Much like team retreats or leadership retreats, an executive retreat acts as a temporary getaway for members of a company to leave the daily grind, clear their heads, and return to the office with a renewed sense of vigor and vision. The only difference is that it’s the leaders rather than the employees that attend.

Executive retreats have long been a part of corporate management, but a renewed post-pandemic interest means that even more companies are deciding to combine socializing and training in an offsite capacity. The major upside is that management can collaborate, strategize, and plan outside of the distractions of the office—leaving the focus entirely on the betterment of the company.

Whether you’ve never had one before or you’re aiming to get back to them after a long layoff, here’s what you need to know about executive retreats and how to plan them.

What Is an Executive Retreat?

An executive retreat is a type of organized event that allows the C-suite leaders or management of a company to exchange ideas, participate in team-building activities, learn more about strategic planning, and other exercises designed to improve workplace performance. While most retreats last one or two days, others can last up to a week depending on the budget or

In most cases, an executive retreat uses a facilitator to run the meeting that has a strong reputation and experience in running company retreats. The facilitator helps the organization plan the agenda and objectives, as well as select a retreat location.

While a company can simply run an executive retreat in a conference room, the sense of a getaway from the office can be lost. As a result, well-planned retreats are often held offsite in places as lavish as Las Vegas or a cruise or as simple as a hotel with meeting spaces, a golf course, and other amenities. Due to the varied options, pricing can vary.

But rest assured, no matter where you decide to hold your retreat, you’ll find something that meets your needs and price range. The idea is to offset the cost of the executive retreat with an action plan or objective that’s relevant, actionable, and quantifiable.

What Are the Benefits of an Executive Retreat?

Executive teams have plenty on their plates, so just about any exec might feel as though an executive retreat isn’t the best use of money and resources. But beyond the idea of getting away from the office, executive retreats enable leadership retreats to go beyond daily operations to get to the crux of any issues or build a better future for the company.

Some of the benefits of planning an executive retreat include:

• Identify and explore internal issues: If you want high performance throughout an organization, you need to identify problems and address them. An executive retreat allows you to do so through a facilitator that poses questions that you may not have contemplated before. This can open your eyes to issues that need your attention as soon as possible.
• Provide a chance to refocus: Senior executives have plenty to think about on a daily basis, so any chance to refocus or clear their heads is a boon. Rather than stare at PowerPoint presentations all day, senior leaders can interact with other team members on a more personal level—improving teamwork along the way and analyzing changes that can make a difference.
• Open discussion for improved interaction: Even chief executives can get stuck in a rut doing the same tasks day in and day out. An executive retreat allows a renewed excitement for conversation, active listening, emotional intelligence, empathy, and relationship-building.
• Understand the latest trends: All industries have an ebb and flow with regard to trends and new technology. During an executive retreat, these are discussed in-depth, which can help execs identify products and solutions that can benefit their company.
• Improve wellness: Employees aren’t the only people who need to focus on well-being. Executives do as well. As such, a plan geared toward a bit of R&R can play just as pivotal of a role as the business-related subject matter itself.
• Get more leadership training: Becoming a leader is one thing, but learning how to obtain fresh leadership skills is part of the journey. New techniques, trends, and research lend themselves to new ideas in leadership management, and a facilitator or leadership coach can provide the expertise to apply these ideas.

The Takeaways for Leadership Teams at an Executive Retreat

The benefits listed above can manifest themselves in many ways, but the broader goal is to take what you learned and bring the ideas into the office. As such, you can develop not only a new, reestablished zest for your company, but also a number of other abilities as they pertain to operations, employee management, and leadership.

Examples of takeaways that an executive team earns at an executive retreat include:

• Creating transparency that can dissolve micromanagement, increase transparency, and create a system of trust and support
• Transforming focus into improved business processes from the top down
• Providing methodologies that can reduce sunken costs—both in operations and manpower
• Developing a sense of adaptability and durability during times of fear, uncertainty, or doubt
• Promoting improved critical thinking practices to create better solutions to short-term and long-term problems

Depending on your objectives, these aren’t the only takeaways that your team receives at an executive retreat. If these don’t apply to you, alter your objectives to get the results you want.

How To Plan Your Executive Retreat

Fully customizable to meet your needs, executive retreats have an endless amount of options to suit your needs and budget. Nevertheless, you still need to have some idea of what you want to accomplish—including an in-depth plan and agenda.

While a facilitator can help you along the way, doing some of the work on your own can lead to greater success than a laissez-faire approach. To jumpstart your retreat, here are some tips on how to plan:

1. Define the purpose of the executive retreat: Before you start to think about location or activities, think about the reason you’re having a retreat. Think about potential problems your company is facing or challenges for the future and use the retreat to devise solutions. Without purpose, an executive retreat is just an unnecessary expenditure.
2. Set goals: The purpose is the overall reason why you’re having an executive retreat, but the goals or objectives are the set-in-stone reason why you’re there. What do plan to achieve? What long-term aspects of your business do you want to improve upon or resolve?
3. Pick your location: You have plenty of places to host your executive retreat, but not all are created equal. As a general rule, you should choose a place that has great Wi-Fi, is accessible from airports within reason, has breakout rooms or meeting spaces, and includes a larger ballroom or gallery for an all-hands-on-deck conference, cocktail hour, or entertainment.
4. Balance a mix of social and learning time: If you’re just in conference rooms for the entire retreat, it defeats the purpose of going to a retreat. When you’re working with your facilitator, try to create a schedule that balances work and play. This creates a social atmosphere that promotes creativity, innovation, learning, and more serious matters.

Ideas for Your Next Executive Retreat

Your executive retreat location depends on your budget, company tastes, and other factors. You may want to hold a meeting when you’re in the planning phase of your executive retreat to find out what people may find interesting as a location. But you can also come to the table with a few ideas of your own. Here are some common stomping grounds for many executive retreats:

• Golf outings: It may seem cliche, but golf outings are a way to get out in nature, encourage some friendly competition, and even provide a chance for work-related discussions. Book a hotel or resort with a golf course, and you’re sure to please.
• Outdoor excursions: You don’t have to rough it in a tent an executive retreat (unless you want to). Glamping paired with activities planned by your facilitator, hiking, bike riding, or just outdoor games are becoming more popular due to the mental and physical health benefits of being outdoors.
• Game time: Whether you love softball, Monopoly, or poker, an executive retreat that features one or two game nights is always a hit. You establish who has that competitive edge and also build a sense of teamwork, especially in multiplayer games.

Find the Right Leadership Facilitator

Like any other type of business, not every executive retreat facilitator has the experience and expertise to achieve your desired results. Therefore, you should take a vested effort to find a reputable company with reviews and results to back it up.

With a focus on leadership development, strategic planning, and team-building in an innovative format, Unicorn Labs has the ability to create long-lasting, dynamic effects on your business team from execs to employees. Schedule a consultation today to get a one-of-a-kind executive retreat experience that provides a transformational edge to your business.

‍