Thoughtful Thursday: Staff Retreats - Keep in Mind the Differences in How People Learn

I love it when a post on social media makes me think about things a bit differently than I have previously. I saw one this week that made me go into dream mode - what would I do?

The question was about staff retreats and what to do during them.

Oooh! This is one of my "If I Won the Lottery" dreams. I would LOVE to have a conference center where music therapists would be able to attend continuing education courses and retreats and meetings and conferences. There was the perfect place too, a closed convent with beautiful buildings that used to be a ladies academy as well as a convent. It was a mere 6 million dollars - why should price make a difference in how I accomplish my dreams (EXTREME SARCASM HERE!).

So, I started thinking about the retreats I have been on over the years to figure out what I would do if... there are any number of "ifs" here - if I had a staff to retreat with, if I was invited to lead someone else's staff in a retreat experience, and if I knew the people who were involved in the retreat.

I am extremely introverted. I do my best thinking, planning, and processing when I have opportunities for alone time. Group projects are my nightmare, and I hate having to do team building exercises led by my extroverted "Building Leadership Team" at work. They do not truly understand (or even care) that some of us do not enjoy team sports. ANYWAY (let's not go down that road this morning!) - I think a good retreat offers something for everyone.

So, here's what I would do if I was asked to lead a staff retreat. 

I would establish an overarching goal for the retreat. Are you going to get to know each other better? Team-building? Are you wanting to engage in vision planning? Are you wanting to just get away for some fun? Each of these statements brings up different ideas in my head for how the retreat would go and what people would do during the retreat.

If I was the boss, I would want to be considered as much a part of the team as possible, so I would want someone else to be the focus of the retreat. I would get a person who would do the programming so I could participate as part of the team. I would also realize that there are times when staff members need to be able to talk about the boss and to come up with ideas without the boss around, so I'd ask the planner to identify times for me to be absent or be occupied with other things.

If I was the leader, not a member of the team on the retreat, but the one who was doing the programming, I would ask the team some questions before the retreat started. I would have everyone take a short personality assessment and a learning assessment so that I (and they) would know how they work best and what they do well. It wouldn't have to be complex - you can get a good idea how someone works using some quick questions - but you really want to learn more about your teammates when you are in a retreat session. This may be my projection of my own thoughts, but I think that retreats should be times to reflect on what is happening, to brainstorm solutions to problems, and to make plans for the future. In addition, there needs to be time for fun, for getting to know teammates, and for relaxation.

The best retreats offer every person a time for success and for growth. This means getting to know our selves and each other and the things that we do well and the things that we need others to do for us. Extroverts may need to group together to work on a common idea while the introverts may need to go someplace away from that group to complete the same task. Ambiverts might want to be able to move between groups as needed. Logical/mathematical learners may need to be able to diagram their thoughts on large pieces of paper while visual learners may need to see the intended goal presented in a visual manner. Kinesthetic learners may need to go on a hike during brainstorming time.

Getting to know how your teammates work the best and the worst helps to make for a team. If you know that I am good at planning multiple paths to the same goal, then that would be the most efficient use of my time. Maybe I would be the person who would take a goal from a different group of people and then figure out how we could accomplish that goal. Someone else would be able to decide which path would try in order to get our team to that goal.

The best retreats I have ever been on have had lots of time to process, to relax, to get to know co-workers outside of work. There have been formal times to think, to plan, to be working, and there have been many more times to be informal and to experience each other rather than constantly trying to work.

Here's what I would do if I was planning someone else's retreat for their staff members.

• Lunch time start - gather for light lunch of sandwiches, fruit, a very good dessert! Fill out a short personality/learning inventory as people gather. Group music making - get together and have some musical interaction!!
• After lunch - settle into rooms for the overnight with retreat packet of information. Complete task of reading the schedule and starting to think about goals for the retreat.
• Meet for introduction to retreat topic; goal-setting for the group to complete during the retreat. Use large pieces of paper present in the group area for use throughout the retreat. Identify goals for the time. Write them down. Prioritize the goals as a group. Start working on brainstorming elements of goals (or objectives). Offer many ways to think, to brainstorm, to discuss, to vision - time-limited to offer group members ways to think the way they think best. Regroup to continue to fill out goal/objectives and re-prioritize. Assign group members homework to complete about thinking about priority goals/objectives and release for the evening.
• Dinner - no work, just getting to eat together.
• After dinner to bedtime - group members have homework to do and opportunities to present that homework on the large pieces of paper before engaging in unstructured social interaction with others. As co-workers are adults, do not structure this time. 
• Next morning - breakfast - when all are together, review the work done the day before, including the homework added to the goal statements. Create plan for work time after breakfast is over.
• Short break for hygiene and reflection
• Morning Work Session - start with some music making. Then, determine specific tasks and offer to specific people based on learning and personality inventories. Set intention for work session and get started. Meet together during the session for brief check-in times to share what has been completed and what still needs to be done. Update papers and lists as necessary. Encourage sharing with other groups throughout the session. Set intention for afternoon work session before breaking for lunch break.
• Long Lunch - time to relax and play a bit while taking a break from working.
• Afternoon Work Session - review intention and identify goals to complete before the end of the session. Continue to work with fluid groupings as needed. Offer check-in times to track progress. At the end of the time, review the gains made, identify the next steps and assign tasks to teammates. Finish the retreat with music making as a group.

That's what I would do.

Other things to keep in mind: Not everyone enjoys retreats. Not everyone wants to be up until late at night, so having a space between the group areas and the sleeping areas is essential for us "early to bed" folks. Others want to be up all night, talking, playing games, making music, and enjoying each others' companies. There need to be opportunities and materials for creative processing, visual processing, auditory processing, and kinesthetic processing. Groups need to be fluid so teammates can go where they need to go in order to accomplish the tasks and goals set by the team. People do things differently, and that is to be valued, especially during a retreat where you are focusing on your team.