When to Hold a Team Event?  When NOT to?   When to Get Help!

There are moments when every executive team needs time away to gather their forces.   These events are often powerful for the team members and extremely valuable to the team’s effectiveness. They also cost time and money, and the risks of failure (or less obviously, little value added) can be very high. So, here are some pointers on the things you should consider for success when you define a management team event.

When to Hold an Event?


The Obvious Times

• When a new team is being formed it is essential to kick the team off to a good start

• When a team needs to be aligned, or re-aligned, to the vision and strategy

• When a new team leader comes on board

• When a significant number of new people join the team

Times of Change, Times of Trouble


Teams often go through difficult or troubled times: for example, when there are changes or challenging factors they must deal with, or because their own performance as a team has become compromised. Factors may include the following:

• When the scope and brief for the team change

• When the demands and objectives of the wider organization change

• When external business conditions change enough to require a re-think

• When the team or the business unit is not meeting its benchmarks

Time for Maintaining the Edge

The best teams will hold an event or gathering of the team's forces at least once a year. This is so that all the important aspects of team productivity can be refreshed and made more current. The event (and the preparation that goes with it) gives the team the space to align and commit to each other in these important areas and so maintain high effectiveness and high value creation.

When Not to Hold an Event 


There are some factors that will make a team gathering counter-productive. Here are some of the conditions that would indicate not doing an event even if most other factors suggest doing it:

• Not all team members are in place

The cost and time of a team event can be wasted if the right people are not there, and it can be double if you have to repeat it!. One team lead client of ours waited 18 months from starting his role before bringing his team together for a formal visioning and strategic alignment process. He did this to make sure he had all the critical (and correct) players in place. This included recruiting for empty positions as well as replacing some existing team members.

• One team member is a serious problem for the whole team

There are always tensions around and between individual team members; however you should consider delaying an event if:

• The tension or problem is very severe, and / or:

• The problem is focused around one or two people only

A severe problem is one where an individual is actively holding the team back or subverting the team’s effectiveness. One horror story for a client of ours was caused by a project team member who reported to a competing sponsor. Let’s be clear, a team event is not the way to solve a team member problem. If you have this situation, fix the team member first, and then bring the team together.

When the impact of the event on the team’s stakeholders would be counterproductive. 

• Bringing a team together costs time, money and travel. There are times when any or all of these need to be reduced over and above the good reasons for coming together. This is possibly the most difficult situation, since the value is obvious. Nevertheless, there are times when it’s important to be flexible and creative rather than ‘right.’ So, make your choice wisely and whenever you bring the team together, make sure you manage the stakeholder impact before, during and after the event.

When to Get Help

For the event itself, it is important for a team lead to recognize that you can either run the meeting well or take part fully in the conversation and discussion. Not both. So, the most obvious reason for delegating the conduct of the event to a business partner is so that you can engage in the discussions without your attention being diverted. The business partner is accountable for the success of the meeting outcomes and responsible for guiding the meeting process towards that.

Some Points on the Help

The value of a business partner increases exponentially with the size and scope of the meeting and with the scale and complexity of preparation required beforehand. Make sure the people you choose to help you out have the skills and the authority to guide and drive the process. For example, if your team’s problem is getting through the conversation quickly and thoroughly, you need someone who will keep the team on track. If your problem includes difficult team relations and friction, you must have someone who has the expertise to facilitate difficult conversations and create breakthroughs in these areas.

For team events where there are tensions and issues between team members, it is essential to have someone whose sole responsibility is the process. They must also have the sensitivity and emotional competence to manage the discussion as well as the emotions.  

If your choice of facilitator is not up to the task, as a team lead you will have three jobs to do instead of two. The upside is that, if your facilitator is the right choice, the relief and release of inspiration and the boost in morale for everyone will be phenomenal!

Simon Lovegrove is the author of “Five Steps to Top Team Events”, a downloadable guide to planning, preparing and running successful executive team events.  Simon is an Associate of The Center for Professional Development Europe Ltd, a global organization consulting firm.