What began as a familiar workshop on day two of a three-day company offsite became a turning point in how one leadership team understood and supported one another.
Leadership team Three-day company offsite Workshop on day two
A familiar item on the agenda
We brought our leadership team together for a three-day company offsite, and Scott joined us to lead a workshop on the second day. I had been part of many events like it over the years. A workshop was usually just something you scheduled because that was what company retreats included.
If I am candid, I did not know what to expect. I hoped the team might take away one or two useful ideas we could carry forward. I was not expecting the day to fundamentally change how we saw one another.
A different kind of workshop
Scott led with kindness, empathy, and humor. Instead of beginning with the organization’s problems, he asked each of us to focus on ourselves. He challenged us to name the obstacles we felt were holding us back and to examine what it might take to move through them.
As people spoke honestly, something shifted. We realized we were not alone in the things we were carrying. Team members who had worked together for years began to see one another in a different light, with a clearer understanding of the person behind the role.
From individual obstacles to shared responsibility
Barriers that had existed between team members for years began to come down. The conversation moved from individual challenges to the ways we could support one another. Collaboration started to happen naturally.
The same issues and obstacles that had been weighing on the organization also began to look different. They were no longer problems each leader had to solve in isolation. They became shared challenges the team could help one another address.
I expected a workshop and hoped the team might leave with one or two useful ideas. What we experienced was a day that broke down barriers years in the making and made our leadership team more cohesive than it had ever been.
I am not going to pretend that a single workshop can magically solve every obstacle an organization faces. But Scott’s workshop came pretty darn close. We are a better team and a stronger company because of it.