Welcome back to the Look and Sound of Leadership, an ongoing series of executive

coaching tips designed to help you be perceived in the workplace the way you want

to be perceived. I'm Tom Henschel, your executive coach, and today we're talking

about leading off-sights. Jimmy was a division president I had coached. Over the years he'd brought me into facilitate off-site events with his team.

Together he and I had created many agendas and provided his group with a lot of different experiences.

Now he felt it was time for Shanique, one of his direct reports, to conduct her first off-site.

He was wondering how to support her. He asked, how should I help her think about

leading an off-site? I said, hmm, now let's break it up into before, during, and after. In the before portion I always start with the most

elementary core question, why are you having an offsite in the first place?

Well that's a good question he said., Jimmy, I'd ask you that question. Why do you want her to have an off-site in the first place?

I don't know, he said, just feels like it's time. She's managing a team at 12. I think she should get them

all together and do something.

You know what it sounds like to me? I asked. It sounds like you think an off-site is a good

tool for a leader to have, and you think she should start learning the tool.

He nodded and gave a little shrug.

Yeah, I think that's right.

And I think that's nice, I said Jimmy you're giving her a gift and your

reason for wanting her to have an off-site is great now she has to figure out why she wants to have one. The leader has to figure out why is the off-site happening?

The question I find helpful is this, by the end of the day or two days or whatever, what do you want the

team to know that they don't know now or be able to do that they can't do now?

He said, figure out the off-site's return on investment.

Right, I said. What do you want to get out of it?

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