After a year of remote collaboration over Zoom meetings, phone calls and emails, Team Teal reunited under one roof for a retreat by the beach! We traded in our laptop screens for face-to-face team bonding to reflect and celebrate what we accomplished in 2020 and shared plans for the future with gratitude and excitement. And of course, we penciled in an R&A brand shoot and happy hour to end the day!
Our morning started with a long-awaited reunion and catch-up over a yummy breakfast spread. It wasn’t too long before the kitchen filled with lively conversations from wedding planning to family updates and everything in between.
After coffees and catch-ups, we moved into our meeting space to begin our team activities. We kicked off our session with a gratitude exercise that allowed us to pause and reflect on what we are thankful for amidst the unprecedented year. With this refreshed perspective, we transitioned our attention to reviewing our R&A core values. This led to a great team discussion around the assessment of each value and where it fits into our culture and day-to-day workflow. We finished the exercise feeling energized by what we identified as the deeply ingrained principles and beliefs that will continue to guide and ground us every day. We finished our team meetings with a timeline exercise, led by our President Ashley, to recognize major moments and milestones for our company in 2020. By the end, we painted a picture of our year — filled with challenges and successes, but most importantly, we saw how resilient, adaptable and present we were for one another.
After wrapping our team session with full hearts, it was time to fill our plates. We devoured a delicious lunch from Bay Local Eatery and sweet treats from Hummingbird Macarons & Desserts. Our beautiful spread wouldn’t be complete without some fresh blooms from The Wandering Petal too.
Following lunch, we dove into our brand photoshoot to capture new headshots and team collaboration for our website and social media channels.
Post shoot, we popped the rosé and sat down for some team StrengthsFinder activities, which used each team member’s top 5 strengths to uncover new efficiencies within our workflows that allow us to become more effective as individuals and as a team.
The end of the day called for a team happy hour to sip on cocktails and graze on a yummy board from Long Board Charcuterie.
Our retreat day was the much-needed reset button to get face-to-face time with our team and shake up what has become our new normal. The day was filled with constructive and candid conversations that will provide a platform for us to grow even closer as a team and create understanding around how we can accomplish more for our clients and each other. We will cherish all the memories and belly laughs from our 2021 Team Teal Retreat and cannot wait to do it again soon!