A few years back, we worked with an inspiring business owner leading a fast-growing healthcare team. She had big hopes and plans for the new year, and her team was eager to hit the ground running…
But, when it came time for their annual ‘all-team’ planning meeting, she found herself struggling—trying to keep the meeting on track while also sharing her own ideas and vision as she tried her best to be sure everyone had a voice in the discussion.
“I felt like a referee instead of a leader,” she told me afterward. “I was so focused on making sure the meeting ran smoothly that I barely had time to contribute or soak in anyone else’s ideas. In the end, I ended up with a giant to-do list and even less time to do it all.”
This is a common challenge I see with leaders. When you’re responsible for both facilitating AND participating, it’s easy to get pulled in too many directions. That’s where bringing in an outside coach as a facilitator changes EVERYTHING. It lets leaders shift their focus to what matters most—being fully present, sharing their vision, and guiding their team toward success!
Why a Team Planning Session is Essential
Starting the year without a clear plan is like setting off on a river rafting trip without paddles—your team will drift along wherever the current happens to be going, but it will never take you where you actually need to go.
A well-structured and facilitated team planning session ensures your team is aligned, prepared, and ready to navigate the challenges ahead TOGETHER.
Here’s why it’s so important:
- Align Personal and Team Goals
When individual goals connect with the team’s mission, each member feels personally invested in the overall success and can better integrate team goals with their own.
- Clarify the Team’s Mission
A shared mission statement provides a clear destination for everyone, ensuring the whole team is paddling in the same direction.
- Set Expectations with Clear Agreements
Defining roles and responsibilities from the outset promotes accountability and minimizes miscommunication.
- Create Consistency with Messaging
When everyone knows the message—including the company one-liner—your internal and external communication stays on point.
- Identify Key Marketing Strategies & Promotions
With a defined plan, each team member knows how their individual marketing efforts contribute to the bigger picture and where it’s going.
- Equip the Team with a Customer-Focused Approach
By learning the StoryBrand framework, your team will know how to position the customer as the hero, making your offerings more compelling and easier to sell (especially for those who don’t like “selling”).
A team planning session provides clarity, alignment, and focus. It’s your chance to prepare the team, overcome obstacles, and build momentum—ensuring everyone is ready to paddle in sync toward success in the new year.
The Problem: Leaders Can’t Do It All
When you’re leading a team, it’s easy to feel like you have to manage everything—steering the boat, watching the currents, and paddling all at once. But if you’re busy keeping the session on track, you can’t focus on sharing your insights or participating fully in strategic discussions.
Facilitating a team planning session requires structure, focus, and neutrality. It’s not just about following an agenda—it’s about reading the room, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard, and keeping the momentum going. If you, as the leader, are tied up with logistics, it’s hard to be fully present, connect with your team, and contribute meaningfully.
Trying to both facilitate and participate leads to:
- Split Focus: You’re juggling the meeting flow and your role as a leader, making it harder to contribute effectively.
- Missed Opportunities: Important ideas and insights can be lost if you’re focused on keeping the meeting running smoothly.
- Burnout: Managing every detail alone creates unnecessary stress and can drain your energy for the work that truly matters.
- Being left with a giant ‘to-do’ list: When you’re so wrapped up in leading the meeting, you can end up left at the end with a giant list of to-do’s (and a little regret for good measure) rather than delegating and getting committed action from the team.
The reality is that leaders shouldn’t have to do it all. Your role is to inspire, strategize, and lead—not get bogged down in the mechanics of the session. That’s where having a coach as a facilitator can make all the difference.
The Solution: A Coach as Your Session Guide
Bringing in a coach to help plan the meeting flow and act as the facilitator allows the team leader to fully engage in the discussion rather than manage the flow. The coach keeps the meeting on track, brings innovative activities that bring out the best ideas, ensures productive conversations, and creates space for every team member to contribute, allowing the leader to focus on strategy and vision.
With a coach facilitating the session:
- The Leader Can Participate Fully: Instead of juggling logistics, the leader engages in meaningful discussions and shares their vision.
- The Meeting Stays Focused and Efficient: The coach ensures that the agenda flows smoothly, with no one derailing the conversation.
- Everyone’s Voice is Heard: The facilitator encourages input from all team members, building alignment and trust.
- The Leader Builds Stronger Connections: Shifting from facilitator to participant allows the leader to collaborate openly with the team, fostering trust and engagement.
The coach’s role is to bring structure, focus, and direction to the session. While the facilitator handles the logistics and guides the conversation toward actionable outcomes, the leader can concentrate on sharing insights and contributing to the team’s success.
A facilitated session not only reduces the leader’s burden but also strengthens team collaboration. With clear goals, focused discussions, and shared accountability, the entire team moves forward in alignment—ready to tackle the new year with confidence.
