When was the last time you were at an “offsite” and your eyes glazed over at an agenda overloaded with speakers, action items, and activities?  Were the objectives accomplished?  Did you even know what they were?  Was there any down time or was it just a PowerPoint marathon?  Since your time together is limited – not to mention expensive – your offsite needs to make efficient use of the brain power in the room and accomplish the primary objectives: decision-making and problem-solving.

Here are some tips that will help your next offsite go from good to great:

•   Figure out the right agenda topics. In advance, send participants an anonymous survey of 8 to 12 questions:  4-6 questions should ask participants to rate the company’s/team’s effectiveness on specific issues.  Use a 1-5 scale.  Remaining questions should be open-ended to solicit their viewpoints on major issues.  The survey results will point you at least three of the offsite’s top agenda topics. 

Create specific agenda topics (“Should we buy Company A?”).  If topics are too broad (“the budget” or “mergers”), people come to the offsite with their own interpretations of the topics and you waste time getting everyone on the same page.

•   Identify the right attendees. Remember why you’re hosting the meeting – it’s to make decisions, not keep everyone updated (which you can do in more-efficient, less-expensive ways).  If an individual is not a decision–maker, seriously consider keeping his/her name off the invitation list.  Decisions are seldom finalized with groups larger than 8 people.  If the goal of the offsite is simply idea sharing and brainstorming, a larger group of 25-30 makes sense.

•   Find a good facilitator.  The facilitator will make sure no one, including you the host, dominates the meeting, and all voices are heard.  Consider an outside facilitator to help take the stress off you and other participants and ensure timing and flow.  You should also have a recorder to document the proceedings and especially the decisions made.  (This is not the same person as the facilitator, and not one of the participants.)

•   Send out agenda and pre-work in advance.  Think of your offsite as you would a board of directors meeting.  Prior to a board meeting, directors should receive a package of information so that they come prepared to make decisions, not sit through a day of presentations.

Assign each agenda issue to a participant, who’s responsible for presenting a summary of the issue at the off-site in under 5 minutes.  This summary is not an opportunity for the executive to show everything he/she knows about a subject; anything that can be included in a PowerPoint presentation or a memo should be distributed and read prior to the meeting.

•   Dine together the evening prior.  As your participants congregate the night before the offsite, plan an informal meal to allow them to relax, reconnect and socialize.  If they’re traveling to join you, this is even more important.  Casually field questions and set the stage for the next day or two.  This scheduled downtime in the evening will ensure a more business-focused and productive team at the start of your meeting the following day. 

•   Enlist upper management to kick off your meeting.  A concise 5-15 minute launch from upper management or a critical influencer establishes the sense of urgency, gravitas and support for your agenda.  Suggest key points for them to keep their message relevant to your mission and how it supports larger goals within the organization.  Upper management can’t come?  Consider a video address or have a representative read his/her presentation.

•   Establish – and respect – the ground rules.  This should be a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many offsites get bogged down or derailed by small professional discourtesies.  Cell phones and other electronic devices should be turned off or set to vibrate, and interruptions only allowed in emergency situations.  Remember confidentiality, courtesy and respect at all times.  The facilitator can keep you honest here.

•   Stick to a timed agenda.  You need to be strict with your time.  Don’t think in terms of morning and afternoon sessions.  Break each agenda topic into segments of 45-90 minutes.  Because people grow tired or distracted and become less effective during longer sessions, give ample time for breaks.  Don’t skimp on a lunch break; it offers a great opportunity for building relationships in less formal settings.  To avoid being sidetracked, use the “parking lot” approach for issues that are important, but not pertinent to the agenda issue under discussion.

Strategically breakout, brainstorm and report back.  For larger groups, the 80/20 rule works well here.  Allow 20% of a segment for the problem overview:  this may be the 5-minute summary mentioned above.  Assign smaller breakout groups to convene and develop solutions over the remaining 80% of the segment.  Allot time for the teams to report back.

Tackle a tough, significant business challenge first, while the team is still fresh.   Downsizing, budgeting, operational issues fit well here.  Resist the temptation to impose brain-numbing status reports or updates on an energetic atmosphere.  Harness the brainpower you’ve assembled.

Take on a broader topic or challenge in the afternoon.  Issues such as cultural change, talent retention, recruitment or shareholder perceptions are best addressed in the lunch when people are more relaxed but (if you’ve done your job) a bit taxed by the issues of the morning.

•   Factor in informal networking; (ie Fun).   Make sure to balance business time with social and networking time.  It is a good idea to have some kind of social interaction – a dinner, a golf, teambuilding exercises, etc.  Give your participants the time to enjoy their destination and time together.  Making decisions and problem-solving might be the main objectives, but never ignore the power of enjoyment and the valuable business insights that come with it. 

The successful offsite or retreat is a carefully orchestrated blend of structure and discipline combined with an environment to stimulate creativity, dialog and synergies for maximum results. 

The Nyman Group has organized, lead and facilitated retreats for leading clients worldwide.  Read more about Nyman Group’s approach to leadership and off-site retreats. 

