As a manager of people, I have always been a big advocate of
the off-site retreat. I would always
hear other manager’s (and a few participants) bemoan the off-site retreat. I, however, always found it to be a valuable
experience. In this month’s Fast Company
Letter from the Editor, Robert Sofian discussed the power of the “off-site” as
a tool for innovation.
…we were taken “out of our every0day routines because he wanted to encourage open discussion. As Emory University professor Gregory Berns writes in “Rewiring the Creative Mind”, on page 51, our brains are biologically engineered to engage in repetitive thinking. To generate new ideas, we need to force our synapses to behave differently. Unplanned encounters and new environments are the best way s to jolt our neurons into finding novel pathways”.
Well said…and a good argument for the off-site.
What makes for a good off-site? Well, for one, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Some of the most effective off-sites are conducted in someone’s living room or outdoor deck if the weather is nice. One of the most effective off-site meetings I ever attended occurred on my co-worker Anna’s back deck at her home in Palo Alto. It didn’t’ hurt that Anna is an amazing cook and we ate well but it was, truly, one of the most productive days I ever had professionally. The opportunity to get out of the pressure cooker that was our Internet start-up was fuel for the creative brain and a bit of rest from the transactional work of the routine.
I am often amazed at how rarely the off-site is conducted. Think about what the collective brain power of your staff could achieve if only given some time, creative space, and permission to think and talk and dream. Yes, dream. Let them imagine a better way to work. A better way to interact. A better way to balance.
Take your staff on a retreat. If your budget is $0.00 and everyone is local then invite them to your living room and make homemade soup and sandwiches. They will love you for it. And who knows what will happen or transpire and who might be inspired. If your team is distributed, then the off-site becomes a bit more of a logistical challenge but, in my opinion, even a more critical event. Having face-to-face time vs. ear-to-phone time is an important part of relationship building and a part of creating a solid team. It is hard to rely solely on a voice. It is much better if you’ve seen the voice and know a bit about its personal life. Retreats and off-site meetings can go a long way in building collaborative climates.
If your team is new, consider doing some teambuilding exercises. Not the hokey ones that you’ve done a thousand times but something more meaningful. One of my favorites is called “Lifeline”. Each person has 15 minutes to take you from birth to today. Telling about significant (and a few trivial) events that occurred along the way you’ll learn a lot and are bound to have some fun. Other tools, like assessments, can help the team understand each other better and work together with better understanding of the strengths that each person brings to the table.
And, as a manager, if your manager asks you about the documented results from the day, let her know that you don’t know yet. You’ll see what some creative thinking will produce and you’ll get back to her. Or, better yet, invite her to kick back and enjoy the fun and get to know your team better.
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