As we visit Julia Martinez for the final time, thanks once again for the wonderful responses to the Julia Martinez scenario on making the shift from peer to boss. First we went over the challenges Julia faces. Then we concentrated on what Julia should do on her first day after the announcement of her promotion. Now, at last, we consider how she should prepare for her upcoming off-site.

The lure of the off-site meeting is strong for many leaders taking new roles. Like Julia Martinez in the promotion scenario we have been discussing, they have agendas they want to pursue and teams that they want to mobilize. “Just let me get the team in a quiet place with their attention undivided,” they say, “and we can move mountains.”

There is no question that off-site meetings are a potentially powerful vehicle with which to mobilize needed change. Done well, they focus attention, break through barriers, and build commitment, leaving teams energized, aligned, and ready to achieve great things.

But before launching reflexively into an off-site meeting, you, like Julia Martinez, would be well-advised to take a step back and think hard about (1) what you are trying to accomplish and (2) whether an off-site is the best way to accomplish it. Why? Because off-sites are no panacea and, without proper planning and facilitation, they can go badly wrong. In the worst cases, they cement divisive conflict, empower opposing coalitions, and undermine the leadership of the erstwhile off-siter.

The place to start is with the question of what you are trying to accomplish with an off-site meeting. There are at least six big reasons why you might want to take your team off-site:

* To gain a shared understanding of the business (diagnostic focus)
* To create a vision and strategy (strategy focus)
* To alter the way the team works together (team-process focus)
* To build or alter relationships in the team (relationship focus)
* To develop a plan and commit to achieving it (planning focus)
* To resolve significant conflicts (conflict-resolution focus)

One trap to avoid is trying to do too much in a single off-site. You can’t realistically accomplish more than two of the goals laid out above in a day or two. Decide what will your focus be beforehand.

A second trap is putting the cart before the horse. It’s easy to jump directly to trying to create a vision and strategy. But to have a successful strategy-focused off-site, it’s crucial that the right foundation of shared understanding (diagnostic focus) and work relationships (relationship focus) are in place.

You know what you want to do? Great. Now make sure an off-site is the best way to accomplish it. There are potential costs to off-sites that go beyond the requisite financial expenses. Chief among these is that you are committing yourself to accomplishing something significant, so you should be pretty confident that you will. Otherwise you risk pumping up expectations and then having the air leak out.

Opposing coalitions are a second reason why you might avoid off-sites. If there is a significant risk that bringing people together could crystallize latent opposition, then you would be well advised to proceed to build support through one-on-one and smaller group meetings until you're confident an off-site would succeed. This is akin to the way diplomats use shuttle diplomacy to lay the foundation for major summit meetings.

What are the implications for Julia Martinez? She wants to make a shift in her organization’s strategic direction but needs to convince her boss. She also wants to alter the way the team works to encourage more shared accountability. So it would be natural for her to focus the off-site on strategy and team process. It would also be a big mistake. She has not laid the groundwork with her boss for creating a new strategy, nor has she established sufficient authority in her new role to introduce democracy.

She should go ahead with the off-site. But the primary objectives should be diagnosis and relationship-building. She should work with her new team to do some rigorous diagnosis of changes in the business environment and come to a common view of the situation. That would provide her with insight and support that would help her to convince her boss of the need to shift the strategy. She definitely should not try to develop a vision and strategy or do any planning at this point. Her second major objective should be to re-engineer her relationships with her former peers, and establish herself, firmly but judiciously, in control. Once these foundations are in place she can turn her attention to strategy and process, perhaps by holding a subsequent off-site.

Assuming that you’ve concluded an off-site is the way to go, you can shift to three supporting questions:
* When and where should it be held?
* Which issues will be dealt with in what order?
* Who should act as facilitator for the session?

The “when” and “where” are of course dictated by schedules and availability. The schedule will flow directly from your agenda for the session.

Don’t neglect the “who should facilitate it” question. If you are a skilled facilitator of group process and if the team respects you -- and if the team is not enmeshed in a conflict -- then it may make sense for you to be both leader and facilitator for the session. If not, you would be well advised to bring in a skilled outsider. Keep in mind that involving a respected external facilitator both signals seriousness and can elevate your status.

Given that Julia Martinez is working to establish herself in her new role, she would be well advised to involve a skilled facilitator. The right person would help to buffer the emotional currents that are bound to be present in the room and also subtly assist her in establishing herself in her new leadership role.

Let's keep the conversation going. Do you agree with advice about why and whether to have off-sites? Do you agree with the implications for Julia Martinez?

Read all of Michael Watkins' "Leading Edge" posts.

MORE ON LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS:
The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels (Hardcover)
Off-Sites that Work (HBR Article)
Strategy Meetings that Work (HBR Article Collection)
The Leadership Transitions Collection