Plan a Productive Retreat: One that Gets Results Beyond Just Having Fun!!
As an executive coach I’m asked by cost conscious leaders about the value of leadership, team-building or strategic planning retreat. Is it really worth the time and expense? Over the years I have facilitated all kinds of meetings and retreats and here are some examples.
A 17 person CPA firm structured their most recent annual meeting to encourage greater teamwork by addressing the issues of 1) misinformation between management and staff and 2) lack of clarity around the firm’s goals, direction and image. The results included improved productivity, enhanced esprit-de-corps, and most important, the understanding by every person of his or her role in supporting the firm’s strategic business objectives.
Encouraged by the informal setting of a retreat, a team, behind schedule on an important project, finally brought out into the open its concerns about the leader’s way of handling disagreements. By examining the different methods of managing conflicts, the team came up with a process that would encourage divergent thinking and, at the same time, focus on how to make well-thought out decisions regarding the project.
A board of directors of a growing social service agency wanted to proactively plan for the economic, political, demographic and health care changes impacting their agency. The board wanted to ensure that the agency would have staying power- to not only be here today but also tomorrow. Strategies were developed to broaden funding sources, expand services, and gain greater community visibility.
Bottom Line:
Retreats can provide substantial return on investment for an organization or business, especially during times of change. Here’s how to plan a productive retreat that ensures meaningful interaction, as well as, lasting results.
1. Identify Your Purpose
What do you want to achieve? What goal or task should the group complete by the end of the day? What outputs do you expect, and what will you do with those outputs? Try to focus on a central theme or problem. This will help you narrow down your activities for the group.
2. Identify the Participants
Now that you know what you want to achieve, determine who should attend the meeting. Is this event for your team, for the whole department, or for the entire company? How many people will attend? Is that a reasonable number for the types of activities you’re planning?
3. Pick a location
Don’t just think meeting room. Think meeting place. It can be a resort, a historic inn, a conference center, a park…in reality, any setting that allows for time out and getting away from the everyday routine. Your theme and attendees will directly affect your choice of a location. Add excitement by picking some place that’s different from your normal events.
4. Develop a road map.
The key to a productive retreat is a well thought -out agenda that outlines topics to be discussed, people who will attend and, most important, the desired outcomes or deliverables. A clear road map will avoid the wheel-spinning and rambling discussion that drives people crazy and gives retreats a bad ‘wrap”. Also determine success indicators. If a retreat doesn’t have specific and clear goals then it becomes another meeting with the potential of wasted time, money and resources.
5. Decide who will facilitate.
Your first instinct might be to lead the event yourself. After all, you’re the boss, right? Although this can be a great way to save money, it can affect the outcome. If you’re in charge of the meeting instead of simply being a regular participant, it might keep people from participating fully and expressing their ideas freely. If you hire an objective, external person, you’ll be free to fully engage with your team instead of managing everything. This is not an area to skimp on. A professional can take your retreat from just another meeting to a winning endeavor.
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Smart Moves Tip:
Once the event is over, don’ let it be forgotten. Ask your team how effective they thought the day was. Feedback is the best way to improve the process for the next event. Did the group have fun? Was there anything missing? Do they feel they achieved the goals you set for the day or event? Follow-up after an off-site meeting is particularly important. Often information is taken from flip charts, typed up, and sent it to attendees — and then nothing happens. Decide during the retreat what actions will be taken by whom and by when and have a follow-up meeting to measure your progress.[/message][su_spacer]
What’s been your experience either attending or leading a leadership, team building or strategic planning retreat? What suggestions (do’s and don’ts) do you have that will make it as productive as possible?
My Motto Is:
If you do what you always did, you will get what you always got. Therefore, MOVE outside of your comfort zone; that’s where the MAGIC happens.” To bring that magic to your leadership and business, subscribe to Marcia’s monthly Execubrief: Business Edge: Smart Growth Strategies with insights, inspiration and intelligence on how to build great businesses that matter- those that do well and do good.
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