Why and when you should consider…

A facilitated leadership retreat

Why a facilitated leadership retreat?

When you pull your leadership team together for a one, two or three day off-site meeting, you are making an important investment of time and energy. Whatever the focus is of the discussion, you want to come out of the meeting united behind the new direction and plan.

Having a facilitator to help plan and guide the discussion can greatly increase the probability of success because:

You will engage in a conversation that clarifies the outcomes you want.
You are able to be a participant instead of having to be in the facilitator role yourself
You have an additional perspective and a skilled resource to analyze and resolve blocks to progress
A skilled facilitator will build the team’s competency, unity and commitment for a new direction

When should you consider a facilitated leadership retreat?

A facilitated retreat can be helpful in a variety of situations, including the following:

When decisions need to be made on a scale beyond what you usually do.
When you want each person to contribute his or her best thinking and there is a potential for conflict or stalemate.
When the team needs to work on both the content of the work you need to do and the way you work together.
When you want the retreat to be both productive and enjoyable.

How do you go about involving a facilitator?

The facilitator will work closely with you to plan, run and evaluate the retreat, including:

Identify desired outcomes by talking with you and all or some members of the leadership team.
Design a draft agenda and review with you and anyone else whose input is needed.
Facilitate all or some parts of the actual retreat.
Provide a follow up report on what was accomplished and open items.

Resource:

Tom Justice and David Jamieson, The Facilitator’s Fieldbook, 2nd Ed. (2006), HRD Press.
Roger Schwarz, The Skilled Facilitator, New & Revised (2002), Jossey-Bass.

Contact us for a discussion about facilitated leadership retreats.