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According to recent studies (several are cited in The Atlantic’s August 2010 cover article, The End of Men,” by Hanna Rosin) women now make up a majority of the U.S. workforce, hold more than half of all managerial and professional jobs, and earn nearly 60% of bachelor’s and master’s degrees and 42% of all MBAs.

These changes in the makeup of the U.S. workforce couldn’t come at a better time for businesses still coming to grips with the recession. There’s a growing trend among companies battered by one-too-many risky business ventures to seek out executives who, along with solid technical expertise and business savvy, possess what has traditionally been considered a strength among women executives -- strong persuasion and influence skills. While not exactly asking executives to develop a “softer” side, companies are less interested in leaders who assume total control and take all the risks; the emphasis now is on executives who are mentors, consensus-builders, coaches and collaborators.

This isn’t a new concept. Ten years ago, Jim Collins’s “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . And Others Don’t” suggested that great leaders – what Collins called Level 5 leaders – were those who combined personal humility with an intense professional will. These leaders focused on people first, strategy and vision second.

Traditionally, women have been promoted within their departments and divisions because they possess a solid work ethic, and have the knowledge and drive to get the job done. That gets them only so far, though. What propels women into senior management positions that span the organization are their finely tuned persuasion and influencing skills.

Women executives need to take advantage of their natural communications skills and social intelligence so that they can make level-headed decisions that, more often than not, are reached through collaboration.

Persuading and Influencing
You may have earned a reputation as the go-to person who understands the business and makes things happen. Now, though, as a leader, you need to step back. Instead of issuing directives, you need to question, probe, and understand, so that you are better able to foster a spirit of collaboration.

• Be objective. Before you can make prudent decisions, you need to have all options on the table, so that each option can be weighed, probed, and discussed. What are the advantages of one option over another? Any underlying needs and concerns? Is there a common viewpoint? Can anything be negotiated? Persuading and influencing is, after all, being able to argue the opposite point of view as well as your own. You can’t be successful without objectivity, a relentless pursuit of facts and data that plays a major role in persuasion.
• Ask open-ended questions. It’s always best to do some pre-work before you start serious discussions. When that’s not possible, or you don’t have all information at your disposal, asking a few open-ended questions goes a long way in helping you to understand all viewpoints and underlying factors.
• Make the “pre-emptive strike.” At every meeting, there’s always an undercurrent, something left unsaid that is bubbling under the surface. Often, it can be a major issue. You can be the person to bring up the subject, to say “I know what you’re thinking” (in a diplomatic way, of course). If you’ve done some pre-work and already know how to address the issue, you’re able to save time that would be spent skirting or talking around the issue – and you can spend that valuable time addressing what needs to be addressed.
• Be mindful of the “elephant in the room.” While a pre-emptive strike may be a prudent move, you need to be careful. Putting into words what everyone is thinking (but not saying) doesn’t give you carte blanche to verbalize all thoughts swirling around a meeting. The elephant could be anything, from the personal (“executive A hates executive B”), to company history (a business failure, a losing venture). Tread carefully. You don’t want to come this far and lose it because of a better-left-unspoken thought.

Thanks to a changing workforce and new post-recession strategies, there’s a new playing field out there. The powers of persuasion and influence – long considered women’s traditional strengths -- have never been more in demand.

Nyman Group delivers workshops and programs that can help you and your team achieve effective persuasion and influence with others, with the minimal level of conflict.

Among the suggestions for leaders facing this challenge: 

• Don't let ambiguity overwhelm you...regardless of whether your challenges involve adapting to a new CEO, parent company or organizational structure; dismantling a team you've spent time developing; walking the tightrope of working with sites in lower-cost locations; or finding yourself competing against your former global partners.  Your strategy during this time of uncertainty should be the same: it's time for situational leadership. Remember, executives who spend their time seeking quick fixes will be disappointed with the results and ultimately unsuccessful in both their leadership strategy and career path.
• Network – both internally and externally. This should not be an afterthought; you cannot afford to be insular in a changing industry. It's a given that you need to network externally in your industry -- as well as in your social and professional circles. However, many executives tend to forget that networking inside the company is just as important, perhaps even more so, in times of change and ambiguity.
• Leverage the ambiguity.  If you're not curious, you're dead. The more you know – about the competition, new markets, and the landscape of potential acquisitions -- the better prepared you are to step up and lead when a new project, position or assignment opens up. Expand your reading material beyond the basics.  Consider The Financial Times (www.foreignaffairs.com), The New Republic (www.tnr.com), and The Economist (www.economist.com). These additions to your regular reading will help you expand your horizons and give you access to concepts you can make use of as a leader.

For the full article in Life Science Leader, please visit:
http://www.lifescienceleader.com/index.php?option=com_jambozine&layout=article&view=page&aid=4055

First the good news: with recession fears subsiding and your business outlook brightening, you're now ready to rebuild or revitalize your leadership team with some fresh blood.  And now the not-so-good news: finding the best person to fill a key leadership position is never an easy task.

