226: Create intimacy at your next team offsite

INTROHey, thanks for tuning in to the Corporate Yogi podcast, I’m your host Julie Zuzek. This pod is YOUR dedicated time for growth, developing practical tools to use with your team and in your other relationships and to learning deeply about who you are and what makes you tick! You are a brilliant and powerful being and I want you to invest more time reflecting on WHO are being, not just WHAT you are doing. Doing is awesome, but BEING is where the magic happens and what makes you truly feel fulfilled. You’re going to love this episode on creating intimacy at your next team offsite with a Designed Alliance. So here’s a look at what you’re going to learn today1 – In the first segment I share a story of why this is such an important tool to use at your offsite and what can go horribly wrong if you don’t have one2 – in the second segment I’ll share what a Designed Alliance is and how it works3 – in the third segment I’ll share the 5-step process to create one4 – and in the last segment I’ll explain exactly what you want to build into yoursSo get out of your head, into your heart and let’s dive right in, shall we.SEGMENT 1I wanted to create this episode for you because we are in the peak of offsite season right now and as a facilitator I have so many resources that I’ve developed over the years, and this one in particular is a very simple, yet very valuable one to use. I personally use it at every single offsite I run and it has never let me down. But before I dive in to sharing it with you, I want to tell a story about a time when it wasn’t used and the dumpster fire that ensued without it. If I had to name this story it would be – Here’s everything NOT TO DO at your next team offsite. So let me back up and set the tone here, we’re rewinding back to 2010 when I was working for my last company as Director of Marketing. Our CEO wanted to organize a team offsite for the senior leadership team– which we did at least once a year. I’m always surprised how teams function without doing doing offsites. I wanted to start by saying I am so grateful for all the experiences I had in this last role, which was my last full time gig before becoming a coach and setting up my own business. This was such a transformative chapter in my life and I learned so much in those 3 years I lived in England. I learned about the culture, about doing business globally and also about myself. As head of Marketing some of the cool events I got to organize were client events spending time with Gold metal Olympian sailors, I also held a massive launch event in the city of London and a splashy cocktail party in the top floor of the Gherkin building. We took clients to Cowes sailing week in the Isle of Wight for a VIP client day out on a massive 72 foot yacht, we also went to a high-performance car racing of luxury cars on the track. My employer was an enterprise software company, so we had deep pockets and it was always my job to make sure we had the best of the best. It was a good life. Aside from the splashy client events, we also did the best team building events with our employees and senior leadership teams and I really valued this bonding time with peers. The specific event I wanted to share with you today was a team event with a navy simulation exercise for team bonding, which was hosted by Britain’s Royal Navy. Hands down, this was the most unique event of my life. I would give this one a 12 out of 10. The gist of the event was that it was a simulated experience where we made contact with an enemy ship, started to take on water and had to work together to prevent our ship from sinking. The day started with a debrief with the Naval officers. They walked us through the exercise, how the simulation would work and what to expect. And as I scanned the room, I could see half of my teammates were excited and ready to go and the other half with the fear of god on their face. Either way, it