CLIENT STORY

How GZ Adventures Enhanced Team Dynamics with Metavolve

By Delphine Fumar

USE CASE

Imagine owning a business in the leisure industry in South Africa. Your market spans over over 16 million adventure-hungry tourists and locals each year. You have the perfect offering and your business keeps growing. Life is grand until the unexpected strikes – Covid hits, and everything comes to a grinding halt. Foreign arrivals drop by a staggering 71%, leaving your once-thriving business in turmoil. This is the reality Graham Hall faced as the founder of GZ Adventures.

But the struggle didn’t start there. Even before the pandemic, Graham found himself tangled in day-to-day operations, making every decision and dealing with conflicts among his managers. He knew that for his business to thrive, he had to stop playing firefighter and start focusing on growth. The solution lay in bringing his team together, fostering unity, and aligning everyone around a clear vision.

This is the story of how GZ Adventures navigated the chaos of scaling a business with a united team and the help of Metavolve.

THE CHALLENGE

Enabling a cohesive team around a shared, central vision and purpose

With its rapid growth from 2020, GZ Adventures started extending both its executive and management teams. In the thick of handling the day-to-day operations, Graham Hall’s people never had the opportunity to learn about each other. As a result of the managers not understanding each other well, there was a lack of trust and empathy in the team, which caused them to work in silos and hide important information from one another. This hindered effective collaboration and innovation within the team, leading to inefficiencies and interpersonal conflicts.

Metavolve’s challenge was to enable a cohesive team that could work together around a shared, central vision and purpose.

When we went into the first session, we had quite a few people who had quite a bit of animosity. There were sceptics and there was arrogance but after the 2-3 days, we all left consolidated. I walked away with a team that was united. I got far more out of it than what I paid. I’m glad that I did do it and I’m glad that I did it when I did it. It’s led me to know that I need to continue with this strategic process into the next year, 5 years and 10 years. All I can say is thanks to Cam and Brett for what they did. It meant a lot to me and the team on both a personal and professional level.

Graham Hall

CEO & Founder, GZ Adventures

THE APPROACH

Cultivating Cohesion through Enneagram Assessments

To address the bottleneck in GZ Adeventure’s growth and promote team cohesion, Metavolve focused on the people aspect of the business before aligning them with a shared vision.

1. Understanding Individuals with Enneagram Assessments

Our Enneagram practitioner, Brett Matheson, organised and conducted 17 individual Enneagram assessments for the leaders and managers of GZ Adventures. The Enneagram is a powerful tool that helps individuals explore their core motivations, fears, desires, and behaviours. By delving into the intricacies of each team member’s Enneagram type, the assessment offered valuable insights into their communication styles, decision-making processes, and interpersonal dynamics.

The Enneagram assessment process, led by Brett, involved individualised online tests for each leader and manager. After completing the assessment, participants were invited to 90-minute feedback sessions. These one-on-one sessions allowed them to gain a deeper understanding of their Enneagram type and its implications on their professional and personal lives. Through this introspection, they gained valuable insights into their own strengths, weaknesses, and blind spots.

2. Leadership Off-Site for Cohesion Building

Following the individual Enneagram sessions, Metavolve facilitated a leadership off-site away from the office environment. This off-site provided a unique opportunity for team members to come together outside their daily work routines and engage in open, honest, and authentic conversations.

During the leadership off-site, Brett and Cameron led discussions that revolved around each Enneagram type and how these different personalities could complement each other within the team. The focus was on building mutual respect and appreciation for each team member’s unique contributions.

By creating a safe and supportive space, the team members felt encouraged to share their feelings and challenges, fostering a sense of psychological safety. This, in turn, promoted open communication and trust among team members, breaking down the silos that had previously hindered collaboration.

3. Setting a Shared Vision and Strategy

With team cohesion and understanding in place, we then assisted GZ Adventures in establishing a shared vision and meaningful strategy for the business. In the past, Graham Hall, the founder, had been solely responsible for shaping the business’s direction, which limited the involvement of his management team in driving the business forward.

Through the collaborative process facilitated by Brett and Cameron, the entire team participated in developing a roadmap for growth and innovation. This collective journey allowed team members to reflect on GZ Adventures’ hypergrowth and, more importantly, redirect their focus toward a more sustainable and purpose-driven future.

This exercise empowered team members to take ownership of their respective areas, identify the priorities, and align their efforts toward the common goal.

THE OUTCOMES

Leadership Team Aligned with a Shared Vision and Purpose

1. Deep Personal and Professional Breakthroughs

Individual Enneagram sessions led team members to gain self-understanding and uncover their motivations. This new perspective brought about personal growth and empowered them to address any hindrances holding them back.

2. Enhanced Team Dynamics

The leadership off-site transformed the team’s dynamics, shifting it from animosity to compassion. Team members embraced empathy and started adjusting their working and communication styles to create a healthier and more collaborative workplace.

3. Shared Vision and Strategy

Through the collaborative approach facilitated by Metavolve, the team collectively set a shared vision and meaningful strategy for the business. This allowed for better alignment and engagement from all team members, leading to a more unified and purpose-driven organization.

4. Improved Decision-Making and Task Allocation

With a better understanding of each individual’s strengths and weaknesses, GZ Adventures achieved improved decision-making and task allocation. Team members were now better suited for roles that aligned with their unique capabilities.

There were external factors that didn’t allow the business to grow in the intended vision. What the session did do, was help me accept that reality and try different strategies to remedy the issues we were facing in the market. The session has made me more analytical about what I do and what we take on. I sit and assess things before I make a decision. I’ll ask for certain opinions not necessarily because I want their opinion but more to get a feel about what my people are thinking and what their emotional state is before making a call. It’s not about me asking for a recommendation from them, it’s about me getting a sense of their willingness to run with the opportunity.

Graham Hall

CEO & Founder, GZ Adventures

IN SHORT

Through Metavolve’s support, GZ Adventures successfully addressed its lack of team cohesion and vision alignment. The Enneagram assessments and subsequent interventions paved the way for a healthier workplace, where trust and empathy flourished, and silos were dismantled. With the team now aligned around a shared vision, they were better equipped to manage the complexities of scaling the business.

Graham Hall, the founder, learned to delegate decision-making to his managers, fostering a more collaborative and empowered team. The newfound understanding of each team member’s strengths and weaknesses facilitated better task allocation and improved overall performance.

Like GZ Adventures’s founder, you can take the first step to resolving your people’s issues and focus on your next stage of growth with Metavolve. Contact our team today!