Maximizing CEO Time & Impact through Retreat Partnership

“Seriously, I have such a deep appreciation for the work you do — you made this a fantastic day!” —Leah Neaderthal, CEO of Smart Gets Paid

Smart Gets Paid CEO Leah Neaderthal wanted to host an inaugural in-person retreat for participants of a membership program she runs for women consultants. She wanted these smart, driven professionals to have an energizing, deeply-connecting, productive experience, recognizing that anyone attending would be making an investment to attend, so it had to be worthy of that investment.

The desired outcomes were:

1. For the participants to leave feeling refreshed, nourished, and energized — that it was worth their investment to attend. 
2. For the participants to have the opportunity to connect deeply with each other and with members of the team.
3. Not to add new content, but to provide the conditions for participants to take greater ownership of their own path.

The Busy CEO who wanted to be Present at her Own Retreat

Like many leaders I work with, Leah faced a common dilemma: How might you create something meaningful when you don't have the bandwidth to do it yourself?

More specifically, her challenges included:

• Time constraints: She was very busy in her work and life, so she didn’t have spare time to design a meaningful retreat experience on her own.
• Fresh perspective needed: While she had the skills and smarts to design a retreat, she wanted something refreshing. That would be hard to do on her own, since she didn’t have the practice or the tools for developing these kinds of innovative experiences.
• Presence over logistics: She wanted to be mentally present, focused, and available for her members during the retreat, not worried about timekeeping and troubleshooting, which is challenging when you’re the main facilitator.

The Strategic Solution: True Partnership

Leah hired me as a strategic partner to design and help facilitate Smart Gets Paid’s inaugural Academy Retreat.

Step 1: Direction Setting

The most important part of any engagement is getting clear on what we’re trying to achieve. After listening to what Leah wanted to achieve through the retreat, I drafted the Objectives, reviewed them with her, and used them as a foundation for planning.

Step 2: Custom Design & Collaboration

I custom-designed the agenda, the activities, and the associated materials to achieve the objectives within the timeframe available. I got feedback from Leah to make sure that the design aligned with her goals and brand. Then we collaboratively determined facilitation roles, making sure that we doubled down on what only she could provide and that she felt entirely confident in her role.

Step 3: Delivering a Quality Solution

We co-facilitated the retreat, which allowed Leah to be very present to explain proprietary concepts, to give personalized feedback, and to coach participants, while I handled activities, time management, and real-time agenda adjustments based on the needs of the amazing participants in the room.

The Measurable Results: A Retreat that was Worth the Investment

Even though so much of the benefits we got being together in such a lively, unique, focused experience cannot be captured with numbers or even words, I made it a priority to evaluate the goals that we set out to achieve.

Leah and I were thrilled that the partnership approach delivered exceptional outcomes across all three original goals:

Goal 1: Worth the Investment

• 94.7% felt the retreat was worth the time investment (63.2% Strongly Agreed)

• 94.7% felt the retreat was worth the financial investment (57.9% Strongly Agreed)

“I’ve led and participated in so many workshops, ideations, etc but the exercises were very fresh and thought provoking!” —Participant

Goal 2: Deep Connection

• 100% reported engaging meaningfully with other participants (78.9% Strongly Agreed)

• 100% felt connected to the participants (63.2% Strongly Agreed)

   

  This was a massive, 76.5% jump, from only 23.5% reported feeling connected to the others before the retreat, to 100% reported feeling connected to the others, after only a one-day retreat.

   

A Key Takeaway from the evaluations was that participants really appreciated being part of such a community.

• “I love these women!” —Participant
• “This community is amazing and full of resources!” —Participant
• “[I appreciate] That I have a community that I can rely on.” —Participant

Goal 3: Strong Ownership of Their Path

• One of the primary Key Takeaways in the evaluations was that it helped them realize that they are capable of so much. That self-confidence is foundational for them being able to take greater ownership of their own path.

• There was a significant mindset shift in how participants felt about their Key Profitability Area, with average feelings transforming from negative to positive in only one day. This is another example of self-confidence being foundational for participants to be able to take stronger ownership of their own path.

Commitment to High Quality Services

From a facilitator’s perspective, I always aim to design sessions that are engaging, inclusive, and conversation-based, since that is the most productive way — and the kindest. Also, work can be fun! I design for experiences that are enjoyable, and we were successful in that:

• 94.7% felt that the retreat was engaging (78.9% Strongly Agreed)

• 94.7% felt the retreat was conversation-based (73.7% Strongly Agreed)

• 94.7% enjoyed themselves (63.2% Strongly Agreed)

The Bottom Line for Leaders

I’ve found over and over again that when I serve as a strategic partner to busy leaders who are committed to quality experiences and results, we’re able to accomplish so much. We each get to leverage our unique strengths and perspectives — and my clients actually get to do some of the fun parts that they don’t usually get to do!

This partnership works because:

• You get fresh perspectives and specialized expertise.

• You can stay present for what matters most to you.

• Your audience gets a higher-quality experience.

• The outcomes are measurably strong.

As someone who's spent almost two decades working with growth-minded, purpose-driven leaders, I've seen how the right partnership can transform not just an event, but an entire organization's capacity for innovation and change.

Your Next Strategic Move

The question isn't whether you're capable of doing it all yourself – it's whether doing it all yourself is the best use of your time and expertise.

If you're planning a strategic initiative, retreat, or change effort where the stakes are high and you want to stay focused on your highest-value contributions, consider how the right strategic partner could amplify your impact.

If you’re ready to explore how a strategic partnership with me could work for your next initiative, let’s talk about what breakthrough results could look like for your team! 

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About Megan E. Mozina (she/her)

As Owner and Principal of Cresta Solutions, I serve as a strategic partner to purpose-driven leaders when they need their teams to innovate and collaborate in order to deliver on strategic change initiatives. To get there, I serve as a facilitator, consultant, and executive coach who leverages expertise in Creative Problem Solving, Team Building, Organizational Change Management, and Strategic Initiatives to ensure my clients get innovation-focused results. I bring over fifteen years of diverse experiences with purpose-driven organizations across four continents. To ensure that changes work and goals are achieved, I use my facilitation superpower to supercharge team collaboration and output. 

I hold a Masters from The George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education & Human Development and a Bachelors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am certified in Change Management, Strategic Planning, and Creative Problem Solving (FourSight®), with additional formal training in Lean Process Improvement, Project Management, and People Management. I regularly present at regional and international conferences on topics such as facilitation, change management, and project leadership. I’m proud to have been a teacher in South Korea and a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras.

I’ve lived in five countries, so while I bring my Midwestern friendliness, work ethic, and accent everywhere I go, I see the world through a global perspective. I consume dark chocolate daily, can talk about books all day, and think that Lake Michigan might be my soul mate.

Learn more about my story here: https://www.crestasolutions.com/about.