As we approached the second annual remote Fall Tenet Training here at AIS, I was really curious and excited to see the new ideas that this year’s facilitators would bring to the table. Last year, being our first year holding the training, only those in leadership positions who had been with the company for a long time were tasked to lead sessions. Since it was our first time doing it, we had no template or prior experience to build from. That being said, it went pretty well and the team seemed to enjoy it! This year we took a new approach and extended invitations to the rest of the team to be session leaders and several eager team members stepped up to the challenge! The bravery that was displayed was impressive!
As the Tenet Training days grew closer, I was really looking forward to stepping away from my typical production work to spend some quality time with everyone, especially our newest members who weren’t around to enjoy team week with us this year. I can’t express how invaluable it is to be able to unplug from our daily work and participate in team building exercises. We all come away from it with a deeper understanding and appreciation of ourselves, each other, our tenets, and our team as a whole becomes more cohesive and bonded each time.
Prior to the training we were advised to make sure we attended this virtual training in a comfortable location with lots of space to move around. I decided this was a good excuse to escape my home office and relocate with my laptop to the kitchen table. Because of where my office is located in my home, it usually gets colder than the rest of the house, and being in the kitchen allowed me to sit in the sunlight that comes in from my sunroom windows which I had open on this gorgeous 75 degree fall day. I was ready to roll!
We all logged in Tuesday at about 10am and Hannah did a great job kicking things off with our first session which was on our tenet of learning. Her presentation skills are super impressive and her prior experience as a teacher really shined through. My favorite part of her session was when we got to live online polls when she posed questions to us. I had never seen this done in a presentation before and thought it was cool! It was also during this first session that it hit me how much our team has grown and I loved seeing everyone’s faces! Next, one of our newer team members, Lisa, led a great session on efficiency and then we got to break for lunch.
After enjoying lunch on my back patio, I returned to the kitchen table, excited to see what the afternoon sessions would bring. Brittany did a great job leading the transparency session with some great info and fun exercises. By this point Hannah was noticing that a few team members were getting pretty tired so she gave us an early dismissal and we wrapped up the day early. I was sad because I didn’t want it to end! I wanted to hear everyone’s reflections on the day. But it was for the best, and we were able to reflect together the next day, with renewed energy.
On the second and final day of training Angela and I decided I would join her and Lisa at her home office. I drove over there bright and early, only about a 30 minute drive. This time it was fun to be on the couch with Angela and Lisa while we joined the training from Angela’s big screen TV. We started the day by sharing our takeaways from the day before, and it was fun to hear all the different perspectives. Again I was amazed at how our team has grown and I love to see all the different personalities coming together. Today’s sessions were led by Kortney and Berna and wow, so impressive! The communication session was very interesting and I think it was beneficial to learn some key do’s and don’ts as it relates to this tenet, that we may not have thought about on our own. In our remote work culture, effective communication is critical. Lot’s of learning here! The flexibility session, led by Berna, was fun because we were tasked to demonstrate flexibility without even realizing it. Very creative!
Team Art Created During Kortney’s Presentation on Communication!
One of my favorite things about day 2 was the talent show. We got to be silly, creative and learn new things we didn’t know before about each team member. I loved everything, from Brittany’s silly floating pen, to the amazing artwork that Tyler shared, the (several) double jointed people on our team (who knew?) and to see first hand the impressive workouts that Melissa does. Our team is full of amazing talent and Angela and I are excited to put some of the new talents to task as we grow our business.
I think this year’s tenet training was a huge success and I can’t wait for the next one!