A wrong hiring decision can have far-reaching impact on you, your leadership team, your employees and your shareholders. A good hire, on the other hand, could help propel your company from your current survive mode and into a thrive mode.

Here are a few tips to help you find the right person for the right seat on the bus:

• First determine "what," then "who."  Yes, you're very busy, and so is the rest of your team. No doubt, you're tempted to dust off an old job description and try to find, as quickly as possible, a person who fits that description. Resist the temptation. You can't delegate the job of finding a new leadership team member entirely to your existing leadership team or the Human Resources department.   Take a deep look. What are your expectations for this team member? What's your vision for the company -- and what role do you see this person playing in your vision?
• Lead – don't delegate -- the search.  You need to actively participate in the search. One of the biggest mistakes a CEO can make is staying out of the search process until the final interview.  You can work closely with your HR/employment team to ensure that you will be presented with the best candidates for interviewing. Use social and professional contacts to stay abreast of what's happening in your industry, and tap into these same contacts to find appealing candidates for your open leadership position.
• Interviewing: the art of the question. It's counter-productive to dust off the same questions that candidates have heard time and again. Develop new questions or refresh old questions to help you bring out a candidate's character. Tailor the questions to the type of person you are looking for. A good idea:  use the formal part of the interview to test knowledge, business skills, and industry savvy; the informal portion helps screen candidates, above all, for cultural fit. (Take the candidate to lunch or dinner with another member of your team and observe how he/she interacts with you, the colleague and even the wait staff.) 

As the economic picture brightens, you must anticipate what you need to stay ahead of the curve to achieve a competitive advantage. A new, post-recession business environment calls for new thinking, which includes the right leadership team. Take an active role in the selection of new executives you are expecting to help accomplish your business plan. Finally, here are a Nyman Group's recommendations for five great interview questions...

Five Great Interview Questions

These are for illustrative purposes only, but you can see how answers to these questions would help you dig deeper than the standard (dare we even say, stale) interview questions.

1. Tell me your story.
2. What makes you think you fit well into our organization?
3. How would you define success in this role?
4. In your opinion, what are the major challenges facing our industry over the next 3 years?
5. Are there any questions you would like to ask us?

In the epic political battle over health care, the New York Times offers a glimpse at the level of maneuvering that took place to achieve President Obama’s agenda:

“The Democratic effort to secure the 216 votes needed for passage of the legislation came together only after last-minute negotiations involving the White House, the House leadership and a group of Democratic opponents of abortion rights…”

National politics or corporate politics, Nyman Group offers its perspective on the seven things leaders can do to gather the support of the rank and file, especially in behind-the-scenes negotiations:

1. Look for opportunities to identify common ground -- and put a special focus on pointing out mutual interests. 
2. Understand the underlying needs of the other side; what are the “surface” needs and how do they relate to the less obvious needs of the opposing faction?
3. Use questions in the negotiation process in order to understand the concerns.
4. Balance emotion with a reasoned approach; it’s OK to be passionate but it’s counter-productive to be emotional.

5. Anticipate the questions; be prepared for issues like to come up in discussions.
6. “Read the tea leaves” by watching your counterparts’ body language and tone of voice – it can speak volumes about motives and agendas.
7. Re-phrase or paraphrase to show active listening throughout the discussion; this turns listening from a spectator sport into a productive tool for negotiations.

• Perceptions of coaching appear to be changing – from a “fix it tool” for problem leaders to a resource for helping even successful leaders improve on an already-good thing.
• For the leader with a coach: having one is now seen as a badge of honor.
• Some 43% of CEOs and 71% of the senior executives have worked with a coach.
• Coaching seems to be gaining in popularity: 63% of organizations surveyed said they would be increasing their use of coaches. And 92% of leaders that had one said they planned to use a coach again.

Nyman Group has our own “take” on coaching. For more information about our perspective on this important topic, please visit: Executive Coaching.

(* Fast Company, “Coaching: The Fad That Won’t Go Away,” Jim Bolt, April 10, 2006)

The article was an interview with Dr. Christopher Musselwhite, creator of the “Change Style Indicator,” a tool based on data from 100,000 people. According to Dr. Musselwhite, people fall into one of three change style types: conservers, originators, and pragmatists. Check out the article — which one are you?

While the interview is now about a year old, change management seems to be even more important these days — especially in a number of industries such as financial, health care, and automotive. From our standpoint at Nyman Group, the underlying denominator here is AMBIGUITY. While there is no certain roadmap for success when it comes to leading in periods of unprecedented change, we believe that the most successful leaders are able to leverage uncertainty to their advantage.

Although women in diplomatic circles are still a minority group, the newspaper points out that there are now 25 female ambassadors in Washington, the highest number ever, citing the high level of visibility of leadership role models such as Hillary Clinton. Because of Clinton’s role in women’s rights issues internationally, other nations are finding it easier (and possibly wiser) to appoint more women to diplomatic roles in their dealings with Washington.

The role of women is changing in circles outside Washington as well. Nyman Group’s piece on coaching for women in traditionally conservative law firms may be of interest to you.