Are you planning an off-site meeting?
An offsite meeting is a great way to focus your team on the future, remove distractions, get your team out of the office, and have fun. Many leaders have them to create strategy, prioritize goals, and do teambuilding.
Planned and executed well, an offsite meeting can be incredibly productive and energizing — generating innovative ideas and pointing everyone in the same direction. A great offsite meeting will build team synergy, clarify priorities, and support key initiatives.
A critical difference-maker is the offsite meeting’s facilitator. To have your best offsite meeting ever, bring in a knowledgeable, professional facilitator who can:
1. Create process to get the best result. Create an agenda, manage time, and break down difficult and complicated topics into manageable pieces.
Move a discussion forward, improve communication among team members, and stay on topic. They get options on the table with productive discussion and promote effective decision-making.
Manage the interpersonal dynamics of the group to optimize team relationships and maximize the contribution of each participant.
An expert facilitator will do the homework to prepare for a productive offsite. This includes:
meeting with leadership to understand context and
designing an agenda to get you where you want to go.
Meet with individual participants to learn about their various points of view and assess the dynamics between team members.
Often, the leader wants to serve as the facilitator. This is a recipe for disaster. No matter how well intentioned, the person does not have the experience and skill set of a professional facilitator. More importantly, no one can facilitate AND participate effectively at the same time. The leader will be too busy managing the meeting to engage as a member of the group — or worse, the meeting will be perceived by the participants as stage-directed by the leader, shutting down open communication altogether.
We have facilitated strategic planning, goal setting, retreats, and teambuilding events for groups from C-suite to mid-level and cross functional groups of all sizes. We partner with you to ensure your offsite engaging, productive, and even fun! Contact us to schedule a free consultation.
Make sure you optimize your team’s time and talents-demand a professional facilitator!