Designing a Team Retreat for Shared Vision, Strategic Planning, and Trust

Karim Beers, Smart Energy Choices Program Director at Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County, is planning a two-day retreat for 15 members of his regional team.

He wants the retreat to help the team develop a broader shared vision of their work, create concrete plans for the coming year, and strengthen relationships of trust.

Karim will work with Erica to think through the retreat design, with a particular focus on how to engage the team in meaningful conversations about their mission and vision.

Join us for this live Design Lab to watch Erica coach Karim through his design challenge, explore the choices involved in creating a productive team retreat, and gain ideas you can apply to your own meetings and collaborative work.

The Design Challenge

Designing a team retreat that helps colleagues clarify their shared mission and vision, develop plans for the coming year, and build stronger relationships of trust.

What Happens in Design Lab

Design Lab is a live, recorded, facilitated event design coaching session, structured in three parts.

Welcome and orientation

We welcome the people who've joined to be part of the design process, connect them with each other, and clarify the shared purpose of the session.

The coaching conversation

Recorded as a stand-alone Design Lab episode. Erica coaches the guest on the event's purpose, its audience, and what the event needs to deliver.

The backstage conversation

Off the record, once recording stops. Thoughts get shared and conversation ensues.

Who Should Join

This Design Lab is for team leaders, program directors, nonprofit executives, and anyone planning a team retreat or strategic planning session.

If you're bringing colleagues together to clarify direction, set priorities, make plans, or strengthen how they work together, join us to see how Erica approaches the design of a retreat that makes space for all of these goals.

About Our Guest

Karim Beers is the Smart Energy Choices Program Director at Cornell Cooperative Extension Tompkins County. He works with a regional team focused on smart energy choices.