BUILDING STRONG TEAMS FOR COMMUNITY EXCELLENCE - 2025-2026 - Private Participant Page
Welcome to your opportunity to help your community/county become more resilient!
to the private page for the Building Strong Teams for Community Excellence Program of the Maximize NWMO Regional Learning Collaborative. This is specifically for the participants meeting from September 24, 2025 - September 23, 2026, and has been established solely for your group to access shared documents and video recordings that will be covered within each of the 12 sessions. As documents and recordings are covered, they will be posted on this page as outlined below. We are helping you build your toolkit for traveling The Maximize [My Community] Journey as you take your team's community development efforts to the next level while ensuring your community, county, and region is a great place to live, learn, work, and play!
We are delighted you have chosen to join us on the journey of maximizing the potential of our region!
NOTE: If you happen to be joining this program and weren't registered or able to attend the first session held in-person on Wedensday, September 24th, please contact Maximize NWMO Director Christel Gollnick at together@maximizenwmo.org or 816.588.2730. We will get you a hardcopy binder, if desired, and answer any questions you may have. WELCOME!
SESSION 1 - Discover and Create a Sense of Urgency
9.24.2025
- Because we met in person, there is no online session video recording.
- THE MAXIMIZE [MY COMMUNITY] JOURNEY FRAMEWORK OVERVIEW (Toward the end of your printed binder - Also, posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- MONARCH TOWN CollaborACTION STORY (Back Pocket of Your Printed Binder): The make-believe community of Monarch Town is based on actual examples of several real smaller rural communities that have transformed the vitality of the place they live, learn, work, and play. We will be using this resource - and building it with additional chapters - throughout the program as a reference and example of what is possible in your community. Please browse through it. We want you to be familiar with the idea and outline of the story. (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- GETTING STARTED SELF-ASSESSMENT (Tab 1 in Your Printed Binder - Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- KNOWING YOUR WHY GROUP ACTIVITY (Tab 1 in Your Printed Binder - Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- YOUR FIVE WHYS ACTIVITY (Tab 1 in Your Printed Binder - Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- PREP WORK FOR SESSION 2:
| Individual Action | Reflect on your personal "why" for engaging in this work. |
| Complete the Checklist of Community Assets based on what you know. | |
| CollaborACTION | Together, pool your knowledge to complete the Checklist of Community Assets and be prepared to share your experience in our next session. |
| Designate someone to prepare one slide that describes your group's sense of urgency. |
SESSION 2 - Gather and Form a Guiding Coalition
10.8.2025
- VIDEO RECORDING OF SESSION 2: (Posted in the Video Library of this page.)
- WHO TO INVITE WORKSHEET (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MAP (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- SAMPLE TEAM MEMBER COMMITMENT FORM (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- PREP WORK FOR SESSION 3:
| CollaborACTION | Together, agree to one location for all progress and decisions to be documented. |
| Document what your group looks like right now from a leadership and governance structure. | |
| Decide and document early decisions about the way you will work together (your initial processes). | |
| Review and edit or sign your Launching Navigation Team Member Commitment Form. | |
| Begin to fill in the Who to Invite worksheet individually and then discuss it collectively. | |
| Continue to work on the Checklist of Community Assets to grow your knowledge about your community and county. |
NOTE: You will be receiving a variety of baseline data specific to your community/county group before our next session. Please review it as a way to further "Know Your Current Story."
SESSION 3 - Forge a Consensus and Community Vision
11.12.2025
- VIDEO RECORDING OF SESSION 3: (Posted in the Video Library of this page.)
- COMMUNITY ASSET MAPPING WORKSHEET (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- THE C.O.R.E. GUIDE from Communities of Resilience & Excellence -- Take special note of the Core Values section towards the back of the booklet as you discuss your Guiding Coalition's values and other Navigational Statements including purpose, vision, and mission. (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- Your community's/county's baseline data and publicly available strategic plans from local government and other key sectors and organizations. (Emailed directly to you from together@maximizenwmo.org.)
