[If you came here from the April Floricane newsletter looking for the post on our work with the Virginia Historical Society, the correct link to "Take 180 Years of History, Shake Well" is here.]
In February, I spent a fun-filled day with the marketing team of the Richmo nd Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau (RMCVB) talking about team culture and individual leadership. We capped the day off with a hands-on arts class led by Amie Joyaux at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond. Apparently, the day was such a hit that I was invited to spend a day in March with the RMCVB's entire staff -- almost 30 sales, marketing and support professionals who rank among the Richmond region's strongest ambassadors to tourists, national associations and business travelers.
One goal for the day was to build relationships and greater awareness across areas of the organization that often find themselves traveling in different directions (the sales team stays on the road a lot, and the marketing team juggles a host of projects at any given time). But the President of the RMCVB and his top managers also felt it was important for the staff to understand the changing strategies -- not just of the RMCVB, but of destination marketing organizations in general.
We spent one of the most gorgeous days the year has offered inside one of the more gorgeous rooms in town -- the newly renovated donor lounge at CenterStage. We talked strategy for a few hours, and provided the entire staff with a deeper perspective on how their individual efforts connect to the big picture. Then we shifted gears.
Immediately after lunch, we did a brief exercise with the Insights Discovery Personality Assessment and took our time discussing how our individual styles impact how we work and interact with others. We also explored what the team's strengths and weaknesses might be based on where personality clusters and gaps existed across the larger grouping.
Back in the donor room, the RMCVB staff moved into smaller groups to discuss how different audiences -- such as tourists or national associations -- might perceive Richmond, and how they collectively could work to either strengthen or minimize those perceptions. Not surprisingly, the staff identified communications and collaboration -- with each other, and with regional partners -- as being critical next steps. Future meetings will map out specific actions and tactics that will help them achieve their goal of being the best destination marketing organization in the country.