A GOOD TEAM WILL GIVE EXTRA VALUE TO THE COMPANY BY UNITING STRENGTHS AND SYNERGIES OF INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE WHOLE IS GREATER THAN SUM OF ITS PARTS. – HOLTZMAN, PUERTA ET AL. 2011

The NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat undertook a three-day team building exercise from 11^th to 13^th January 2022, in Mombasa County.

NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat National Governance Council Chairman, Prof. Michael Chege, (middle), Chief Executive Officer  Amb. Dr Samori Okwiya (on his right) together with all the Secretariat  staff

The exercise was officiated by the Secretariat’s, National Governance Council Chairman Prof. Michael Chege, who in his remarks directed that the team to be productive as a group and as an individual in order to achieve the Secretariat’s mandate. Additionally, Prof. Chege applauded the team for understanding every scope of the Secretariat that helps support the reduction of risks of employee confusion and miscommunication. He further commended the CEOs commitment to integrating the Secretariat’s mandates with core competencies.

NGC Chairman Prof. Michael Chege giving his opening remarks 

Consequently, Amb. Dr Samori. A. Okwiya, The Chief Executive Officer NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat commended the team for the consistency and collaboration shown throughout last year and urged them to carry on with the same. Subsequently, he urged the team to think and work creative to achieve a common goal.

After the opening remarks, the team building exercise kicked off with morning session activities that comprised of climate setting, icebreakers and an interactive activity that aimed at breaking barriers and getting the staff members ready for the day’s event. This was followed by the mid-morning and afternoon sessions that had the staff group into three teams (The Eagles, Team Probox, Team Umoja) and engage in creative and exciting outdoor activities.

Some of the outdoor activities undertaken were, ‘Jitambulishe’ that tasked staff members to come up with teams, pick a leader then create a theme song in regard to where the secretariat stands at the beginning of the year and call to action how it will improve by the end of the year. The purpose of this activity was to prompt staff members to appreciate leadership roles, be diverse and work together to achieve the Secretariat’s mandates. This was followed by ‘Aqua Sports’ (water Polo), then, ‘The frame’, which involved analyzing and coming up with a well done construction using diverse bricks. The final outdoor activity was the African Traditional dance, where the teams were tasked to come up with Traditional dances from a community of their choice and perform them.

All these outdoor activities were each separately given to the three team who in turn executed them as a team in a timely manner. After execution, all teams came together and discussed how they were able to work together, develop their strengths and motivate each other into completing the tasks given. This encouraged staff members to have open and honest communication with their team members in an effort to finish the challenges given.

In conclusion, the team building exercise encouraged creativity, aided better communication among the staff members and improved productivity and the ability to work closely together as a team to problem solve.