Over the last few months, about 80% of my clients have conducted their two-day Annual Planning Sessions. These powerful, jam-packed sessions always help a leadership team go deep - to celebrate the successes of the prior year, identify issues that don't always come out during more routine sessions and meetings, and to increase team health.
This year, as in years past, I've seen every human emotion - from joy to despair, from gratitude to anger - expressed multiple times. Tears have been shed many times, hugs have been exchanged, and voices have been raised. And in nearly every case, those powerful emotions lead to an important breakthrough - something that will move the organization, or maybe just an important relationship between two leaders, forward.
As blessed as I am to witness these events, I'm also reminded that we don't have to wait for two-day off site meetings to create important breakthroughs in our businesses and in our lives. We just need to go deep every day - share our feelings more fully, hit tough issues head-on, or just say what's on our mind, even if it hurts.
A tall order, to be sure. But worth it.
