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Posted On: October 13th 2026, 01:57 pm
What makes a team offsite genuinely worth taking people away from their day jobs?
I’ve been reflecting on this after reading the feedback from a recent two-day team offsite I co-facilitated with the brilliant Lisa Collin for the Brand, Comms & Marketing function at Markel. We’d been invited by Jo Browning, Anthony Murtagh and Colleen Bowman to design a session which had a blend of strategic thinking, creativity, engagement and fun!
Three things stood out.
1. Time together matters. Simply stepping away from BAU gave people space to reconnect, talk openly and understand each other better.
2. Access to senior leadership matters. One of the most valued sessions was an informal, open conversation with a senior leader – and one of the clearest messages was that people wanted more of it.
3. Understanding how we work matters. Exploring different working and communication styles gave the team useful insight into themselves and each other – and a shared language for working together more effectively.
And perhaps the biggest reminder: however good the conversations, people want to see them translated into action.
A huge thank you to Lisa for being such an insightful, fun and creative partner in designing and facilitating the two days. And to the team for engaging so openly.
#LeadingWithGravitas #Gravitas
I’ve been reflecting on this after reading the feedback from a recent two-day team offsite I co-facilitated with the brilliant Lisa Collin for the Brand, Comms & Marketing function at Markel. We’d been invited by Jo Browning, Anthony Murtagh and Colleen Bowman to design a session which had a blend of strategic thinking, creativity, engagement and fun!
Three things stood out.
1. Time together matters. Simply stepping away from BAU gave people space to reconnect, talk openly and understand each other better.
2. Access to senior leadership matters. One of the most valued sessions was an informal, open conversation with a senior leader – and one of the clearest messages was that people wanted more of it.
3. Understanding how we work matters. Exploring different working and communication styles gave the team useful insight into themselves and each other – and a shared language for working together more effectively.
And perhaps the biggest reminder: however good the conversations, people want to see them translated into action.
A huge thank you to Lisa for being such an insightful, fun and creative partner in designing and facilitating the two days. And to the team for engaging so openly.
#LeadingWithGravitas #Gravitas
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