Gellert, an engineer who joined Jesse Engineering as a project manager 25 years ago, recognized the toll stress-related problems had inflicted on Jesse Engineering's staff. He knew the pressures to oversell or over-promise were the causes of that systemic stress. It was Sales versus the Estimators, versus Quality Control.

Resentments were rampant. Emotional shut-downs led to the destruction of what Gellert cared most about providing, the ability for his team to have hope and to have the emotional freedom to tell the truth. Gellert's foremost goal was to provide people an emotionally safe place to work. Within that safe arena, he would find and cultivate Jesse Engineering's next wave of leaders. But first, he would have to reconnect to something that had

been a major influence in his own life...

Jeff Gellert grew up spending his summers in camp. Unlike the camps of today, Jeff had huge responsibilities: he lived with fifty kids; they pumped their own water, cared for animals and gardened for food. He kept barracks clean and negotiated bullies. He learned how to manage people who were only competent in a few areas, and he learned to deal with boys who thought they were too smart for everyone else. At 14, he led a group of boys clear across Vermont, from Massachusetts to Canada - 277 miles - without adult supervision.

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He assigned duties such as map work and meal planning. Camp shaped his sense of independence. It created a relationship pathway connecting the wilderness and leadership vision. "Never was there any tolerance for untruth," recalled Gellert.

In 1999, Gellert thought about sending his employees to camp.

"Getting out on a river raft sounds cool...but what's a girl going to teach us about welding?" a team-member asked Gellert in reference to the newly hired Moe Carrick of Moementum Consulting, an expert in leadership and experiential team building. Surely, Gellert danced around that question. He knew Carrick would have to answer that question herself - a formidable challenge for anyone working with burly steelworkers.

Moe Carrick proved herself quickly that first day on the Salmon River: Engineers are capable of designing superb water guns, and Carrick was sprayed relentlessly. It stopped being fun at one point when she was pushed into the water. Undaunted, she asked the antagonist for a lift into the boat. He unwittingly stretched out his hand and was yanked into the river by the force of her leveraged pull.

She got him to fall in? Wow, said the witnessing team members...wow.

Carrick could tell by the jovial sarcasm some of them were apprehensive about the rapids. She let them know that truth and listening was what mattered. "I told them that they were in charge. ‘What do you mean we're in charge?' they asked me," recalled Carrick.

This foundation served to acknowledge hidden truths and injuries, and build the trust and courage for vital communication. It's not done by accident. Carrick has painstakingly designed a structure for every critical engagement since 1999.

During a later engagement, Carrick adapted a method from Peter Senge called the Ladder of Inference. This technique is used to challenge debilitating assumptions-assumptions such as: is this person trying to kill me with his CYA? Does he look after only himself? Does he not care about what I do?

When teams are under pressure to sell the ‘best product' or sell products for the ‘best price', they lose sight of their commitment to others. One result of this work was to provide two-way radios that allowed everyone in

everyone in the operation chain-from the yards to the shop floor-to dispel negative assumptions.

Other engagements over the years were able to open the door to finding willing and able leadership talent from within Jesse Engineering. Carrick, using a technique called 360-Feedback, arranged an inner and outer circle of seated participants on the river bank.

__________

Engagements over the years opened the door to willing and able leadership talent from within.

The rules state that speaking one's mind requires joining the ‘inner circle'. An unusually quiet engineer joined the inner circle then asked for the right to give input to guide the strategic direction of the company.

He truly wanted to help, but the second part of his request concerning his desire to lead was essential: he did not want to have to ask for the opportunity to provide that input.Why? Because it felt too difficult for him to ask.

His request was courageous, verified by a palpable emotional intensity. The engineer, thrilled that nobody had shot him down, was blown away by the success. His confidence skyrocketed. Initiating new conversations, he contributed profoundly to the new leadership opportunities waiting for him in
his own company.

Jesse Engineering, with 10 years of culture change engagements, has become an emotionally supportive place to work. Most of all, Jeff Gellert hears these tough welders acknowledge that they now feel safe emotionally. Jesse Engineering is profitable in an industry with thin margins. The company understands the health-based value of a good vacation and is generous with time off. Their excellent safety record and reputable culture has attracted hard to find new talent, setting the stage for Jesse Engineering to outlast and surpass its competition with a new generation of leaders.♦

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