RAFI Kool Adventure Camp Facilitates Kayaking Program for Gothong Southern

“What every company is looking for is actually more productivity with lesser cost. When you want lesser cost, it is actually in front of you already. Just spend more time with your people. Allow them to make mistakes. Allow them to go out in the small bubble you made for them and you will be surprised that the talent that you were seeking is already there in front of you.”

This was the realization of Gothong Southern (GS) Shipping Lines Inc. President Charles Robert Gothong after the three-day Kayak Expedition Leadership Development Program facilitated by Kool Adventure Camp Professional Development Program (KAC-PDP) of Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) in the islands of Mactan, Olango, and Caohagan in the second quarter of the year.

The program aimed to reinforce the current Organizational Transformation Plan of Gothong Southern. It provided 27 senior management officers opportunities for self-reflection and expression of ideas on the changes the team is undertaking.

“I am proud of my GS management team,” Gothong said. “Ninety-five percent of the participants have not even been on a kayak before. To see them accomplish this feat gives me confidence that I have exactly the team I need for nation building.”

The expedition program served as a metaphor for the challenge of reaching organizational effectiveness and productivity, particularly in carrying out Gothong Southern’s transformation.

Deputy Director for KAC-PDP Anthony Terence Ocampo shared that the tides, current, waves, and weather disruptions deliver the real experience and metaphor of leadership.

The program utilizes adventure-based expeditionary learning challenges that bring out the participants from their comfort zones and old ways of thinking. Thus, they gained new perspective and developed a deeper understanding of the challenges.

Strategic planning and setting directions and commitment to activities and safety protocols consisted the first day of the expedition leadership program.

On the second and third day, participants paddled the sea using tandem kayaks with an average of 15 kilometers travelled distance per day.

A group learning of Gothong Southern stated, “The journey taught us that planning is critical in any endeavor we do. We have to stay focused despite uncontrollable factors. It made us celebrate small wins that fuel momentum towards accomplishing the end goal. And of course it made us realize to find joy in the work we do.”

GS is in the business of logistics, shipping and ports, providing solutions for efficient and timely movement of goods and information. It has logistics and shipping agents in practically every major city in the country. GS was awarded for having the cleanest vessels during the Department of Health Annual Recognition initiated by the Bureau of Quarantine.

Southern Gothong officers paddle their kayaks, tools used by RAFI-KAC to develop and enhance leadership skills.(Contributed photo)

“Before we started the program, we obviously had the usual notion that it will be the usual teambuilding program. But it was amazing because we have realized that what we went through during those three days was actually the experience we go through with Gothong Southern every day. It is an experience where we can relate in all our facets like on how we do our business,” Gothong said in his reflection.

KAC has been offering adventure education programs for leadership and team development for youth and professionals for the last decade. KAC’s Leadership Adventure Program launched its pilot run in the Philippines’ first fully dedicated adventure education center in Balamban, Cebu last May 2013 with the Argao youth and student leaders of the Union of Progressive Students of the University of the Philippines Cebu College.

For more information on KAC, contact 260-9000 local 1001 and look for Althea Santillan, or visit www.rafi.org.ph or www.facebook.com/kooladventurecamp, or follow @rafiorgph on Twitter. #