Leadership Training, Individual & Team Mentorship Programs & Executive Coaching

Funder/ Partner: World Agroforest Centre (ICRAF)

Geographical coverage: Kenya

Period of implementation: July 2019 & March 2016

Description: The ICRAF Communications Team Retreat was held on July 17-19, 2019 at the Great Rift Valley Lodge in Naivasha, Kenya.  The aim of the retreat was to provide an opportunity for the ICRAF Communications Staff to spend quality time together to deliberate on ways to build a strong team that ‘delivers as one’.  The retreat was also intended at identifying and reaching agreement on a set of actions that can be taken at individual and team levels to create a facilitative, supportive and enjoyable work environment. The specific objectives of the meeting were: i) to have a shared understanding, and achieve closure on a recent incident in the team, ii) to agree on principles that will guide the team on how to work better together to improve cohesion and delivery as a team going forward, and iii) to share concepts and tools that can be used to minimize and manage conflict in the workplace.  ECI-Africa designed and conducted the retreat with a focus not only on improving team cohesion but also sharing some key leadership skills, and facilitating critical conversations that a team needs to have in order for members to discover each other, the work content and its dynamics (including work flow and interconnections), the work place, as well as why and how ‘working as one’ would help the team achieve their individual goals (as set out in their job descriptions) as well as the bigger institutional goal.

In March 8^th -10^th, 2016, the team held a similar retreat titled ‘Rethinking Communications @ICRAF.’ The meeting was held as part of a process for developing a new, hands-on ICRAF Communications Strategy. The overall goal was to develop recommendations towards improving the role, function, structure, and resourcing of ICRAF communications.  The recommendations would feed into the writing of the communications strategy detailing what to do and how to strengthen ICRAF communications. The strategy will be presented to all non-communications staff for input, and then to the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the Board for approval. The specific objectives of the workshop were: i) to review and assess the current state of ICRAF’s communication function, identifying challenges and opportunities; ii) to make clear and workable recommendations for improvement of the communications function at ICRAF (including on role, structure, function, positioning and resourcing of communications); and iii) to get to know one another better, build a communications team and forge stronger relationships with non-communications staff. ECI-Africa designed the meeting process, and facilitated and documented the meeting.  Through a facilitative approac, and participatory methodologies, the participants were guided through group and plenary discussions to identify challenges facing ICRAF’s Comms currently; and make recommendations towards improving the role, structure, monitoring and evaluation, and resourcing of the communications unit. Above all, the forum provided an opportunity for the Comms and non-Comms team to interact, identify points of convergence and divergence, and begin to work together as a team.