Retreat yourself!
I attribute the longevity of my partnership at Portland Garment Factory and sanity through an insane growth trajectory (23X growth in 7 years!) to this one habit.
Quarterly retreats.
Every leader should be doing them. Either solo, with your partner or your leadership team. And if you don’t know where to start, I got you. As a professional facilitator, I have tons of experience leading retreats for groups of women, solo retreats for executives and leadership teams. Here are my non-negotiables for retreats!
Get away! At least 1 hour away is ideal. There is something that happens in your brain when you get away from your daily life. I have been hosting executive retreats at this amazing cabin just 1 hour away from Portland!
Vacation responder, phone on airplane mode and DELETE social media from your phone. The worst that can happen is you plan your big retreat and then spend the whole thing distracted by your team, your employees, your fam or social media. Consider yourself unreachable.
Chill the fuck out. Get a massage, soak in a hot tub, take a nap, walk in the woods. Take time to let your nervous system wind down so you can be in the big picture. I love sound baths for my client’s unwinding!
Reflect. Take time to reflect on the past. What is going well? What are you proud of? Really see how far you have come.
Get out of the weeds. Retreats are for big picture thinking. Not getting shit done, crossing things off your to-do list or inbox zero.
Vision first, then set goals. It all starts with a crystal clear vision so vivid you cant unsee. That orients your brain, goals, desires, to that vision. Write a letter to your future self about how amazing it turns out. You will be shocked at how that looks and feels very different than “goal setting”.
When you are ready, hire a professional facilitator. At PGF we never had a facilitator and our retreats were amazing. But looking back I realize that we were both always operating from our roles and point of view. It would have been a game changer to have a neutral guide to help us expand, dig deeper and hold us through it. Plus as the leader it gets tiring always being the one planning and driving. Let yourself be held! Email me at
rosemary@departmentofcommunity.com to set up your executive retreat!
