Natalie Meech, Zuru’s People & Culture Director explains why Outward Bound Professional successfully supports her to build a great team of leaders. Natalie, an OB alumni now twice over, found her own Professional course experience so impactful, she signed up seven of her team on the spot.
Zuru’s People and Culture Director Natalie Meech was 21 when she first experienced Outward Bound and the impact it had on her was profound, leading her to return in late 2019 to attend a professional course.
Working in Air New Zealand’s HR team at the time, Natalie leapt at the opportunity to go on the five-day course. She was so impressed with the experience that in 2020, when she joined billion-dollar New Zealand toy company Zuru, she immediately signed up seven people from the leadership team to follow in her footsteps. Zuru is owned and run by siblings Nick, Mat, and Anna Mowbray. They develop and sell toys like the popular Bunch O Balloons and Robofish in more than 120 countries. Recently the dynamic business expanded with Zuru Edge, a stable of Kiwi brands including Dose & Co collagen, Nood petfood, Rascal and Friends nappies and the Monday haircare product range.
“Zuru has huge growth ambitions and is moving really fast. Our vision is to make the company the best place to work and to attract the best talent, and to do that we need strong leadership,” says Natalie.
“We like to do everything with maximum impact at Zuru, so we decided to send our leaders and top talent to Outward Bound. Growing a great team of leaders has the biggest impact on your culture. There are different ways of giving people that experience but Outward Bound provides a very unique experience for people."
Natalie says that the physical environment of Outward Bound provides better lessons in leadership than sitting in a classroom.
Zuru’s Anna Mowbray says growing great leaders is instrumental in building winning teams.
"We have a huge vision at Zuru to disrupt our industries and become one of the world's greatest companies. I love the development experience that Outward Bound offers. It is high impact, unique and focussed on building the core skills that our leaders need like being adaptable, self-aware and resilient."
Another seven Zuru employees will shortly pack their bags and clean their boots in preparation for their Outward Bound course. “The environment is so dynamic,” says Natalie.
“For those who have gone on the course, we are really starting to see the impact in increased self-awareness and confidence as leaders. Everyone I know who has been on a professional course has found it to be an outstanding experience.”
