board retreats

 

Whether you and your board want to hike to a mountain top, reflect on past accomplishments and set benchmarks for the future, or get to business and learn how your board can work better together, we would like to be of service. Here’s what we can do. We’ll work with you to establish a perfect setting for your board retreat. You can retreat to a calm, quiet location, or if you’re all business we can achieve your goals for a great retreat anywhere! You may want to have a strategic planning meeting during which we outline your financial, operational and strategic goals. You may have some challenges to face and your board needs to be inspired to brainstorm non traditional solutions for the best alternatives. You may need some right brain exercise to come up solutions to tough problems. No matter what your goals are, we can help you achieve them.  Why have a board retreat? Here are some reasons to take your board away… 

 

  • You have new board members who are not clear on their roles and responsibilities.
 
  • You have seasoned board members who seem to be stagnate-perhaps they’ve lost their passion.
 
  • You want to review board performance-make sure you’re hitting on all cylinders and getting the most for the energy output.
 
  • You want to challenge your board members to some out of the box thinking
 
  • You want to make sure your board understands Vision, Mission and the difference between the two.
 
  • It’s time for your 3-5 year visioning and you want a professional facilitator to keep you on track.
 
  • Your board members don’t know each other, and you know that if they know each other better, they will work better together.
 
  • You really like the way your board is working, they communicate well, they all show up for meetings, they all contribute time, money and ideas and you just want to help them perform on an even higher level.

 

A well-planned and well executed retreat is the best way to address some of the more challenging issues facing a board and the organization it governs. Like anything worth doing, a retreat doesn’t just happen. It requires careful planning and a significant commitment of resources, time, and creative energy by planners, by the organization’s staff, and by participants. Boards that regularly engage in retreats know that the time spent away from the press of daily responsibilities and tasks can allow the board to challenge assumptions and rethink systems, begin a strategic planning process, tackle difficult issues, forge camaraderie, and improve productivity.Outcome expectations of a well thought out retreat will:

 

  • Set realistic objectives  allowing time to address a few issues in depth rather than trying to cover too many topics in a short time; setting achievable retreat goals; and using the retreat to develop initiatives and plans that can actually be implemented.

 

  • Addresses meaningful topics avoiding routine business or trivia that can better be dispatched at regular board meetings, through committees, or by staff.

 

  • Engages the participation and input of all board members  and may even include people from the organization’s key internal and external constituencies if they have a stake in the issues being addressed at the retreat.

 

  • Customize activities to the culture and structure of the board and organization.

 

  • Is flexible enough in format to allow time for participants to explore ideas that arise unexpectedly during the retreat.

 

  • Is fun for everyone involved, providing plenty of opportunities for participants to socialize and strengthen their relationships with one another.