We share some important lessons we walked away with from our leadership retreat that facilitated greater connection, alignment and clarity with our team that can enhance your next gathering.

Most recently, we facilitated our own in-person leadership retreat with goals to deepen our relationship, gain clarity on our roles and responsibilities, and to create a roadmap for the year’s business activities. As facilitators, we were “eating” what we normally serve our clients, making sure we are doing the work we are asking our clients to do in their organizations.

If anyone’s been to a lackluster or unproductive team retreat (I mean, who hasn’t done those bonding and trust fall activities?), then we can agree that it’s time we take a different approach to these gatherings. We knew that we only had 1.5 half days and wanted to ensure that we were not only clear on our goals and objectives but also wanted to meet each other in our full humanity; mindful of each other’s needs, desires and expectations. 

We intentionally created the spaciousness to be fully present, name one another’s superpowers/strengths, speak the hard things, identify our team gaps, and share critical feedback around the behaviors that impacted how we show up in our role, for each other and with our clients. These conversations and activities helped us to build our awareness of the  team dynamics we were creating, take accountability for our behaviors, repair and strengthen our relationship, while committing to an action plan that benefits us all. Since the retreat, we feel that our relationship as a team, the processes we have developed, and systems we are instituting are continuing to evolve, while keeping pace with the growth of the business. We would like to share what we have seen has worked well since we met in Chicago.

Here are some steps your team can take to facilitate a more intentional and productive gathering that improves relationships, optimize existing systems and solidify fuzzy processes. 

1. The first step in planning a leadership retreat is to define clear goals and objectives that align with the company's strategic vision. This will help the team stay focused and work towards achieving their desired outcomes.

2. Second, open the container by creating a safe and inclusive environment where team members feel safe to share their thoughts, opinions, and concerns. Building a safe and inclusive space is critical to fostering trust and open communication among team members. Leaders should be prepared to be vulnerable if they are encouraging it in others. 

3. Third, identify core values to surface gaps across the team. Facilitate conversations that allow team members to share their individual values. Then tie them back to team strengths and gaps to surface opportunities and challenges that arise when values are misaligned.

4. Fourth, go deeper to unveil team gaps, areas where there is misalignment in values, perceptions and lived experiences. Do not gloss over areas where there may be fundamental differences of opinions or perceptions about how team members are experiencing each other as colleagues. Make time to peel back layers that can surface the root causes of any conflict within the team. 

5. Lastly, properly close the container by reaching the appropriate level of agreement and resolution with team members about where they are by the end of the retreat. Recap the learnings, share any relevant observations and agree on any next steps that can help to close the loop on the dialogues and insights generated from the program’s activities. 

These five steps are helpful to create greater intentionality, provide structure and create time for reflection and introspection, which is crucial for team retreats. Balancing the right amount of dialogue and co-creative practices so that team members can leave the retreat with something tangible is often a challenge because while some are content having further dialogue, others prefer to focus on action planning to ensure that the retreat's outcomes are implemented.

The most important step is to begin action planning at the appropriate time, when resolution has been reached, team agreements have been made and leaders are ready to shift to commitment and accountability. This can be done during the retreat or action planning can take place post retreat. Retreats are an excellent opportunity to deepen relationships, recalibrate and, at times, can lead to moments of team reflections that can help the organization pivot to move in a different direction. Don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and each other to support the organization’s continued evolution.

Want to include Different in your next team retreat? Book a call with us today!