their experience.
Visit our BoatWorks Service description to learn more, or ask us for help designing a custom initiative for you.
Information from Christopher A. Bartlett and Meg Wozny’s GE’s Two-Decade Transformation: Jack Welch’s Leadership, published by the Harvard Business School, was used in this post. It can be purchased by logging onto the Harvard Business Review’s website, which is linked here.