Team Retreats - Fuel, not Fluff

I'm at the beginning of a busy couple of weeks of facilitations. As I'm prepping for the sessions that will happen this week, I'm thinking about how important intentional and purposeful time together is for teams.

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I always say that we all lead from wherever we sit. Whether it’s peer coaching, managing up, captaining a project, or volunteering in our community, leadership isn’t just about titles.

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But today, I am thinking about the unique responsibility that comes with formally leading a group. Whether you’re a supervisor, a teacher, or a volunteer organizer, there’s one essential skill you can’t ignore:

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The ability to develop individuals and teams.

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Because leadership isn’t just about organizing work and managing deadlines. It’s about helping people grow and creating spaces where teams can thrive.

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One of my favorite ways to support leaders in this work is by facilitating team-building meetings.

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Now, you might be picturing: trust falls and kumbaya.

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(If you are, you're not alone. People love to bring up those things when I talk about my work. I actually don't know where that idea comes from. In nearly 15 years of facilitating, I’ve never seen a single trust fall.)

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Here’s the truth: the best team building happens when people come together to do meaningful work in a supportive environment.

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I’m about to lead a retreat for a senior leadership team. Their focus? Redistributing roles and responsibilities, creating shared expectations, and defining what it means to support each other as leaders. They’re also exploring how to engage their teams in ways that foster consistency and cross-collaboration.

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These are powerful, purposeful conversations - no holding hands or singing required.

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They're also conversations that: build real connections; help teams learn (and laugh) about what they share in common—and what makes them wildly different; create opportunities to see what fuels each person and what might feel like a drag.

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‍That’s team building.

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Not just icebreakers, but exercises that engage them in meaningful dialogue.

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Not just activities, but activities that move their work forward together.

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Leaders choose to have team retreats for different reasons.

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One of the teams I'm working with is launching the new iteration of their senior team following a reorganization.

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Another is navigating through some tension that had been brewing, but recently bubbled over the top.

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And one does a facilitated meeting on a regular basis because it breaks them out of their go-to meeting habits and ensures that they make the most of their in-person time together.

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So if you’re:

• Launching a new team
• Working through some strain or misalignment
• Craving a fresh start and a healthier dynamic

Consider this - team retreats aren’t fluff—they’re strategy and they might just be the quickest path to success.

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As a leader, this is the type of meeting you can do on your own. Or, if you'd rather get to fully participate as a member of the team and ensure that you have the right conversations to help meet your goals, you might really benefit from enlisting the help of a facilitator.

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I'm here for you if you ever want to explore what that could look like for you and your team.

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