To Move Forward Your Board Should Retreat

Full disclosure. A good portion of my work is facilitating board meeting discussions and board retreats.

I am a fan. I’m leading with this to assure you that this post is not a pitch.

It’s the product of my unpacking why I think the impact is so great for the board and management teams who embrace this practice and to share some themes from those where I’ve seen the greatest success.

Like any team, boards function better when the members are connected more meaningfully, clear on their roles and responsibilities, and employ strong processes for completing their work together.

Beyond this, we are in an unusual moment. Most boards went virtual for the pandemic and for many, recruitment slowed or skidded to a halt while they focused on organizational survival. So today, thanks to a combo platter of virtual and in-person meetings, board members don’t know each other well (or at all). And there is often a barbell (long-term and newer board members with no one in between) that causes substantial differences in historical knowledge, energy levels, and willingness to take up issues that are new to some while testing the last nerve of others.

Retreats can help fill those gaps. At the end of a retreat, I ask board members to reflect on the biggest takeaway from the day. The answers are consistent across boards. Members share that:

• They felt heard, many for the first time in a long while or ever.

•  They want to prioritize hosting more in-person meetings. Being in a room together encouraged conversation that no number of Zoom calls or chat messages could.

•  The focus for the coming year is clear.

The reflections make sense to me. A retreat is one of the only times a board gets to stop and talk about itself. Not the gala, not the balance sheet, but how it wants to evolve as a governing body. Regular board meetings can’t make space for that. That was true ten years ago, and it’s true today.

I see five big benefits to the board retreat:

Space for generative discussion. So much needs to happen in the four to six board meetings most organizations have each year: approve a budget, review the audit, wrestle with strategy, support fundraising, and set new policies for starters. All of it is necessary, but none of it is generative. The retreat is an opportunity for a board to hash out, agree on, and commit to its own priorities.

Time to build relationships and culture. Just like any team, operational focus and relational focus use different muscles. A board can execute its fiduciary duties ably and still never build the trust, shared vocabulary, or group identity that elevates its work and the organization in turn. Weak relational muscles eventually weaken overall performance: preparation becomes scattershot, concerns fester unexpressed, ambassadorship is lukewarm.

Conversations with full and productive participation. Retreat design can ensure that all voices are heard and that none dominate. Careful facilitation can attend to the power dynamics and other factors that render conversations lopsided.

Direction setting. Boards have many conversations that end with “We should do something about that” or “Let’s discuss that more the next time we meet.” We all know that bows are rarely tied on those conversations. The retreat is a chance to come to consensus and close loops.

Reflection on itself as a governing body. Amid all the committee meetings, individual ambassadorship, and board meeting business, most boards never get to consider how they are managing governance. A retreat is one of the only moments when a board (egos aside) gets to talk about itself, rather than the organization it serves. Clarity on its own performance will inevitably lead to stronger organizational performance.

So, how do you reap these benefits? Surprise! It’s careful planning and intentional leadership.

Like all major board work, the strongest retreats come when the Board Chair and the Executive Director jointly agree that the effort is worth making and align on the desired outcomes.

Of course, there is often a lot of persuasion that one party or the other has needed to come to that alignment, but that happens before outreach to possible facilitators.

What other ingredients make up the recipe for a great board retreat?

Ample preparation. The best retreats include a chance to gather input from board members on the topics for the day as well as surface whether their hopes for the retreat differ from those of board and organizational leadership. Ideally, you want no surprise topics or dynamics to surface on the day. They take up valuable time better spent going into a topic more deeply.

Generative conversation, not business. A retreat is not a board meeting with better snacks (although the food should be as magnificent as possible). Reflection, conversation, and direction setting deserve to be 100% of the agenda for the day. It’s what you don’t have time for the rest of the year.

No “read aloud.” An hour of preparation for a retreat is a reasonable expectation. Time is better devoted to questions and debate rather than learning about some topic live and then hoping for meaningful discourse.

Clear action items, with owners. Boards can commit to having an action plan at the end of the meeting. “XYZ committee will take this topic on and report back at the next board meeting” is action. Equally important is agreement on which topics do not require action. Generative conversation often produces a list of low-priority actions that blur which actions are high-priority. Naming that on the day is critical to seeing benefits down the line.  

A “still unresolved” list. Not every important issue gets solved in a single day. Naming what might belong on next year’s agenda (and who is in charge of remembering that) is a powerful outcome.

I struggled with whether to add “facilitation” to the ingredients above (see my “no pitch” policy at the start of this post). The goal of a retreat is the deepest, most honest discourse a board is capable of. That kind of openness and attention to group dynamics is nearly impossible for anyone who is “in the system.” It’s a bit like a family leading its own group therapy session. Having a stake in the outcome biases the facilitator, no matter how well-intentioned.

Outside facilitators are the gold standard because they carry no stake in the outcome, no knowledge of the room's existing dynamics, and zero sensitivity based on past interactions. The power of knowing nothing is not to be underestimated.

That being said, outside facilitation isn't always in the budget, so here are some alternatives I’ve seen work:

Donated facilitator. A corporate partner's professional development or learning-and-development staff may be glad to facilitate a nonprofit partner's board retreat as an in-kind contribution.

A facilitation swap with a peer nonprofit. Your staff member facilitates their board's retreat; a staff member from their organization facilitates yours. Neither of you is “in the system” of the other's board, and it costs nothing but goodwill (which nonprofit leaders tend to have in abundance for each other). Of course, cone of silence rules do apply.

Multiple internal facilitators, each with one clear job. Break the day into several topics, each led by a different staff or board member who has expertise in that area and who understands that the job is to facilitate a conversation, not deliver a presentation. If the goal of the day is primarily educational (bringing board members up to speed on governance practices), this format can work well.

Before you Retreat …

 

If you're a Board Chair or an Executive Director reading this, here are the three questions you may want to consider as you think about your next retreat:

• What topic(s) do you never have enough time to discuss when they are raised during a board meeting?

• Which board members don’t contribute much during board meetings? What perspectives do you feel you are lacking as a result?

• How might the organization be stronger if board members were more connected to one another?

If any of those questions gave you pause, it might be time for a retreat. I'd be glad to help you think through what that could look like. You can email me at gary@garybagley.com or DM me on LinkedIn.