Organizations often look to Board retreats or visioning sessions to take their collective success to the next level. Retreats can be great for organizations. They get members activated by focusing on the big picture and engaging in dynamic problem solving that doesn’t get addressed during monthly conference calls. This month I’ve had the opportunity to attend several professional retreats. Here are 7 recommendations for engaging your members effectively with a successful retreat:
Create a safe (and possibly different) space for members tackle problems.
Switching up the venue to a place that’s pleasant, spacious and peaceful is always a great first step. Once you’re there, work on the internal safety. Establish your ground rules. Agreeing to what’s respectful behaviour is a gentle reminder that judgement, negativity and other non-constructive forms of passive aggression aren’t welcome. Once people feel they can be vulnerable (never an easy task) you may discover all sorts of ideas bubbling to the surface.
Have a third party walking you through it all.
Especially if there are challenging organizational dynamics or conflicting personalities, bringing in a facilitator or coach who will walk you through a thought out and directed process is key. Not only will this person bring a neutral third party perspective to your challenges and opportunities, but they can also help you see the forest if you’re too focussed on the trees.
Frame up success.
Make sure everyone is on board around the agenda of the day/evening. What will you be doing? Why are you doing it? What’s the hoped for end result? Taking 5 – 10 minutes at the beginning of your session to get everyone on the same page is always a good way to start out.
Warm up the group.
Don’t just dive right into the super-hard and volatile challenges of your organization. Spend some time identifying and developing the relationships among the participants. This will not only get the creative juices flowing but also create a safe space. There are all sorts of great warm up games that can get people connecting with one another. Here are a few.
Break apart then come back together again.
Different people process things in different ways. Especially in big groups, this often means introverts might not get as much of as a say as extroverts. Try to neutralize this by breaking into smaller teams and then having people come back to present their findings. Not only does this get more people talking, but it also will frequently get the creative juices flowing towards solutions you never considered. There’s a reason that this is a preferred method for high school teachers around the world.
Don’t starve people.
If you’re planning on doing a retreat, make sure you have food. Sound simple? It is and it makes a difference.
Close the circle.
Retreats are great because at the end of good ones, most people usually feel more connected and engaged with their organization. Often big problems have been broken down into little ones. Give people a chance to share the successes as well as their observations in a formalized closing ceremony. It’s like writing an essay. After the intro and body of your piece, you need a conclusion to wrap it all up.