Challenge: To help the president of a university re-energize his team of vice presidents and get them behind a new vision for the school.

Approach: After interviewing each team member, Exetor consultants discovered that the group of VPs had not invested enough time and energy into developing a team identity and that there were significant communication problems. The Exetor partners observed and videotaped a series of team meetings and then played the tapes for the executives. No one liked what he saw, but no one was willing to be the first to change. Through a customized program of meetings and retreats, the team members learned techniques for improving dialogue and began to build trust.

Result: These executives had been working together for more than 10 years, but after these interventions, they truly began to communicate with one another for the first time. This has resulted in a more common vision throughout the team and throughout the university administration.