When it comes to running senior leadership off-sites including strategic planning days, the senior leader can find themselves having to wear three hats:  

• Firstly, and naturally, the hat of being the senior leader
• Secondly, the hat of being a member of the group participating in the journey, and
• Secondly, the hat of being a member of the group participating in the journey, and

It’s enough work having to wear the first two hats and give mental energy to those two roles without having to wear the third of facilitating the day in an objective fashion. And my opinion isn’t just academic- when I was the president of the Professional Speakers Association, even though I’ve won awards for my facilitation, I would try to delegate out this responsibility so I could concentrate on observing the input and the dynamics of the team, and also maintaining my senior leadership voice.

So, I understand first-hand the importance and value of having an external, professional facilitator. In this role, I work with senior leadership to plan the event by ascertaining the answers to questions such as:  

• What is or are the primary outcomes for the day?
• What’s the desired tone?
• What’s likely to be distracting and how would you like this dealt with?
• What other additional content input would you like? For instance, I’m often asked to include elements of team building and interpersonal content such as Above the Line and healthy conflict
• And ultimately, what will a successful day look and feel like?

I facilitated a senior management meeting where I was instructed by the general manager that one of the participants had the potential to react in a Below the Line fashion to the news of a potential acquisition, and with the input of the GM, we discussed how to best manage this if it occurred. So not only was I prepared in advance for the situation, but I would be able to bear the brunt of managing any ‘fallout’, leaving the GM to focus her energy on the more important priorities of the day. As it turned out, the person in question went very silent after the announcement of the acquisition, and her silence became the ‘elephant in the room’, so I eventually said: “You know, if I was sitting in (let’s call her Amber) in Amber’s seat, I would be really concerned as to how this acquisition is likely to impact my geographic region, and I’d be feeling quite anxious for my team.” I then turned to her and said, “Amber- would you like to comment on my statement?” That was a soft enough invite to allow Amber to speak her concerns. It gave her an ally in the room in that I’d empathized with her, but meant that she spoke without sinking Below the Line.

That’s why I have businesses that request my facilitation on an annual basis because I’ve got to know the nature of their organization and where it’s placed in the industry, but also have built a relationship with the individual members of the senior leadership teams, which is a vital component for maximizing the effectiveness of these days.

So, in summary, what do I do?

• What other additional content input would you like? For instance, I’m often asked to include elements of team building and interpersonal content such as Above the Line and healthy conflict
• During the off-site, I’m able to bring a level of objectivity to the process, and especially, keeping things on track both in terms of time and constructiveness
• And I also offer the added value of follow-up with the senior management team at the 30, 60, and/or 90-day marks to provide some accountability for the completion of action points generated during the off-site

Your senior leadership team’s time is too valuable to not get maximum results from your off-site days by trying to facilitate them in-house. Contact me and let’s talk about how I can help you to get maximum return on investment on your next senior leadership day