Recharge and Rebalance: Exclusive Leadership Retreat for School Administrators

Written By: Scott Laliberte and Dr. Mark MacLean

A Case for Retreating to Rejuvenate: A professional development experience designed to build your capacity to lead amidst the current operational and interpersonal challenges of school environments.

The term ‘retreat’ has been applied to many different contexts within the world of education. In some contexts it refers to an off-site operations meeting, others a long range planning session, and still others an opportunity for a deep dive into an instructional initiative. Regardless of the structure or purpose of the retreat, the broad application of the term indicates a reality of life in a school setting. Our days are so full, the demands we face so widely varying, and the pace at which we work so overwhelming that in order to focus on one thing for a prolonged period of time, we have to step out of our routines to do so. 

Yet, the opportunities to ‘retreat’ on matters of importance are few and far between. If we don’t create them, they are likely to fall by the wayside on the heap of good intentions. 

This coming July, the New Hampshire Learning Initiative and the New Hampshire School Administrators Association will co-sponsor just such an opportunity for school leaders on a topic that is most frequently discarded – our own wellbeing and the impact it has upon our ability to achieve at the outer limits of our potential. In the context of leadership development, we have come to refer to this as ‘Leadership Capacity’ – that is, our overall level of functioning within the role. In considering capacity, we broaden the scope of variables to include our physical health, our state of cognitive functioning, our emotional support, and the clarity with which we connect to our source of motivation. We examine the full range of factors impacting our work. 

School leaders are often asked by their boards and supervisors to find a “work / life balance.” That dictate is almost a badge of honor for an overachiever. However, there should not be any bravado in ignoring yourself and your own needs! Work ethic is important, but a work ethic that diminishes impact is counterproductive. This strategic retreat offers school leaders an opportunity to focus on and find this balance with expert guidance. Unfortunately, the demands of school leadership positions make it very difficult to attempt this critical work within the structure of hectic professional lives. So, we have created this opportunity for leaders to build out a proactive plan for the coming school year. This retreat will be facilitated by an experienced and accomplished team of professionals working in various areas of leadership support. Their work at the retreat will truly be facilitative – this is not a workshop where participants sit and listen to lectures all day. The day is designed to be a true planning retreat, with the outcome a comprehensive plan for each individual leader to prioritize their leadership capacity in the coming school year. 

Each session will feature a brief conceptual overview of an area of focus – physical health, cognitive functioning, etc. After that, participants will have the opportunity to participate in small group or individual consultations with facilitation team members, or to engage in the development of their own plan in quiet solitude in this beautiful setting. At the end of the day, each participant will come away with a personalized plan for the coming school year, as well as with connections to appropriate support resources to help them on their way. 

The setting could not be more conducive. The Alnoba Leadership Retreat Center in Kensington, NH has been designed specifically for this purpose – to provide a peaceful setting in which to step out of the frenetic pace of leadership life and think deeply about our work. Alnoba frequently hosts leadership teams from both the corporate and public sectors, and is world renown for their support of leaders from all walks of life. Whether within the walls of the beautiful event space or along the walking trails on the surrounding grounds, this space is built to promote authentic reflection and a retreat from our daily challenges. 

This experience has been designed to host a very small group of participants. At present, we anticipate just 25 people on this inaugural retreat. This size group, with a facilitation team of 6 people, ensures that each participant will receive the kind of individual attention and support that such a reflective process demands. Our hope is to support all leaders within education – classroom leaders, building leaders and those leading at the systems level. If this experience seems to be of interest to you, please consider joining us for this truly unique and important retreat. 

For more information on this event, please follow this link to view our flier. 

Please click here to register for the event.