if i had my way...

As a facilitator, I take extreme care to design workshops for my clients that deliver results, that feel engaging, that get the client ROI, but that are spacious enough to allow the mind to think expansively and creatively. 

If I had my way, all team workshops would be held in a big room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking a stunningly beautiful view of nature; but this is not always the case as time and resources can be limited. A younger more in-experienced version of me would have assumed a workshop in a less than "ideal" context would be a sub-par experience for all.

But time and time again, I am warmly reminded that so much is achieved simply by bringing stakeholders together in a room. 

Yes, the right structure and plan is paramount - but the "in-flesh" collaboration of teammates, especially in a largely online world, is a remedy all on its own. 

Just like at a conference where the value is often in the networking and in the informal, unexpected conversations in the breaks - in team workshops, the value is often in attendees simply connecting on a human level again, perhaps for the first time in months, devoid of the hyperfocus of daily pressures. 

Sometimes you need the presence and skill of a neutral facilitator, and sometimes you just need to take your team away from the wood so they can see the trees again, and remember they're all in the same forest. And the best part of that is... the investment is low, and the return can be astronomical.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/@laurachouette

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