Manager's Retreat: Teamwork & Team Dynamics


Guest Blogger: Karen Wade
Vice President, Research Administrative Services
At the Research Institute, we all work hard to support our clinicians & investigators to help provide positive patient outcomes. As a management team, we were long overdue for dedicated time together to refocus our energies on continuing to strengthen our bonds as team members and enhancing our professional growth as leaders of the Research Institute.


Well, we took this time at the end of May and it was such an enlightening experience! The retreat began on Thursday evening, with dinner where we spent time catching up with each other and getting to know the newer members of the team. We then moved into very simple, though some may say not so simple, exercises in verbal and non-verbal communication. How eye-opening it was to realize how much we communicate non-verbally, both positive and negative! We closed out the evening with a team-building exercise which taught us the importance of effective listening (it took us a bit to figure this one out) and partnership to achieve a common goal. The realization of the power of effective teamwork was very evident.


We got an early start on Friday with exercises geared to identifying the qualities we each bring to the organization and how best to collectively use those qualities to make MHRI a better organization. We put this newly acquired information to the test when we formed teams to build structures using tape and spaghetti that would support a marshmallow for 3 seconds. While this may sound silly, the exercise made us keenly aware of the team dynamics and how best to leverage everyone’s contribution for a successful outcome, something that I hope all of those in attendance can take back to their teams.


Closing the Retreat with a walkthrough MHRI’s rich history and all that we have accomplished as an organization was a great way to remind us of the impact of our work. We have so much to celebrate and so much more to look forward to in the years to come.


There is also a short video with more photos from the retreat that can be watched here.

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