The Medical Society of Virginia is an organization in Richmond, Virginia that supports Virginia physicians in the practice of medicine, regardless of specialty, level of experience, geography or practice setting. Their organization consists of two sides- the insurance agency side and the non-profit side that advocates for what matters most in medicine.
The Medical Society of Virginia (we’ll call them MSV for short) is in the midst of strategic branding process and really wanted to have an opportunity for staff of all levels to look at the core values as an organization. Several of the senior leaders at MSV had used Signature Teambuilding in the past and noticed that the participants had a positive experience with the program. So Jenny Young, MSV’s Director of Membership, picked up the phone to call Greg at Signature Teambuilding.
On that phone call, Jenny emphasized how important it was for everyone on the team to get acquainted with the new staff members. Putting anyone outside of their physical comfort zone was not an option for this team, so it became clear to Greg that Shifting Gears would be the right program to be able to focus on the core values of the company. After that first phone call with Greg, Jenny felt excited and confident about what was in store for the team at MSV.
The day came and went, but not without a few epiphanies along the way. As an organization of about 40 that is split into two, the two teams didn’t really know each other that well. To get a gauge of the energy in the room, learning each other’s names was the first step. Throughout the day, Greg focused on their issue of communication through a series of activities that involved interacting with everyone on the team. Not knowing each other’s names was a thing of the past and meaningful interactions among colleagues were starting to occur. For Jenny personally, it got her thinking about how she showed up to each conversation throughout her day.
There was a big awareness factor throughout the program, especially in regards to their workload and how busy everyone is throughout the day. The MSV team realized that they do need to get up out of their desks and make relationships with their colleagues throughout the entire organization. Shifting Gears helped them understand that everyone has different strengths, but there are many ways to find common ground! We are not all the same and that is ok. Show up to the table with what you’ve got, communicate, and relationships will blossom.
