Before you Plan Your Next Retreat

Every year, teams gather for end-of-year retreats… and every year, "most of them focus on the wrong things.”

“Retreats shouldn’t be about long speeches, endless slides, or pretending everything went well.

 Retreats are not celebrations.

 They are resets.”

You see, there is nothing as interesting as waking up on January 1st to a resignation letter from a team member who was the life of the party during the end-of-the-year retreat, and everyone is cool about it. There are meant to be casualtys after retreat because we all would have asked the hard questions, CEOs or founders would have read the room, and camaraderie would have made everyone who had other plans generous enough to volunteer information that points to the direction of them not being part of the squad

“Let me tell you what organisations should really focus on this year as we kick off the countdown to 2026

 Clarity not cheerleading.

“Teams don’t need hype; they need honesty at this moment. Yes, we would highlight all the super moves that were made, but the focus is the focus 

 What actually worked for us this year?

 Where did we miss it?

 What patterns slowed us down?

 What habits must we leave behind?”

“Clarity is kinder than comfort.” With clarity, we understand our uniqueness and reduce the surprises. retreats are also times to look at heroes without capes, uncrowned leaders who lead from the middle and are not interested in the spotlight. It's time to tell them we see them, we wouldn't have done it alone, and we would love to do this with them again

Culture check — not culture talk.

Instead of reading out values, ask:

 Did we live them? And how do we know?

Retreats should expose where culture strengthened… and where it cracked.”

“Teams evolve every year.

 Culture must evolve, too.”

Emotional reset because people are carrying more than tasks.

This is where retreats usually fail.

 People arrive exhausted, overwhelmed, and overstretched…

 Then the organisation tries to pour strategy on top of burnout.”

“Create space for people to breathe.

 Let them reflect.

 Let them offload.

 Because strategy only works when the humans behind it are regulated.”

 Skill alignment — not wishlists.

Ask:

 What skills do we need for the challenges ahead?

 Where are the gaps?

 What is no longer optional?

 Here, we embrace soft skills.

 Their performance skills.

 Co-creation, not top-down decisions.

“The most powerful retreat moment is when team members can shape next year’s working culture.”

Not instructions.

 Not demands.

 Shared agreements.

“When people help create the rules, they follow them.”

So if you’re planning your end-of-year retreat, skip the long lectures and the nice-to-have activities.

Focus on clarity, culture, emotional reset, skill alignment, and co-creation.”

Retreats aren’t about ending the year.

 They’re about preparing people to build the next one together.”

“Your team doesn’t need a trip.

 They need a transformation.”

Rooting You win in 2026

Charles umeh