Ever been at a painful retreat...
Liteman, Campbell and Liteman have a new book out called "Retreats that Work" which I will recommend. To give you an example of some of the content, here are a couple of lists I really liked from the book:
Ten Reasons not to hold a Retreat
1. To improve morale through the retreat alone
2. To use the retreat to reward people for their hard work
3. To discover and punish non-team players
4. To advance a covert agenda
5. To control the conversation
6. To squelch conflict
7. To create a platform for the leaders' own ideas
8. To disregard what participants recommend
9. To defend the leaders' point of view, promote the leaders' position, or maintain the status quo
10. To merely; keep up the tradition of having annual retreats
Now for the good list.. Nine Reasons to hold a retreat:
1. To explore fundamental concerns
2. To harness the collective creativity of the group
3. To foster change
4. To change perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors
5. To correct course when things are going wrong
6. To transform the organization's culture or improve relationships hindering its effectiveness
7. To create a collective vision for the organization
8. To accomplish something that cannot be cone by the leader alone
9. To make tough decisions
These two lists make a great pre-retreat planning checklist.. This book is loaded with knowledge nuggets for those of us who facilitate these sort of retreats! Check it out and post your comments.Also, do you agree with the author's lists?
Posted at 01:01PM Jul 31, 2006 by mowen in General |