Before Precision, Comes People: Using Basecamp to Build Culture, Clarity and Capacity
by Dan Dempsey, Director (Professional Learning), Future Anything
In today’s blog, we explore why building “basecamp” moments at the start of the year strengthens culture, sharpens clarity, and creates the conditions for teams to perform at their best.
The start of a new year or a new term in schools can sometimes feel like standing at the base of a mountain.
The summit is visible. The ambition is real. The energy is high and the team is ready to go.
The thing is, experienced climbers don’t rush the ascent…they navigate basecamp first.
Even the strongest plan can struggle if the team isn’t aligned, and prepared.
So, what is Basecamp?
At Future Anything we have built our own Basecamp; a quarterly rhythm where the entire team is taken offline for 3-4 days.
The agenda is a mixture of:
Connection: Intentional time for the team to connect and build culture.
Cadence: Time carved out to reflect on the term that has been, and plan for the term ahead.
Capacity Building: Sessions built around organisation vision, the strategy that underpins it AND the coaching and support required for the whole team to deliver on the vision and strategy.
And yes, bringing fun is essential.
Keeping the fun and enjoyment in the work can be easily overlooked.
At Basecamp, our structured conversations sit alongside plenty of laughter, shared meals, culture building excursions (so far we’ve mini-golfed, gone axe-throwing, and enjoyed some hilarious karaoke).
Not because fun is a reward, but because laughter is a powerful social glue that builds, strengthens, and repairs connections.
What are the conditions for success?
High-performing teams don’t rely on momentum alone – they set up the right conditions for success. Research across education and organisational psychology consistently highlights three things that really matter:
- psychological safety
- clarity
- collective efficacy
When people feel safe to ask questions, raise concerns early, and test ideas without fear of embarrassment or judgement, culture is amplified.
When teams believe they can make progress together, effort increases and resilience strengthens.
These conditions aren’t accidental.
They are designed intentionally through shared norms, structured reflection, and deliberate alignment, before the pressure builds.
Teams that stay in constant execution mode often move fast, but not always forward.
Reflection and reset isn’t about slowing down unnecessarily; it’s about getting better together.
Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.
What does Basecamp look like in practice?
At Basecamp, we translate this research into simple, human practices that we can actually use. They don’t add complexity or workload; they remove friction.
A few of the intentional practices that we have explored through our quarterly Basecamp include:
1. Start with knowing self
We begin with reviewing our Manual of Me — a short, structured reflection that helps each person articulate how they work best and what they need from others. It’s not a personality test; it’s about clarity. When shared thoughtfully, it reduces misunderstanding and supports psychological safety by making expectations visible.
2. Build a shared language for communication
Inspired by the High Performing Teams framework (Dr Pete Stebbins), we have each identified our ‘default’ from four common personality and communication preferences:
– Concept (Yellow: big picture, ideas, vision)
– Relational (Red: connection, empathy, trust)
– Action (Blue: decisions, pace, momentum),
– Detail (Green: structure, process, precision).
Of course, none of these are better than the others, but mapping our team dynamic helps us work better together.
Shifting from the Golden Rule (treating others how you’d like to be treated) to the Platinum Rule (treating others how they would like to be treated) helps us communicate in ways that lead to meetings that run more smoothly, information shared with more impact and feedback that lands more effectively.
3. Focus on strengths, not just gaps
Using the Clifton Strengths Assessment tool, we identify and apply individual strengths in real work — planning, problem-solving, and execution. This shifts development from fixing deficits to amplifying what works, strengthening engagement and shared leadership.
4. Make values visible through behaviour
We use an above the line and below the line shared language to reflect on how we’re showing up, especially under pressure. Above the line examples are follow-through and ownership; below the line examples might be avoidance or defensiveness.
5. Align effort with clear goals
We use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) to clarify what matters most and how progress will be measured. This keeps effort focused and aligned without creating compliance pressure. See more about OKRs here.
6.Protect time to Masterplan the Term ahead
We protect a whole day of uninterrupted time for “masterplanning”. This involves the team calibrating calendars, scheduling in projects and project time, and identifying “pain points’ in workflow for the term ahead where demand outweighs the time available. This ensures that Basecamp closes with people being prepared to action the work, not just inspired about the work.
Final thought
You don’t need a perfect program or polished rollout to start this work. Start small: one reflective practice, one shared language, one intentional conversation. Culture is built in moments, especially at the beginning, and the start of the year is a perfect time to begin.
When the conditions are right, people don’t just deliver strategy. They build something worth belonging to.
Want to dig deeper?
If you’d like to explore some of the research and frameworks that underpin the practices shared here, these are useful starting points:
- Edmondson, A. (2018). The Fearless Organization.
Foundational work on psychological safety and why teams perform better when people feel safe to speak up, experiment, and learn. - Gallup/CliftonStrengths. gallup.com/cliftonstrengths
Decades of research showing that individuals and teams are more engaged and effective when they understand and apply their strengths. - Stebbins,P. High Performing Teams. hptschools.com
Practical frameworks for communication, trust, and team effectiveness in school contexts. - Doerr, J. (2018). Measure What Matters.
Introduces OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) as a way to align effort, focus attention, and track progress without creating compliance cultures. - Manual of Me. my.manualof.me
A practical tool for helping individuals articulate how they work best and what support looks like.
About the author: Dan Dempsey
Dan Dempsey is a highly experienced educator, forging a successful 20-year career in education and school leadership in both Australia and the United Kingdom, notably through a range of Principal and Deputy Principal roles across varied primary school contexts
With a passion for building the capacity of schools, teams and systems to embed effective and innovative teaching, learning and assessment, Dan has developed significant experience providing professional learning, coaching and mentoring to teachers and leaders. Dan has a deep understanding of curriculum and pedagogy, with experience implementing and leading STEM initiatives, Project-Based Learning, inquiry and design thinking.
At Future Anything, Dan uses his extensive experience to provide targeted and bespoke support to empower schools, as well as facilitate the suite of teacher professional development programs, with the aim of providing educators the knowledge and skills to embed future-focussed learning experiences.
Future Anything’s Activate in-curriculum program and student workshops build confident communicators of all ages, by empowering young people to develop, and then persuasively pitch, innovative social enterprise solutions to the problems they care about.
Find out more about our programs here.
