Left’s Magical Retreat
In early June, our Lefties travelled to Loon Lake for our yearly strategic retreat. As our company has grown substantially over the last twelve months, this was a special opportunity to come together and reflect on the culture and organization as we continue to scale. With the theme of the world of witchcraft and wizardry, the experience was magical to say the least.
As seen in the video above, our first day was spent immersed in a world of sorcery. Our Lefties were first split into ‘houses’, which included team members from every department of our organization, to compete in the wizard trials. Wands were made, duels were fought, dragons were tricked, and brooms soared through the sky to make up a brilliant day of team bonding.
“The retreat to Loon Lake was absolutely magical! the creative team at Left managed to fulfill my 11 year-old dreams of being a wizard! Having never worked for a tech company before (or been on a company retreat), every moment was exciting, and it was really awesome to bond with the team over the course of a few days. I’m looking forward to continuing to create magic as we work together to change the world.” — Keefer Rourke, Co-op and SDK Developer at Left
Our second day was company focused as our Lefties came together to plan our organizational objectives for the coming year. Our team did a deep dive into our process, people, product, platform, and purpose by asking questions on long term outcomes and working through scenarios collectively as a team. The session was fantastic. We had unique perspectives and ideas as all were present, from our newest Lefties to those who have been a part of the company since its founding in 2010.
“The retreat was a great opportunity for us to revisit the meaning of our Corporate Values through exciting team challenges and friendly competition. It was a lot of fun, but it also reminded me of why Left is such a special place to work — the amazing and generous people, and a culture that dares to be incredible in all things. I lost my voice singing around the campfire, but can’t wait for the next one!” — Joanne Lott, Project Manager, Left
After having spent time on our team and company, the final day was a focus on the self. Melissa Quinn, our Director of Corporate Strategy, led a’ Dream Workshop’ to help our Lefties identify the areas (such as family, career, spirituality, community, etc) in their lives that are most important to them and to help them set goals to improve them. The workshop sparked great conversation and left everyone feeling elated as we packed up the cars for the bumpy drive home.
“I feel fortunate to say I’ve attended 3 Left retreats because each one has been its own unique and awesome experience. This year was extra magical — not just because we now have enough people to hold a proper wizard match, but also because as we’ve grown, we’ve brought on people who know that a little bit of magic is important.” — Jenna Mortemore, Product Manager, Left
With the sound of the soft crunch of gravel beneath our tires, our team made our way down the winding dirt road back from Loon Lake. Looking around at the smiles of our Lefties, it was evident the retreat had left us feeling stronger as an organization and closer as a team. We are very excited to start the next chapter and cannot wait to see what comes next.
Our team is hiring! Our awesome culture, amazing team of people, unlimited community hours and downright inspiring core values, are just a handful of reasons that make Left one of the best places to work in BC.
Check out our job postings here: https://left.io/careers/
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