Our second episode of this podcast detailed one of the most impactful experiences we create for our employees—transformational business retreats.
We have just returned from our 2020 retreat, which was nearly three times the size and even more powerful than last year’s. As a follow-up to last year’s episode, we interview some of our new employees, so you can hear from the attendees themselves. Chris Hloros, our business analytics manager and Jeff Smith, director of the Best-Self Academy share the profound impact that they experienced in January.
For Chris and Jeff, this retreat really crystallized our company’s new values and brought them to life. We’ve found that these retreats have the power to have everyone create their own personal relationship with our mission, vision, and values in a way that is difficult by simply sharing them in a deck.
More than that, we create experiences that break down barriers, create authentic connection, so that we can deeply see the humans that comprise the company, and then all align around the mission and company objectives. This year, in addition to building camaraderie over meals and downtime, we held workshops that focused on vital company initiatives, taught how to facilitate breakthroughs on the team, and continued the discussion about diversity, equity, and inclusion (along with some vulnerable sharing from the team).
In this episode:
- The power of retreats to reaffirm company values
- How coming together as a whole company can encourage all of us to stop holding back our ideas and our potential
- How to turn our inner critics into our inner champions
- How a retreat shows everyone a more complete picture of the people they work with
- Deeply touching stories from working humans just like you, who are looking for connection and trusting relationships
Quotes:
“It was lifechanging. I know a lot of people say that in a hyperbolic sense. But this is not hyperbolic.” [0:52]
“I was so scared of failing. This retreat made it super clear that that was okay. I didn’t have to worry about messing up or not doing it right or not being good enough for this role.” [7:22]
“Just spending 14 hours a day for four days inside and outside of my comfort zone with people I love and appreciate was really extraordinary.” [13:15]
“If you never see people other than when they’re behind a PowerPoint or in very prepared moments, you can lose that sense of actual human connection with them.” [22:25]
Links:
The Magic of Human Connection
Best-Self Academy
Best-Self Management Episode 2: Life-Changing Company Retreats
Adventure Architects
Listen to Best-Self Management Here
Find 15Five online
Follow 15Five on Facebook | Twitter | Linkedin