Remember that stressed-out leader who felt left out of her own planning session at the beginning of this post? Check out the testimonial after she brought us in to run the meeting the following year: “We’ve been able to grow our team and open a second location… I could go on and on and on…I feel MUCH more confident as a business owner and leader” -Kendall Hagensen, Founder of Vancouver Wellness Studio.
Ready to Start the Year Strong? Time to Plan Your Session
The most successful teams don’t just set goals—they create a clear roadmap to achieve them. Let us know if you need help to guide your team through a powerful planning session so that you, as the leader, can focus on leading without distraction.
Let’s talk about booking your all-team planning session today and get ready to start the new year with purpose and alignment with your team!
Feel free to email me at paul@tributarycoaching.com or book a call here.
A few years back, we worked with an inspiring business owner leading a fast-growing healthcare team. She had big hopes and plans for the new year, and her team was eager to hit the ground running…
But, when it came time for their annual ‘all-team’ planning meeting, she found herself struggling—trying to keep the meeting on track while also sharing her own ideas and vision as she tried her best to be sure everyone had a voice in the discussion.
“I felt like a referee instead of a leader,” she told me afterward. “I was so focused on making sure the meeting ran smoothly that I barely had time to contribute or soak in anyone else’s ideas. In the end, I ended up with a giant to-do list and even less time to do it all.”
This is a common challenge I see with leaders. When you’re responsible for both facilitating AND participating, it’s easy to get pulled in too many directions. That’s where bringing in an outside coach as a facilitator changes EVERYTHING. It lets leaders shift their focus to what matters most—being fully present, sharing their vision, and guiding their team toward success!
Why a Team Planning Session is Essential
Starting the year without a clear plan is like setting off on a river rafting trip without paddles—your team will drift along wherever the current happens to be going, but it will never take you where you actually need to go.
A well-structured and facilitated team planning session ensures your team is aligned, prepared, and ready to navigate the challenges ahead TOGETHER.
Here’s why it’s so important:
When individual goals connect with the team’s mission, each member feels personally invested in the overall success and can better integrate team goals with their own.
A shared mission statement provides a clear destination for everyone, ensuring the whole team is paddling in the same direction.
Defining roles and responsibilities from the outset promotes accountability and minimizes miscommunication.
When everyone knows the message—including the company one-liner—your internal and external communication stays on point.
With a defined plan, each team member knows how their individual marketing efforts contribute to the bigger picture and where it’s going.
By learning the StoryBrand framework, your team will know how to position the customer as the hero, making your offerings more compelling and easier to sell (especially for those who don’t like “selling”).
A team planning session provides clarity, alignment, and focus. It’s your chance to prepare the team, overcome obstacles, and build momentum—ensuring everyone is ready to paddle in sync toward success in the new year.
The Problem: Leaders Can’t Do It All
When you’re leading a team, it’s easy to feel like you have to manage everything—steering the boat, watching the currents, and paddling all at once. But if you’re busy keeping the session on track, you can’t focus on sharing your insights or participating fully in strategic discussions.
Facilitating a team planning session requires structure, focus, and neutrality. It’s not just about following an agenda—it’s about reading the room, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard, and keeping the momentum going. If you, as the leader, are tied up with logistics, it’s hard to be fully present, connect with your team, and contribute meaningfully.
Trying to both facilitate and participate leads to:
The reality is that leaders shouldn’t have to do it all. Your role is to inspire, strategize, and lead—not get bogged down in the mechanics of the session. That’s where having a coach as a facilitator can make all the difference.
The Solution: A Coach as Your Session Guide
Bringing in a coach to help plan the meeting flow and act as the facilitator allows the team leader to fully engage in the discussion rather than manage the flow. The coach keeps the meeting on track, brings innovative activities that bring out the best ideas, ensures productive conversations, and creates space for every team member to contribute, allowing the leader to focus on strategy and vision.
With a coach facilitating the session:
The coach’s role is to bring structure, focus, and direction to the session. While the facilitator handles the logistics and guides the conversation toward actionable outcomes, the leader can concentrate on sharing insights and contributing to the team’s success.
A facilitated session not only reduces the leader’s burden but also strengthens team collaboration. With clear goals, focused discussions, and shared accountability, the entire team moves forward in alignment—ready to tackle the new year with confidence.
Remember that stressed-out leader who felt left out of her own planning session at the beginning of this post? Check out the testimonial after she brought us in to run the meeting the following year: “We’ve been able to grow our team and open a second location… I could go on and on and on…I feel MUCH more confident as a business owner and leader” -Kendall Hagensen, Founder of Vancouver Wellness Studio.
Ready to Start the Year Strong? Time to Plan Your Session
The most successful teams don’t just set goals—they create a clear roadmap to achieve them. Let us know if you need help to guide your team through a powerful planning session so that you, as the leader, can focus on leading without distraction.
Let’s talk about booking your all-team planning session today and get ready to start the new year with purpose and alignment with your team!
Feel free to email me at paul@tributarycoaching.com or book a call here.