At Headway, we do quarterly retreats as an intentional way to focus on our team and our mission. So much of our time is consumed with client work that we miss some of the finite details that are vital to Headway’s continued success. It is because of this that we are so intentional about taking time to pause, recharge, and reset. The word “retreat” may sound like the team heads out on a walkabout or takes endless moments of quiet time staring out the portholes of the ship, but in actuality every retreat serves a purpose that furthers who we are and what we believe in as an organization.
We packed the vehicles from De Pere and headed for our Lake Geneva Airbnb named “The Downtowner” in southern Wisconsin. This is where we would spend the next few days building camaraderie and advancing specific company initiatives.
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” - Andrew Carnegie
Using DiSC assessments to improve our people and culture
With this retreat, we welcomed aboard Zach Montroy from Navigate the Journey to the Headway crew. He will focus on improving and progressing our people and culture. Not only will he focus on our current team, but he will be helping us with more effective recruitment and onboarding as we continue to grow.
Prior to the retreat we all filled out a DiSC assessment that Zach reviewed and presented to us in Lake Geneva. The goal here was to determine what sort of culture does Headway currently have, how can we best work with one another, and what can we learn from this to inform our decisions moving forward.
We continued going through our assessments as a team and broke out into our respective DiSC areas to analyze how each of these types work, but more importantly, learn how each style can best work together. Our hope is that by knowing how someone best receives information and how they process that information, it will enable all of us to work more efficiently together.
There’s always time for food and an escape room.
After a long day of focusing on our culture, we moved onto the important parts; making sure everyone was fed. We headed to a local establishment to enjoy some much needed sustenance that would fuel us for our next team assignment, an escape room! This was a great experience for us to split into teams where we could solve problems in a very fun way. It was the first time I have ever done one of these and I must say it won’t be the last.
This photo was after everyone had escaped from their respective rooms, and I can’t help but laugh at the line up here! Headway still has some learning to do about organizing for the proper photo that doesn’t put all of the tall people in front.
We headed back to the house to enjoy some more fellowship by the fire. It wasn’t long before the Headway band broke out which is typical for any Headway retreat. There is never a shortage of guitars and improvised drums or percussion going around. I don’t even think everyone was playing the same song here. If an opportunity presents itself for Jon to bring out his falsetto, he will.
Focusing on internal projects.
Over the next couple days we spent time working on an upcoming internal project that serves multiple purposes. Most importantly, it creates an opportunity for us to try new things, further our knowledge, and work in pairs/teams that we don’t normally get to. The design team also spent time refining our brand guidelines to set the foundation for 2019 and beyond with new projects and campaigns Headway will be executing.
Experiencing a local craft distillery and brewery.
Between collaborating on projects and goals, we enjoyed local tours of a distillery and a brewery to quench our thirst and build camaraderie. First we took a short trip down to Rush Creek Distilling to learn about the distilling process and did a tasting of some bourbon, whiskey, vodka, and gin.
Later that day, after getting some more work done, we headed to Geneva Lake Brewing Company to taste some local craft beer and discuss how the week has been going and relax a bit. We even enjoyed our fair share of board games.
Our retreat ended with a timeless game of bowling at the local lanes. This was completely not competitive… What a joke, right? All in all it was a great time knocking down some pins and spending our last night furthering the relationships we have with one another.
Reflection creates gratitude and positive change.
And just like that it was time to pack up the vehicles and head home. While I was putting this blog post together and looking back through the photos, I can not help but feel proud to work for Headway and with the people that make Headway what it is. After every retreat, I feel challenged to do more and be more within all aspects of what I bring to the team. I feel so fortunate that we can create opportunities like this that are so vital to our culture and what we stand for.
“You can do what I cannot do. I can do what you cannot do. Together, we can do great things." - Mother Teresa
Want to join our crew?
We’re always looking for passionate & talented people to come aboard Headway. If you think you would be a good fit, head on over to our careers page to see what positions are currently available! We’d love to hear from you.