- SIMON SINEK'S "A JUST CAUSE" VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HChlibM4xCg
- PREP WORK FOR SESSION 4:
| CollaborACTION | Choose one of the asset-mapping methods on the worksheet and complete it as a group with the information you collectively know right now. Use the strategic plans sent you you, any that you have available to you through your relationships that weren't easy to find online, and the baseline data shared with you to make the asset-mapping easier. You will begin to identify themes of shared priorities, goals, and gaps. |
Be prepared to share what you have identified as your community/county’s key assets and what information you still need to gather. | |
| WATCH: Simon Sinek's short video on Just Cause (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HChlibM4xCg). If additional time permits, begin drafting an early statement of your ‘just cause’. Why does your effort exist? |
SESSION 4 - Develop a CollaborACTION Story Through Systems Thinking
12.10.2025
- VIDEO RECORDING OF SESSION 4: (Posted in the Video Library of this page.)
- DREAM BIG TOOLKIT (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- THE C.O.R.E. GUIDE from Communities of Resilience & Excellence, our national partner organization. The C.O.R.E. Guide is embedded in The Maximize [My Community] Journey -- . (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- COMMUNITY CollaborACTION STORY WORKSHEET. (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- PREP WORK FOR SESSION 5:
| CollaborACTION | Look back at previous steps. What has your group not yet completed that will benefit future action? |
Begin to draft initial questions for your Dream Big Listening Survey. What do you want and need to know? | |
| Document initial responses to CollaborACTION Story questions in a space that is accessible to all. | |
| Create a rough draft of your initial Navigational Statements (i.e. "Just Cause," Manifesto, and/or purpose, vision, mission, and values to share with your residents and other stakeholders as you begin to invite them to share their perspectives, ideas, challenges, and dreams. |
SESSION 5 - DISCUSS AND PRIORITIZE WITH ALL SECTORS AND GROUPS
1.14.2026
- VIDEO RECORDING OF SESSION 5: (Posted in the Video Library of this page.)
- WORKSHEET: CASE FOR CHANGE & PURPOSE STATEMENT (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- RESOURCE: NAVIGATION STATEMENT EXAMPLES (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- COMMUNITY CollaborACTION STORY WORKSHEET (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- PREP WORK FOR SESSION 6:
| CollaborACTION | Draft your Navigational Statements if you haven't yet. |
Identify and define key sectors and groups important to supporting and encouraging an environment that can contribute to the achievement of the initial Navigational Statements you've established. | |
| Work through the Dream Big Listening Project Toolkit together to prepare for your listening sessions. | |
| Continue documenting your early responses to the questions to develop your CollaborACTION Story. |
SESSION 6 - AGREE AND COMMIT TO A SHARED VISION, VALUES, AND OPPORTUNITY PRIORITIES
2.11.2026
- VIDEO RECORDING OF SESSION 6: (Posted in the Video Library of this page.)
- ACTIVITY: Values Sharing & Prioritization (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- WORKSHEET: Prioritization Worksheet (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- COMMUNITY CollaborACTION STORY WORKSHEET (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- PREP WORK FOR SESSION 7:
| CollaborACTION | What are Monarch Town's goals and strategic objectives? Review the Monarch Town CollaborACTION Story to see if you can identify them. |
Discuss what your goals and strategic objectives might be based on what you know so far about your community. At this point in your team's growth, you may not have all your quantitative and qualitative data gathered, so just brainstorm for the sake of learning the processes embedded in The Maximize [My Community] Journey. | |
| Complete the Values Sharing & Prioritization Activity if your team has not chosen shared values yet. | |
| Continue to work through your Dream Big Listening Project, and continue documenting your early responses to the questions to develop your CollaborACTION Story. |
SESSION 7 - DESIGN STRATEGIC ACTION MAPS BASED ON QUALITY DATA THROUGH DESIGN THINKING
3.11.2026
- VIDEO RECORDING OF SESSION 7: (Posted in the Video Library of this page.)
- WORKSHEET: Prioritization Worksheet (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- TEMPLATE: Strategic Action Map (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- COMMUNITY CollaborACTION STORY WORKSHEET (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- PREP WORK FOR SESSION 8:
| CollaborACTION | What tools for sorting and prioritizing, once your listening project is complete, do you plan to use to determine what matters most (right now)? |
Practice using the Strategic Action Map template by creating one around your first strategic objective (a.k.a. shared priority). Identifying your inputs will help you get to work in accomplishing your outputs/work activity, including identifying the skill sets and individuals you need to recruit to further expand your strong team. | |
| Continue working through your Dream Big Listening Project and document your early responses to the questions to develop your CollaborACTION Story. |
SESSION 8 - ENGAGE and EMPOWER CollaborACTION TEAMS THROUGH STRATEGIC ACTION MAPS
4.8.2026
VIDEO RECORDING OF SESSION 8: (Posted in the Video Library of this page.)
