The Getty Trust

THE GETTY —TAKING ASSESSMENTS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

The best development programs inspire participants to implement key ideas following the learning session. We want to, we plan to, but we often fail to follow up, and then much of the value of the learning can be lost – although we know implementing key learning points is well worth the effort.

This is what Andrea Bestow, Getty events manager wanted to do.

In February of 2002, Madelon Miles was invited to facilitate a communication training for the Events and Food Services staff due to The Getty’s move to its dramatic new hill-top location. Before this relocation, each department handled its own events. But the relocation caused consolidation internally. Plus, the beautiful new setting attracted many to host private functions in the new space, all adding up to hundreds of functions each year for the Events Department.

Improving communication with clients and each other was critical. Madelon, having worked with The Getty Center for nearly eight years, designed a retreat focused on customer service and conflict management.

Andrea Bestow found the program incredibly informative and instructive, especially for event planning, which is so heavily service-oriented and results-focused.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO OTHERS
Immediately after the training, Andrea brainstormed ways she could keep what had been learned during the retreat - part of the day-to-day communication of her staff. She wanted to create a series of exercises for practicing the use of the Behavioral Styles and Values assessments. This would aid successful communication among her internal staff and in turn, their internal and external clients. Andrea felt, “the value-drivers that motivate us are clues to why we behave the way we do. We needed to understand what was important to each other.” That was the first key learning point Andrea selected to take to the next level.

Andrea and her staff began by reviewing each team member’s Values assessment results. She had name tags made for each staff member that displayed their two highest values from the Milestones Values assessments. Subsequently, these values-name tags were worn by the staff to regular department meetings. Not surprisingly, it was a great experiment! The values-name tags were a visual cue to see what each colleague regards as important. Immediately, they were better able to understand each other. This initial exercise was so successful that other ideas ensued.

Interest and fun was piqued. “People loved speaking to each others' values,” said Andrea. Energy in the team was lifted and the game was on to do more with other key learning points from the one-day communication seminar.

CREATING A COLLAGE
Andrea’s team created another game; “Collage a Colleague.” In the spirit of departmental team building, each team member selected a colleague as a buddy and then built a collage about them. They could use pictures, symbols, quotes or anything that would identify the values or behavioral style of their colleague, as identified in the Milestones’ Behavioral Style and Values assessments, presented in the original communication seminar.

Learning continued. The payoff soared. More ideas emerged. Together, the team decided to look for common similarities and differences in their values and behaviors. They discovered that many had in common a desire to be free from excessive detail. This knowledge will be extremely helpful in hiring the next staff assistant, as well as guiding Andrea in how she can best manage her team. An assistant who naturally likes to handle details will be a solid fit for this team.

Andrea’s team has quickly discovered the values behind their communication in these group exercises. This diverse group has experienced a high level of teambuilding, and become skilled at communicating with each other and clients. Their growth as a team has been tremendous. Through Madelon’s initial communication offsite with the Events staff and through subsequent meetings, Andrea Bestow has generated an environment where her staff is motivated to contribute to the team as a whole. Ultimately they’ve achieved their goal of developing stronger relationships with both team members and clients - by discovering a myriad of ways to take their original Style and Values assessments to the next level.