Last month, I had the opportunity and pleasure once again to attend the annual retreat of a board that I joined last year. This board generally has a retreat twice per year – once in January, which is a day-long gathering, and then a slightly longer (two-night) retreat which is held during the summer and is usually somewhere just outside of Washington, DC (but still far enough that you feel like you are having an “outing” for that time!).

In addition to the goal-setting and strategic planning that occurs during these retreats, I particularly enjoy the bonding and connections that are either made or strengthened by spending this time together – especially during the away retreat!  There is something to be said for providing a safe space in a focused and hopefully less-distracting environment for discussions, collaboration, and team-building to manifest, and for relationships to develop that can last a lifetime! Retreats can also be a great way to help reinforce one’s leadership, communication, and organizational skills – impacts that most definitely can transfer positively into other areas of a person’s professional and personal life!

We are more than halfway through 2024, so it’s a great time now to think about what focused opportunities you have participated in or helped to organize for your team members this year.  It’s still not too late to get something on this year’s calendar, and/or to start thinking about opportunities for next year! Even if you are unable to do an overnight excursion somewhere, just setting aside some dedicated time to come together for a day or half day will be beneficial – let me know what plans are underway in your world!