I worked with a great business group last week as part of their annual retreat. It’s a national business that’s in the grow and scale stage and they headed to the beach for 3 days to work on strategy, establish their individual and team workplans and to have some professional development. I pinched myself when I was asked to facilitate some sessions to help build their team. And the 1:1 pre retreat sessions with all staff revealed some great starting points.
A week later as I reflect on the topics, activities, participation and feedback from the day, I felt compelled to share with you. My key reason is to motivate and inspire you to consider a team day at least annually. A day where you can come together offsite, without phones, with a well planned agenda of activities to really support, nurture and grow your team.
Some questions to ask yourself right now….
- When was the last time we came together to work on ourselves and our team?
- Do you have a team workplan that guides energy, effort and activity?
- Could your team benefit from learning about the predictable stages of group development?
- Are you willing to create a safe place for your team to engage, support and challenge each other?
Soooo, are you feeling inspired / motivated to facilitate a team session / day / retreat?
If so, here are the top 5 things I suggest are ‘must haves’ for a successful time for you and your team.
1. Environment Matters. Choose a spot at the beach or in the mountains where you can experience that ‘away from it all’ type feeling. That place where you see people exhale when they open the door at the venue for the first time.
2. Activate Early. Share what you are doing and why way in advance. Ask the team to prepare so they know the expectations and are ready to go with pre/ during and post event activities.
3. Quality Food. Plan this well. Healthy all the way. A cook your own meal is a great way to go – from a BBQ to a roast – everyone can help out and the conversations when preparing food can be relaxing allowing for some great personal and professional sharings.
4. Plan, Plan, Plan. Ensure everything you plan relates easily to your team members and their work. Select activities, speakers and experiences that are going to add value by building confidence, knowledge and commitment.
5. Try Out. Develop some new working together better team ideas that you can then take back and put in place as the year progresses. Eg a Team Charter
Over to You
Take some time to reflect on these. Are any helpful to you right now? Do you feel inspired to get your team together soon?
