Retreating to Advance Your Board

It’s the season of the board retreat and throughout northern Michigan board leadership is planning for time away. Board retreats can be an effective vehicle for team building, planning, training, and problem solving. Time challenged board meetings with over-loaded agendas provide little opportunity for an in-depth discussion or meaningful educational opportunity. The board retreat provides the luxury of time to dig into an issue or topic, map out a new approach, and get creative in our thinking. So, how do we construct a board retreat to optimize the time and set the stage for team building and creative thinking?

• Allocate time and resources for sufficient planning prior to the retreat. Obtain input from participants and reserve time on calendars. Give careful thought to logistics such as location and space.
• Establish a meaningful agenda and discussion topics that tie to priority issues and challenges for the nonprofit.
• Use hands-on activities, games, and small group discussions to move the session forward. Change the meeting format frequently to maintain participants’ attention and interest and to keep the session energetic.
  
• Do not overload the agenda or over-program the day. Provide enough flexibility to move away from the agenda and address unplanned but critical topics that arise.
• Consider using a retreat theme to make the session not only fun but focused on primary set of objectives. For example, a theme might be sports-related (“Getting to the World Series” or “Going for the Gold”), focused on non profit best practices, and include a physical team-building activity.
• Set the stage for all the participants to feel successful and enjoy the session. Provide sufficient preparation materials and information prior to the session to prepare attendees. Identify activities and exercises that are comfortable for all participants
• Provide social time and opportunities for relaxation. Take time to acknowledge and thank the board and to celebrate accomplishments.
• Follow-up is essential in making the board’s time away of long term value. Identify a transcriber for flip charts notes and to capture group work. Outline next steps prior to adjournment. Place follow-up action steps on subsequent board meeting agendas.
  

Share your tips on planning a successful board retreat by posting your comments.

Enjoy the week,

Pam Evans