A cheat sheet for team development — Taking time out of the office is essential for team development — it’s a unique opportunity to get together in person to discuss strategy and evaluate progress. Unfortunately, there’s some confusion between a team offsite and a fun team outing. That’s why some articles say that corporate team building is…

Strategy around what I want to do in the next year is naturally on my mind as we slip from one year’s end into another beginning. One of the best ways to get everyone at work on the same page about these is to first get them in the same…

Successful strategy sessions tend to follow a common arc. — Most leadership teams come together for at least a few days each year to meet up as a team, align on the business strategy, and collaborate on the company’s biggest challenges. These meetings are often held offsite, as physical distance from day-to-day operations can make it easier to see the…

(this is what participatory leadership looks like) — Designing and hosting team retreats is one of my favourite things to do as a facilitator. The opportunity to spend a day – or better yet three – with people who work (or volunteer) for the same organization is always an interesting experience. A team retreat is an opportunity: to…

Values are an important part of hiring and team building, but hard to justify the time to create them. This is a framework I have used with early stage teams to come up with values with the entire team. It works well for <10 person companies and takes around 1.5…

The story behind the 2022 Faire Design Summit and how we built a stronger, more connected team — When planning a team offsite, it’s incredibly tempting to pack as much in as you can. From developing team vision exercises, discussing design principles, and planning workshops, it’s easy to fill up the time with activities that feel like work. But surprisingly, planning an offsite around doing nothing can be…

When we decide to do something, we go all-in at Carted. Planning our first company offsite was no different. Not only did we face the challenge of organizing fifteen people scattered throughout the globe, but also we had to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic ever-present in the background. Call me…

How Coinbase is building real connections in a remote-first world — By Jesse Pollak, Head of Engineering, Consumer At Coinbase, we’ve shared our response to COVID-19 and our decision to go fully remote-first, even after quarantining ends. There’s a lot to consider, however, between deciding to go remote first and building a first class remote work environment — especially when we’re…