
Ecology of
Strengths
Workshops
We can turn to hundreds of books on leadership and business to unlock the secret to thriving employees and organizations or we can turn to the most time-tested systems in the world—our ecological systems.
The redwoods and other ecological systems are our greatest teachers on how to create, support and sustain a balanced and strong organizational system. At Polly Chandler Coaching, we call learning from ecological systems Ecology of Strengths.
With Ecology of Strengths, Polly Chandler weaves together her careers in environmental education and leadership development to create unique workshop experiences for teams that want to integrate professional development with outdoor team building. Each experience will get your team out of the office, moving, talking and creating game plans to implement when back in the office.
Ecology of Strengths Model
a unique combination
GET OUT OF THE OFFICE
By just getting your team out of the office, you’re already creating a new, positive team energy. Then enter Marin County, the ideal setting for outdoor activities, and you have a winning combo. Bay Area residents are known for their love of hiking and enjoying nature. Ecology of Strengths capitalizes on this dynamic by merging work and passions into one experience, making employees feel valued, appreciated and energized.
GET
MOVING
Research shows that movement promotes creative thinking. One Stanford study even showed that a person’s creativity increased by an average of 60 percent while walking versus sitting. Since the simple act of walking has the ability to get our creative juices flowing, it produces an ideal state-of-mind for professional development. Why? Because creative thinking helps you examine yourself, and your work, from a new perspective—a key mindset when working towards new goals.
GET
TALKING
By drawing parallels to the wonders of our surroundings, we’re able to foster meaningful, team dialogue. Dialogue that is often too difficult to have in your regular work day. Chandler, a Gallup and Strengths Strategies Certified Coach, will integrate her strengths-based leadership approach to guide groups through both individual and team development. Using a series of tailored activities, your team will start to see how their strengths can work together to reach common goals.
CREATE A GAME
PLAN
We’re goal oriented. Most other outdoor team building efforts are built around fun. For example, think about ropes courses. While fun, they don’t provide an actionable strategy for when you return to the office. Now, we’re not against fun; however, we do think you can have fun while working towards your business goals. With Ecology of Strengths, we want you and your team to leave with skills, strategies and tools that are transferable to operations and implementation.
OUR WORKSHOPS
three unique settings for three unique goals
Experience the natural beauty of Marin County while participating in a leadership development workshop for your team. Each workshop allows you to take time to have conversations together while enjoying the outdoors and “disconnecting” from technology.
Through our past experience, we’ve built three custom workshops based on common organizational needs and interests. These three workshop descriptions are just the starting point. All Ecology of Strengths workshops are customized to meet your team’s goals.
Download our Ecology of Strengths Overview or contact us for more details.

REDWOOD
STRENGTHS
An introduction to building a
strengths-based leadership
team.

COASTAL
STRATEGY
An exploration of change
management and strengths
leadership.

ISLAND
IDEATION
A strengths-based approach
to launching new initiatives.
TO LEARN MORE, DOWNLOAD OUR OVERVIEW PDF.
There is something about walking and talking in a redwood grove that allows one to be more self-reflective and open. My day in the redwoods with Polly left me energized and provided my work with renewed focus. Polly has incredible intuition when it comes to identifying and developing personal strengths. My time with Polly, and her innovative and highly-personalized approach, has provided me with a paradigm shift and has left me feeling more confident. This was an incredibly valuable and well-spent day. Thank you!
Monica Stafford
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy