What is it for you -- Is it that they make you anxious?

Is it that you have too much to do?

Or is it that you're "too cool" for retreats? 😜

For the People Who Feel Anxious

For the people who are anxious, I’d like to say that I design my activities to account for different personality types, communication styles, and everything else. I also do a pre-retreat survey every time we kick something off.

I’ll give you a little example of something that someone disclosed to me about their anxiety related to team retreats, being around a lot of people, and having to speak in front of others, and what happened in the end.

Here’s a little note that she had written to me:

“I think how you handled what I disclosed was great, especially since it was my first time speaking up about my anxiety to a facilitator. I felt seen and reassured by you. I also appreciated you giving me options with the activities. I was able to actually listen to what other people were saying, instead of anxiously focusing on when I needed to speak.” --Higher Education Professional 

So for the anxious person, I see you, and I hear you.

It’s no problem to accommodate your needs.

For the People Who Are Just Too Busy

For the people who are just so busy that it is challenging to get to go to one of these, if you’ll remember from the video that I did last week ("The 3 Outcomes Every Effective Team Retreat Should Deliver"), I talked about the three outcomes that I always aim for in a retreat:

1. A social component.
2. A learning component.
3. Is where we do something productive and tangible that is related to your work.

Usually, the output is something that would take weeks or months of one-hour Zoom calls, people working independently, giving feedback, and coming back together.

In a working session, you get more done in that amount of time.

It’s usually something that is a big weight on your shoulders.

It’s something the team needs to do, and it’s really hard to do.

By being at the retreat, you’re often not able to address lots of the little things, like your inbox piling up. But you are able to take care of a big rock that needs to be moved out of the way, something you can’t do on your own -- and something that you can't do quickly or efficiently.

That’s my answer to you.

For the People Who Are "Too Cool" for Team Retreats

The third point is for those people who are too cool for team retreats.

What we do is design sessions that are engaging, fun, and safe to be yourself. I’ve had so many people come up to me afterwards saying:

• “Normally, I don’t like these things." 
• "Normally, I dread these things.”
• “I was surprised that this was so impactful, so productive, or so...not lame.”

Here’s a note from one person who wrote to me afterwards in the evaluation:

“As a recovering cynic, I would typically roll my eyes at team-building events like this. But everything we covered today was incredibly helpful. Megan did a fantastic job, and I am planning on using this information with my staff.” --Nonprofit Manager in the Chicago Area

That’s another example of how you can be way cooler than me and still enjoy the retreat -- and get a lot out of it.

A Final Thought

I thank all of you who have these perspectives of not wanting to come, because you have challenged me to become a better retreat designer and a better facilitator.

You’ve encouraged me to be more empathetic.

It’s really paid off dividends for so many other people who have come after you and all those who are yet to come.

I celebrate the diversity of perspectives.

I welcome them!

I look forward to having you in the room with me, regardless of what is making you feel like you don’t want to go. 😉