Have you ever watched a 400-meter relay team work?
On a good team, their hand-offs are impeccable.

In fact, given two teams of equal quality runners, the team with the more efficient
hand-offs always wins. The same holds true in the work place.

So, you want to take your management team off site and work on building cohesion? After having conducted management team retreats for over 9 years, I have learned a few things. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

1. Identify your objectives. If you want maximum focus from your management team off site, get clear on what outcomes you want to achieve. Also identify what challenges will stop the team from achieving the expected results and what will be different when those challenges are overcome.

One of the costliest mistakes senior leaders make is spending too much time IN the business instead of ON the business.

When senior leaders focus too much time on the technical and tactical aspects of the business, and playing the role of project managers, they fail to look at the strategic aspects of the business and the longer term plan.

This typically results in ambiguity of roles and responsibilities and a lack of alignment.

Answer the following questions:

One of the costliest mistakes senior leaders make is hiring people who are just like them. The problem with this mistake is that it often results in senior leadership teams rewarding behaviors that are similar to their behaviors and criticizing behaviors that are often needed in the workplace.

It's human nature to more easily get along with some people than others. But, when that tendency translates into our hiring practices it can have a negative impact on an organization's culture.