Knowing When To Retreat!
Approach
Militarily, when “retreat” was heard, it was time to fall back and regroup, mostly because one side was getting their butt kicked by their enemy! In the corporate world, hearing “retreat” should signify a regrouping before one company gets their butt kicked by their competition! Whereas militarily, most times the word “retreat” means you are losing, in the corporate vernacular it should mean you are winning!
Being proactive about going on retreat should be a positive sign that you want to take your company to even higher levels of morale, efficiency and production than ever before thought was possible. Taking your staff out of the “daily grind” and offering them an alternative where they relax, interact, socialize, learn, team-build, and strategize will do wonders for their ability to cope with their busy work schedules. It’s actually a time to rebuild, even if it is called a retreat.
Going on retreat is a sure way to get people communicating. When people communicate, tasks get accomplished, service is upgraded, morale is raised and everyone benefits—staff, management, customers and guests. At Ference Leadership and Strategy, one of our most successful tools is the retreat. We allow people to communicate amongst themselves under a relaxed setting—in fact we encourage it! It's amazing what colleagues can find out about each other when they have the chance! It's even more amazing what individuals find out about themselves during one of our retreats!
Learning how to minimize conflict and optimize individual and collective skills is an extremely important concept to master. Honing leadership ability and acumen is another unique aspect of our retreats. Everyone has the chance to lead, direct and learn from at least one original experience at the retreat. Programs are results oriented, so those that produce more, or produce the best, experience immediate satisfaction. Work, leadership style, emotional intelligence and the ability to communicate effectively are also critiqued, both by Ference Leadership and Strategy staff as well as by your peer group.
Deployment
What, you may ask, are some of the programs that are included in teambuilding retreats? Do you fancy yourself a wine connoisseur, or do you not even know the difference between a chardonnay and a merlot? Wine tasting teams have a fun time in examining different wines, comparing and rating them for overall points towards a team win at the retreat. Chess anyone? Team play can get frantic on a super-large chessboard where you can literally walk among the three-foot chess pieces. Or how about a game of competitive bocce on a championship court? You can gain a whole different perspective of these games, and what move to make next—or not!
How are your presentation skills? Given a subject, you might have to put together a collage or poster together with your team to “present” to a new client, your new boss, or … who knows? Can you boil water? Can you “create in the kitchen” or do you just follow recipes? Either way, if your team has the leadership and strategy to come up with the right “mix” of culinary delights, you can win the always intense “team cook-up.” Working in a fully functioning commercial kitchen truly tests teamwork and cooperation between competing teams, and allows for creative individuals to excel and showcase their talents.
These are but a few of the possible events that can tease, tempt and test teams and individuals at a retreat. Of course, there is always a good deal of learning about leadership, strategy, and operational challenges so you can win in on-the-job applications as well. Gene Ference leads various discussions and programs beneficial to everyone’s organizational needs. Questions will be fielded and answers will be revealed. Whether insightful, informative or in-depth, discussions will be aligned to offer thoughtful reflection on how better to lead your team to meet or exceed goals, whether during the retreat or out in the business world.
Renew, revitalize, reinvent, reintroduce, reengineer, rebuild and just plain retreat. You want to win, you want to reach your goals, you want to put together a team that will “kick butt.” Treat yourself and your staff to a program that makes sense for your company. Don’t raise a white flag in defeat, rather retreat and help your company to succeed. Increase understanding, cooperation, camaraderie, communication and dedication among your staff. It will go a long way in “kicking butt.”
Go For It, Make It Happen, and Enjoy The Best of ROI3
Return-On Individuals, Integrations, and Investments
For more information, contact:
Gene Ference, President, Ference Leadership and Strategy, Inc.
Gene.Ference@FerenceLeadershipAndStrategy.com