We want to run our annual and quarterly offsites internally without a professional EOS Implementer® to save budget. How do we keep the session objective and avoid having the dominant founder run the entire day?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Running your own EOS® offsites without an objective facilitator is highly difficult because of the power dynamic in the room. As the founder, your voice naturally carries more weight, which often silences the rest of the leadership team and leads to artificial consensus.

To make an internal offsite work, you must assign a team member to act as the dedicated facilitator, and they must be empowered to keep the meeting on track. This person must step out of their functional role on the Accountability Chart for the day. They must be allowed to cut off the founder or any other dominant leader when they stray from the agenda or dominate the conversation.

To maintain objectivity, establish strict ground rules before the session begins. Agree that everyone has equal status during the offsite, regardless of their position on the Accountability Chart. Use a physical timer for issues solving during IDS® sessions to ensure no single topic drags on forever or gets hijacked by personal agendas.

Additionally, have every team member complete their pre-work at least two weeks before the offsite. This includes reviewing their Rocks and departmental metrics. Use these objective data points as the foundation for your discussions, rather than relying on gut feelings or subjective opinions. By relying on structured data and empowering a neutral facilitator, you can run a productive offsite that keeps the entire team focused and aligned.