Like many, I’ve extended my offerings so that people can continue to access professional leadership development and connect with one another even while confined to home.
Team development events - start with the end in mind
Whether we gather virtually or in person, events should always be meaningful, full of purpose, and mindful of feelings.
Leadership strategies for live gatherings
Here is my quick list for when you begin planning your team interactions again, especially live gatherings.
Purpose
Are you focused on:
Change
Culture
Strategy
Productivity
These are distinct and need to be kept separate from one another. Otherwise the purpose of the gathering can become diluted.
Type
Are you planning on:
Generating ideas
Making decisions
Problem solving
Answering questions and clarifying
Celebrating
These require different cognitive functions and facilitation processes. Best to keep them separate.
Outcome
At the end of the meeting, what do you want to walk away with?
Some examples are:
3 ideas to test
A decision on strategic priorities for the next three months
Changes to simplify a troublesome system
Answer staff questions on the current change initiative
Knowing where you want to end up will help sharpen the focus of the meeting.
Feeling
During and following the meeting, how do you want you and your team to feel about the experience?
Some possibilities are:
Curious
Hopeful
Interested
Focused
Exhilarated
Excited
This is a hugely neglected aspect of the gathering experience. Feelings will happen regardless, so we might as well be intentional and thoughtful about it. When we keep in mind the emotional experience of a gathering, we can avoid problematic emotional distractions, as well as emphasise the positive ones.
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Related Articles:
How to create an event worth going to
How to make sense of normalised chaos
How good is your strategic plan? Avoid these mistakes and use these tips
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About the author, Canberra leadership expert Zoë Routh:
Canberra based leadership expert, Zoe Routh, on making team development events meaningful.
Zoë Routh is one of Australia’s leading experts on people stuff - the stuff that gets in our way of producing results, and the stuff that lights us up. She works with the growers, makers, builders to make people stuff fun and practical.
Zoë is the author of four books: Composure - How centered leaders make the biggest impact, Moments - Leadership when it matters most, Loyalty - Stop unwanted staff turnover, boost engagement, and build lifelong advocates, and People Stuff - Beyond Personalities: An advanced handbook for leadership. People Stuff was awarded Book of the Year 2020 by the Smart WFM Australian Business Book Awards.
Zoë is also the producer of The Zoë Routh Leadership Podcast.