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All associates are encouraged to attend leadership retreats. These retreats might take place locally in Heber, in St. George, Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, Kona, Hawaii, or at Pybus Point in Alaska, just to name a few!
A lot of the time, this means going to Lake Powell. We just wrapped up this year’s trips!
Lake Powell is a BIG deal at Redmond. We host several of these trips a year in the spring and fall, and at our Heber office, a bunch of our meeting rooms are even named after features at Lake Powell like Antelope Point, Cookie Jar, and the Marina room.
I joined Redmond in June of 2022 on the culture team as a content writer, though I’d freelanced with Redmond for a while. I’d also grown up around the company because several of my family members are associates.
But I’d never been fully IN it.
As a newbie, I jumped on the opportunity to attend my first Redmond trip at Lake Powell. I’ve been going to Lake Powell with my family for years, but this was my first Redmond trip, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.
What’s a Lake Powell trip like?
There are as many answers to that question as there are attendees, but here’s a general look:
All Redmond trips are a blend of bonding, fun activities, and deep discussion.
For discussions (usually two a day) we watch a video, often a “Redmond classic,” that relates to a core culture topic, then we share our thoughts about them, which build into some amazing conversations. Sure, we do this in the office too, but there really is something about being in a beautiful place, away from the distractions of home, for these things to sink in.
The rest of the time, we play, eat, hike, fish, waterski, kayak, make crafts, play games, and get to know each other. Spring and fall activities vary because of temperatures, so when it’s cooler you can expect to do more hiking, a dam tour, and beach games. When it’s warm, you’ve got aaaaall the water sports to keep you busy, whether you’re a thrill seeking wakeboarder or if you prefer the slower pace of a paddleboard or kayak.
As far as accommodations go, this isn’t lake camping. The houseboats are air conditioned, the rooms are surprisingly comfortable, and I was lucky enough to snag the room right next to the coffee pot.
Also, the food was in-cred-i-ble. Like gourmet-restaurant-incredible, courtesy of Chef Shawn. All of it was nourishing and delicious, a lot sourced from Redmond Farm, our farm in Redmond, Utah.
The idea is to elevate the body, heart, mind, and spirit, and every part of these retreats delivers.
My Experience: A Story of Leaning In
Leaning in, or stretching yourself for the sake of growth, is the secret to getting a lot out of these retreats. This looks different for everyone.
Here’s how it looked for me.
When I got off the speedboat in the little village of houseboats parked on the sandbar, I knew this was an opportunity to try this “leaning in” thing I’d already heard so much about at Redmond.
I knew this for two reasons.
Reason #1: I am an introvert. I like people, but I prefer to talk one-on-one or socialize in small groups for limited amounts of time. And when my social battery is drained, it takes a hot second to recharge.
Reason #2: There were about 60 people on this retreat.
This could have sent me into a spiral of introvert panic, but I knew that leaning in is KEY for success at Redmond and in life.
For a lot of us, leaning in means opening up to new ideas and paradigms. It also means approaching our relationships differently in order to work together more effectively. For me, leaning in often involves speaking up and being seen by other people.
So, I gave myself a challenge to learn the name of every person on that trip.
And I did. By the end of the 4 days I’d talked to almost everyone at least a little bit.
Everyone was welcoming, and despite the large numbers, it was easy to get to know people one at a time on hikes, when kayaking, and at meals when I could sit at small tables with different groups.
Baby steps, people. No need to lean in so far that you fall over.
This is my biggest piece of advice for you: Figure out what leaning in looks like for YOU, and do it. Don’t be someone you’re not, but stretch yourself a little, and then a little more.
(Please note that I retreated to my room at 8 each night to unwind and “de-people,” and no one protested. I also got up early to enjoy my coffee on the back of the boat while things were still quiet. Baby steps.)
Activities
There’s something for everyone at Lake Powell, whether you’re athletic and high energy, if you’re a water baby or a landlubber, or even if you’re more indoorsy and prefer movies, games, and crafts.
There was also morning Crossfit, which I did not participate in, and sunrise yoga and meditation (which I’m DEFINITELY into).
I’m normally a kayaker and paddleboarder, but the weather was on the cool side and I didn’t spend much time in the water. The hiking and boat rides, however, were *chef’s kiss. We hiked through stunning slot canyons, visited the beautiful Rainbow Bridge, and took the boats down some incredible canyons tucked into the ragged Arizona cliffs.
I also set up camp inside with the incomparable Konnie to make crafts. I made at least a dozen bracelets and had a ball chatting with a few people at a time around the crafts table.
In the evenings, there were beach games like horseshoes, volleyball, and cornhole. Generally, I’m not into sports or organized competitions—I’d rather observe, read, and write about stuff later—but I did enter the cornhole tournament and promptly bombed out, which I found hilarious.
Then one of the guys from our business in Grand Junction taught me to play horseshoes, which actually went pretty well!
Discussions
I’m on the culture team, so culture discussions are the meat and potatoes of my job. Leaning into new ideas comes naturally to me, so leaning in here was no problem.
We talked about topics like “On Being Wrong,” “Why It’s Time to Forget the Pecking Order at Work” (or “Superchickens” as it’s more commonly known at Redmond), “The Heart of Conflict,” and the inspiring story of a young woman named Claire, who lived a short but extraordinary and meaningful life with cystic fibrosis.
We were also asked to read a book beforehand, Leadership and Self-Deception by the Arbinger Institute, which we discussed as well. Seriously, everyone should read this book.
I’d seen most of the videos we watched, but some of them were new to me. And as I’d learn in my time at Redmond, there’s a lot of value in watching or reading great work over and over because you learn something new each time. With each review, you approach the topic with new experience and perspective, and the ideas land in a different way.
It also helps to discuss these things with different groups to see what other people are noticing. It’s a much more effective way to learn! We all think differently and we all see these concepts from different angles (Occhiolism, am I right?), and learning together elevates us all.
Takeaways From My Lake Powell Retreat
While the discussion topics were amazing, my main takeaways had more to do with the experience itself and being around other people across the company.
The kind of leaning in I did at Lake Powell set me on the path for growth at Redmond and in life.
In the past few years, I’ve learned so much about independence and interdependence, Ubuntu (I’m still wrapping my head around the “I am because we are” part.) In many ways, this Lake Powell trip was the beginning of that journey.
I also got to know a lot of different people across the company that I might not have met otherwise, along with their partners.
One of the biggest reasons why these retreats are so valuable is because there’s a huge difference between hanging out with someone at work and paddling a kayak around a bay, or doing morning yoga in the sand, or getting clobbered in a cornhole tournament with them.
I treasure these relationships, and I talk to a lot of these people frequently two years later. I can’t even imagine how long it would have taken me to get to know these people without this trip!
I’m not telling you what to do, but if you haven’t been on a Lake Powell retreat (or if you haven’t been for a while), go. You will get so much out of it. Your body, heart, mind, and spirit will thank you!
