Most leadership retreat agendas fail one of two ways: too many topics, or not enough time to actually decide anything. This leadership retreat agenda is built around a small number of decisions and enough space to make them. We plan these for a living, so if you want a guide through it, drop us a line.
*If you're reading this because leadership decided to host a retreat next month and you don't know where to start, get in touch with us. We offer rush planning for retreats <30 days away.
Before the leadership retreat
- Agree on the one to three decisions the retreat has to produce.
- Send pre-reads and data a week ahead.
- Ask every leader to come with their view on each decision.
Leadership retreat agenda: day one
- Morning: arrive, lunch.
- 1:00 to 2:30 Where we are. An honest look at the business: what's working, what isn't. Establish firmly why you're here.
- 2:45 to 4:15 Decision one. Options, tradeoffs, a recommendation.
- Late afternoon: free time or something low-key together.
- Evening: a long dinner. No agenda, no slides.
Leadership retreat agenda: day two
- 8:30 to 10:00 Decision two.
- 10:15 to 11:45 How we work together. What the team should start, stop, and keep doing.
- 12:00 Lunch.
- 1:00 to 2:30 Commitments. Owners, dates, and how the rest of the company hears about it.
- Afternoon: head home.
Questions for your leadership retreat agenda
- What would we stop doing if we were starting over?
- What decision have we been avoiding?
- Where are we not aligned, and why?
- What does success look like in 12 months?
One-day leadership retreat agenda
Only have a day? Pick one decision. Morning on context and options, working lunch, afternoon on the decision and commitments, dinner to close. One day works when the pre-reads are thorough.
Three-day leadership retreat agenda
Add a deeper session on how the team works together and a longer shared experience. Three days is worth it for leadership teams that rarely get time together, or after a big change.
Roles to assign before you arrive
- Facilitator: keeps time and pushes discussion toward decisions.
- Note-taker: writes down decisions and owners as they happen.
- Session owners: one leader prepares each big topic.
Tips
- Protect the dinner. It's often where the real alignment happens.
- Phones away during sessions.
- Write decisions down when they're made, not afterward.
After the retreat
- Decisions, owners, and dates out within a few days.
- Agree on what the rest of the company hears, and when.
- Check-in on the calendar 30 to 60 days out.
Full planning guide: how to plan a leadership retreat. Want us to build the agenda, venue, and logistics around your goals? Tell us about your retreat. Side note: we charge a flat fee for our planning services (it starts at $8,000 and is often offset by the cost savings we generate). If you're evaluating retreat planners, make sure you ask if they take commissions (translation: if they're hoping your retreat costs more than it needs to).
