We are preparing for our next quarterly planning offsite, but our leadership team members always show up with their laptops open, answering Slack messages and checking emails during the session. How do we structure the day to keep them fully engaged in the strategic work?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

An offsite planning session is a significant investment of time and money, and allowing your leadership team to remain tethered to their daily operational tools completely defeats the purpose. When leaders are constantly checking Slack or responding to emails, they are engaging in status management and staying trapped in the tactical whirlwind rather than stepping back to think strategically.

To resolve this, you must establish clear ground rules before the session begins. Implement a strict technology boundary: all laptops, phones, and smartwatches must be turned off and placed in a basket at the start of each session. Schedule specific, dedicated ten minute breaks every ninety minutes so leaders can check urgent messages and return to the room fully focused.

As the leader, you must model this behavior without exception. If you sneak a look at your phone, the rest of the team will follow suit.

Additionally, design the agenda around deep, collaborative work that requires physical presence. Use whiteboards, flip charts, and physical cards to run your IDS sessions. Keep the pace moving quickly and rotate who presents different sections of the V/TO to keep everyone actively involved.

If a leader complains that they cannot be away from their desk for a day without the business imploding, that is a clear indicator that their department lacks the systems and delegation required for a scalable company. Use that very pain point as a topic for your issues list.