The Learning Collective has increasingly been facilitating retreats for charter management organizations, including for Beginning with Children Foundation (New York) and TMSA Public Charter Schools (North Carolina). We’ve enjoyed those engagements and look forward to continuing to expand that work.
We’ve learned quite a few things from facilitating those, and other, board retreats including:
- There are two types of preparation: preparation and under-preparation. Like with most things professional and personal, it’s very difficult to be over-prepared. The more well conceived the agenda and structure, the more fruitful the retreat.
- The more buy-in and interest generated from board members prior to the retreat, the more successful the retreat will be.
- Icebreakers should not be underestimated. Even in situations in which board members have been meeting with their colleagues for months or years, there are always new things to learn about fellow volunteers. Starting the retreat with some smiles and even laughs goes a long way to enhancing relationships and collaborations.
- The most fulfilling sessions are when board members roll up their sleeves and lead brainstorming and collaborative work with their peers to set annual goals for board committees, SMART goals for the organization, etc.
- Not to toot our own horn but … an experienced external facilitator is key to moving the group along, completing the retreat accomplished with a sense of time well-spent and establishing actionable next steps.