On a beautiful autumnal Saturday in late May, the Executive Committee of the NZAPP met to connect, strategize and start the exciting process of mapping the organization’s next chapter. Seasoned Committee members including current and former Presidents were joined by new recruits, in the first face to face meeting of this particular iteration of the Leadership team. Everyone came baring yummy delights to feed both the soul and the stomach.
Somewhat fittingly, the day was Positive Psychology in action. Starting with a review of what each member brought, and how each’s strengths could contribute to the team. Next, we moved onto what values or guiding principles were most (and least) important to us as a team. There was much alignment between how we wanted to operate as a team….what a relief!
Some preliminary work was done on clarifying the Association’s purpose statement. However more work definitely needs to be done here.
Following a sumptuous lunch (thankyou Paul’s wife Asha), we endeavoured to start to map some BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) for what the Association might look like in the next 5 and 10 years. Speaking personally, this envisioning was a heady mixture of exciting, inspiring and a little terrifying. To imagine what the future might be, and the kind of impact the Association could have…wow!
Then we got down to the nitty gritty, where did we want to be in a year’s time and how might we get there? Luckily, we have some very pragmatic minds on the team, which kept us focused on our priorities in the short to medium term.
What was the outcome of our Saturday spent together? As a team we now have more insight and understanding of each other, and how we want to function as a team. In addition, we are focusing our efforts on four pillars (i) a thriving executive committee (ii) a thriving membership (iii) thriving partnerships and (iv) excellent Communication.
This is just the start of the NZAPP’s new chapter, a point from which we can jump off from and get some forward momentum… these are exciting times indeed…watch this space….