team building courses

Set Sail Chicago welcomes you and your team to spend a day with us enriching and developing your staff.


CORE VALUES
Our half-day and full day team building programs are designed to motivate your team by focusing on the solid business (and sailing) principles of leadership, teamwork and communication.  Working on these principles while sailing a yacht on Lake Michigan takes the learning out of a corporate setting and into a fun and adventurous setting where leadership, teamwork and communication are critical for success. Your staff will enjoy this experience so much that they may even forget that they are learning!

Leadership: Our crew will teach the basic principles of boat navigation, then your team will be asked to successfully use those skills in either a challenging maneuver or race against another boat. We will discuss how successful sailing requires not only a strong captain, but also a crew inspired to follow their captain. We will rotate the leadership role and sometimes junior staff members will be leading senior management.  This role reversal can offer great perspective. We will help you identify leaders within your group and encourage their development.

Teamwork: Teamwork is a “buzz word” and what all companies and business units strive to achieve. It often is the difference between success or failure. Our curriculum will outline your team goals.  Then, you and your team will agree on an agenda to reach those goals. Everyone in the group will be asked to actively participate so your whole team will be engaged in this experience.

Communication: Effective communication is critical to business and sailing success. Communication failures almost always limit success. Our instructors will focus on efficient and effective communication techniques and then ask your team to put them to use in practical challenges and exercises.


TEACHING TOOLS
Our team building programs use the following teaching tools to reinforce the learning. All these programs will be supervised closely by the boat captain and crew to ensure safety and effective learning.

Sailing Orientation and Goal Setting: While on land, learn the basic techniques and principles of sailing: points of sail, wind conditions, changing weather, roles and responsibilities of crew positions, sailing terminology and boat dynamics. Discuss leadership principles, team support and effective communication to safely operate on the water. Define your group goals for the day and go after them!

Basic Sailing Techniques and Maneuvers: Practice basic sailing techniques and maneuvers using effective leadership, teamwork and communication.

Advanced Sailing and Job Rotation: Rotate roles and responsibilities on the boat while learning advanced sailing techniques.  Reinforce the core business and sailing principles of leadership, teamwork and communication. Role reversal allows you to identify potential in crew members you may not have previously realized and will also allow others to experience the complexity of making a boat maneuver with crew while underway.

Final Performance Challenge: Participate in the final performance challenge (e.g. “The Corporate Takeover Race”). Winning this challenge will require your team to use all of the successful sailing and team skills learned today. Solid leadership will set you on your course, communication and teamwork will help you get there. Under supervision of the boat captain, the skipper and crew will take over the boat and put together what was learned over the day. It’s the perfect ending to a fun and educational day.

Optional Components: Other optional components to our team building programs include:

          conference and meeting organization
          skills evaluation
          awards and trophy presentations
          photography
          catering
          apparel
          hotel bookings
          transportation

Sample Schedules: Sample schedules for our half-day and full-day team building programs are shown below:

Half-Day
9:00am            Welcome to Set Sail Chicago
9:15am            Sailing Orientation and Goal Setting
10:00am          Meet the Captain, Board Sailing Yachts
10:15am          Sailing Techniques and Maneuvers
12:00pm          Team Performance Challenge
1:00pm            Debrief and Awards Presentation (Optional Lunch)
1:30pm            Farewell

Full Day
9:00am            Welcome to Set Sail Chicago
9:15am            Sailing Orientation and Goal Setting
10:00am          Meet the Captain, Board Sailing Yachts
10:15am          Sailing Techniques and Maneuvers
12:00pm          Lunch
1:00pm            Group Sail and Job Rotation
3:00pm            Team Performance Challenge
4:15pm            Debrief and Awards Presentation
5:00pm            Farewell