Fall Gatherings ??

“This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive.”?Alice Waters, 2017 Inductee to the?National Women’s Hall of Fame .

Something about the start of Fall makes me want to hit the ground running. It’s probably a sense memory of feeling like I was being shot out of a cannon for the new school year first as a student myself, and then as the parent of school-age children. Add to that the exponential increase in events and live facilitations with clients who want to mix-up their virtual workdays with IRL (in-real-life) experiences. Everyone is ready to meet again in person either in the office or at an event space somewhere in the world.

Recently?Microsoft ?released a comprehensive study about the world of work, and the conclusions are profound. Essentially managers need to stop their productivity paranoia; to focus on not just retaining but re-recruiting employees; and my favorite, embrace the fact that people come into the office for each other (aka connections).

Erica Keswin , a colleague and friend who is a workplace expert and the author of two bestselling books, "Bring Your Human to Work" and "Rituals Roadmap" wrote a great?article ?on this very subject, sharing that “onsites” are the new “offsites” and offering suggestions about how to run them well.?

All this research leads me to conclude that no matter where you choose to gather, there is no question that when we do gather IRL we learn from, and gain energy from each other. And most important, we make deeper connections that last long beyond the gathering itself.

That’s why I like to treat any gathering that I’m facilitating whether in the office or at a hotel as a retreat. To pay homage to the rules of retreats and to ensure that the gathering is meaningful and impactful here’s what I suggest:

• Be fully present. Don’t check emails or phones – even during breaks. That?way it feels like you’ve gone someplace very far away even if you are just a floor away from where you usually sit. Guess what? That email or phone call will be waiting for you when you get back to work. That moment you lost connecting deeply with a colleague – that may never come again.
• Take a pulse.??Even if I’ve worked with members of a team for a long time, I like to send out a confidential pre-gathering questionnaire to see what’s on their mind. Think of it as the pulse check before the doctor comes into the exam room – it’s always so much better when the doctor comes in knowing what’s going on and can get right to the important stuff.
• Ensure take-away value beyond the gathering.??Too often I hear that the?best part of an off-site (or on-site) is just being together. That’s terrific, but the “just” is not enough for me. Making sure there are meaningful take-aways based on the needs of the team individually and collectively is critical to making the gathering impactful and useful.

Most important, as we gather IRL either professionally, for our community work,?or even personally with friends and family, decide ahead of time how you want?everyone to feel when it’s over: energized, inspired, emotionally?connected….Imagine if you do that - how ready everyone will be to meet anytime?and anywhere you ask them to gather.

THE OUTLAW ONE?this month is a great book?Launching Financial Grownups ?by Bobbi Rebell Kaufman, CFP? . Bobbi’s advice and counsel is both for parents and their adult(ish) off-spring to help them become independent and money smart – something I wish I’d known when I became an “independent" adult – instead my father just laughed excitedly and said, “See ya!”

I look forward to the opportunity to work with you or your organization to grow your EDGE: Explore, Dream, Grow & Excite? and to stay connected through this newsletter and the content we select each month from the Outlaw Leadership? column and the Suburban Outlaw? column as first published by Gannett.

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