8 min read

Leadership Retreat: a Clean Case Study

We recently had the opportunity to work with a newly emerging Leadership team of a fast-growing company called Toucan in the world of crypto-currency and carbon off-setting.

It’s amazing what they’ve achieved in such a short time and … rapid growth without a solid structure comes at a cost. The Leaders were quick to voice their concerns about a lack of clarity in roles and responsibilities, and the impact of that on their relationships, both within and outside of the company..

Where to start?

Dr Caitlin Walker, creator of Systemic Modelling and the method we use when working with such teams, often says “State trumps all”.

And it was clear that the first thing that we needed to do was to work with the team to create a psychologically safe environment where all voices could be heard, without fear of retribution or offending..

Options

We have a couple of tricks up our sleeve. We might use the Clean Set-up, where we ask everyone what they want to get out of the sessions, how they’ll need to be during the sessions, and what support or resources they need. We’ll keep the attention moving around the room, and ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to speak. And we’ll be using our skills as Clean Language practitioners to pick up on the salient bits, getting the group to notice their differences and find out what needs to happen if and when they want different things. It helps if we can bring in an activity such as Five Senses, where in a fun way, we get the group to notice their differences when talking about something as simple as an elephant or a monkey. To put the spotlight on inferences and assumptions  - the fabulously creative capacity of our brain to ‘make things up’, to fill in the gaps and is often the source of unintended conflict and misunderstanding. 

Another option would be to bring in a model such as the Triune Brain, or Tuckman’s stages of group development, so that we can normalise any patterns or behaviours that they’ve noticed within their team, and give us a common language to start talking about it. As facilitators, we’re dancing a very delicate dance between telling the group what we think or know based on our own expertise, and creating the conditions where the group can start modelling itself, and thinking about its own resources and solutions.

Where does Clean come from?

The work we do originated with David Grove, a psychotherapist working with trauma victims in the 1980’s and 90’s. He soon realised that using metaphors enabled his clients to revisit the trauma without reliving it, and provided them with an easier way of finding imaginative ways of moving away from the trauma. The same applies to teams and individuals working through their issues today.

What we did

For this group, it was important to start with a Clean set-up and be really clear about their practical expectations and outcomes for our work together. And we did use the 5 senses activity, to encourage them to start listening, and become curious about they way they relate to each other.  Later on in the retreat, this led into modelling out what they’re like when they’re working at their best. After asking each other questions, we invited them to do a drawing, then share that drawing with their colleagues. Seeing a group of grown-ups using felt pens to draw out their inner ballerina, pink bouncing ball or solid mountain rock might seem a little woo-hoo but there’s so much information contained in a metaphor and when it’s shared, using a metaphor makes it so much easier to understand or get curious about. David often said he was an equal information employer and it’s important not to neglect the ‘shadow side’ so after we found out what everyone was like when they’re working at their best, we turned our attention towards what they’re like when they’re working at their worst. We ran out of time but encouraged the group to think about what kinds of things trigger them to move away from working at their best, and when they’re not working very well, what needs to happen to move towards a better state? It’s great to be able to share this with colleagues, so they also become aware of potential triggers, and learn how they can best support each other.

What happened after lunch?

Of course, all this takes lots of time. And when it’s a Leadership Retreat by the coast, for individuals who may not have ever met in person before, the social side is important too. Lunch took place in a lovely bar overlooking the sea, blue skies and surfers … and it ran over by at least an hour. Back in the training room, we unpacked what just happened.  Some admitted that they knew the timings were vastly optimistic but they didn’t say anything. We wondered why not, and if this was a pattern showing up in other areas of the team. One insisted that the social side was important. Another recognised that it was a waste of our time, and wanted to apologise. Yet another suggested that it was our responsibility as trainers to keep an eye on the time but realised that this had never been verbalised – so many unspoken assumptions. Staying neutral, we opened up the system by again keeping the attention moving around the group, making sure everyone was heard, and honouring all the different perspectives. It was important to this team that they learnt how to voice their opinions, to listen to each other, and not shy away from task-related conflict.

Clean Feedback

We shared with them the Clean Feedback model where the emphasis is on separating out evidence, inference and impact. What did you see or hear? What did you make up about that? And, what was the impact of that? We suggested they use the feedback model to give each other feedback about what’s working well, what’s not working so well, and what could work better within their Leadership team that evening and wrapped up the day, leaving the team to enjoy an evening meal, cooked by a private chef.  As facilitators, we needed some space to re-group and plan how to use the time most effectively the following day.

Drama

The next day, although they were all getting along well and had a good evening together, it soon became clear that the hurt and drama that had been building up over the past few months needed to be expressed. Our intention was for this to happen through metaphor but when we asked the group what they’d like to have happen, it quickly became clear that they needed to express themselves differently. Letting go of our bias, we opened a space where one by one, each took a turn at describing their chronological journey within the company. It was quite moving to be with such a group of emotionally-aware individuals who have such compassion for each other, and such commitment to the work they are trying to achieve.

Changes

And it was great to see some changes happening already. Before lunch, everyone had chosen what to eat, an order was rung through to the restaurant, and our lunch break was a convivial but far more efficient affair. This is great news for us as facilitators. We want the group to implement these changes as soon as possible, and start taking action without relying on us. We’re also trying to create sustainable change within their leadership team and after lunch, we invited them to think about how this Leadership team needs to be over the coming months.

Shared metaphor

Yet again, it was a delight to see their metaphors and with our assistance, they were able to start thinking about how their individual styles can come together in a complementary way. At the end of day two, their Leadership Team had become an organic permaculture garden with a sprinkler system and biodome. We felt we had made great progress and there was still so much work to be done. Leaving them with a Business Planning model and other handouts to go through together, we hoped that the work we did with them will have a positive impact.

Debrief

Back at base, we debriefed. Recognising the necessity of having two facilitators so that we can support each other, avoid getting pulled into drama with any of them as individuals or with them as a team, and to keep that balance between ‘telling’ and facilitating. Using the Clean Feedback model, we were able to give each other feedback so that we can keep learning from each other, drawing on each other’s strengths. It was quite an intense two days but we were proud of the work we did together.

Feedback

Several days later, we received the following feedback from the team:

Rachel and Sarah facilitated a powerful two-day journey with the our leadership team at a critical juncture in our company's rapid growth. They slowed us down and showed us an entirely new way of communicating and relating to one another. It was profound how quickly the dynamic shifted! Then once we shifted to strategy later in the retreat, the insights seemed to flow effortlessly.

We Are Clean facilitate Leadership Team retreats and away days. If you would like to learn more about how we can help your team and organisation find new and better ways of working, book a discovery call.