To help the president of a university re-energize his team of vice presidents and get them behind a new vision for the school.
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. Significant communication problems were noted (for example… they did not really listen to nor trust one another, and the use of Inquiry was very limited). The Exetor partners observed and videotaped a series of team meetings and played the tapes for the executives. No one liked what they saw, but through a customized program of meetings and retreats, the team members learned techniques for improving dialogue and began to build trust.
These executives had been working together for more than 10 years reasonably effectively. After these interventions, they truly began to communicate with one another for the first time and align behind the new vision. This also resulted in the “buy-in” to a common vision throughout the university administration.