- WORKSHEET: CollaborACTION Resource Mapping Activity (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- COMMUNITY CollaborACTION STORY WORKSHEET (Posted in the Resource Library section of this page.)
- PREP WORK FOR SESSION 9:
| CollaborACTION | Regardless of where you are in each of your respective Journeys, share what you have documented in the CollaborACTION Story Introduction Worksheet. |
Asset Map who and what you need as inputs to help accomplish the outputs listed in your Strategic Action Map(s). Add a timeline for securing these assets and for achieving your planned outputs. |
NOTE: The age group segments adopted by Maximize NWMO are based on Pew Research Center and Roots & Rounds' definition by ranges of birth years of generational cohorts. They are as follows:
- 1900-1927 Silent Generation
- 1928-1945 Traditionalists
- 1946-1964 Baby Boomers
- 1965-1980 Generation X
- 1981-1996 Generation Y/Millennial
- 1997-2012 Generation Z
- 2013-younger Generation Alpha
SESSION 9 - GENERATE and SHARE WINS ALONG THE WAY
5.13.2026
Resources will be uploaded following the May session.
SESSION 10 - SUSTAIN ACCELERATED PROGRESS and DEDICATION THROUGH SUPPORT and NETWORKING
6.10.2026
Resources will be uploaded following the June session.
NO SESSION IN JULY - Enjoy the Independence Day holiday and a summer break!
SESSION 11 - ALIGN and CONNECT TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE PERFORMANCE and SHORT-, MID-, and LONG-TERM OUTCOMES
8.12.2026
Resources will be uploaded following the August session.
SESSION 12 - CELEBRATE and GROW TRANSFORMATION THROUGH PAUSING TO RECOGNIZE SUCCESS and ASSESS FOR AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT
9.23.2026
Resources will be uploaded following the September in-person session.
Resource Library
-
Flyer_Building Strong Teams Program_Maximize NWMO_2025_7.9.2025.pdf (373 KB) (pdf)
-
Standard Release_Media_MaximizeNWMO_9.22.2025.pdf (183 KB) (pdf)
-
Participant Guidebook Session Covers_Building Strong Teams_9.20.25.pdf (2.54 MB) (pdf)
-
Session 1
-
Session 1 for BINDER_Building Strong Teams_In-Person Kick-Off_9.24.2025.pdf (3.5 MB) (pdf)
-
MNWMO BST_Knowing Your Why Activity_V.2 2025_9.20.2025.pdf (279 KB) (pdf)
-
MNWMO Five Whys Root Cause ID Process_V.2 2025_9.20.2025.pdf (230 KB) (pdf)
-
Checklist of Community Assets_MNWMO_9.20.2025.pdf (670 KB) (pdf)
-
-
The Maximize MyCommunity Framework_Intro with Key Graphics_r_9.20.2025.pdf (3.11 MB) (pdf)
-
Monarch Town Community Profile for Maximize NWMO Programs_v4_9.22.2025.pdf (10.9 MB) (pdf)
-
Session 2
-
Session 2 for BINDER_Building Strong Teams_Zoom_10.8.2025.pdf (6.42 MB) (pdf)
-
Who to Invite_Worksheet_9.20.2025.pdf (1.4 MB) (pdf)
-
HANDOUT_Community Engagement Map_9.20.2025.pdf (929 KB) (pdf)
-
An Elephant in the Dark by Rumi.pdf (225 KB) (pdf)
-
MNWMO BST_SAMPLE Team Member Commitment Form_V.2 2025_9.20.2025.pdf (239 KB) (pdf)
-
-
Session 3
-
Session 4
-
Session 5
-
Session 6
-
Session 7
-
Session 8
Video Library
Who's Listening
-
Phone 816-588-2730 Email together@maximizenwmo.org