Written by Eloise Barbier

What sets successful strategy offsites apart

7th May, 2025   •   5 mins

A strategy offsite is much more than just a break from the office. It is a critical touchpoint to zoom out as a team, refocus on the bigger picture and align on priorities.

There is a lot of research that supports the benefits of doing this: after a team away day, 81% of employees felt re-energised and more excited about their roles, leading to enhanced productivity.

Whether you have a strategy offsite coming up or are already thinking ahead to next year, here are some resources and activities to help you set it up for success.

How to plan your strategy offsite 

Seven areas and themes to help you plan your day:

1.Define clear objectives: 

• What do we want to achieve by the end of the day? 

• How do we want the team to feel when they leave?

These questions should be your anchor when making decisions about activities, discussions, and content. A successful away day is not just about brainstorming; it’s about ensuring your team leaves with clarity, motivation, and alignment on priorities.

2. Choose the right location: What environment will foster both relaxation and productivity for the team?

Your strategy offsite should be something your team looks forward to, not something they dread. Choosing the right location plays a crucial role in this. Pick a venue that has different areas for discussions such as a social area for a more relaxed session, or a big table for brainstorming. A change of scenery can spark creativity, enhance focus, and create a memorable experience. At Higson, we have been to Margate and York over the past two years, which has helped us step out of the day to day.

3. Structure the agenda wisely: How can we make the most of the time we have together as a team?

Balance strategic conversations, interactive sessions, and downtime. Having different members of the team run different sessions throughout the day can also be a great way to create share of voice and make the team feel involved. Top tip – don’t overfill the agenda!

4. Facilitate engagement: How can we ensure share of voice and give the team plenty of opportunities to share ideas?

Use icebreakers, team-building exercises, and discussions that encourage participation. Plan how you can create share of voice in your discussions – for more ideas on this read our blog.

5. Capture key insights: Who will ensure that these are captured throughout the day?

Assign a notetaker for each session, or use digital tools to record key actions and those who are accountable.

6. Follow up effectively: How can we ensure that discussions translate into action with clear accountability?

Plan some time for this at the end of the day or in a follow up team meeting. Set goals and checkpoints to ensure takeaways are actioned. We recommend having individual accountability partners and reviewing commitments one week and three weeks after the day to assess progress and overcome any blockers.

7. Factor in fun! How can we build energy at various moments throughout the day?

Strategy offsites aren’t just about ticking off agenda points, they are a valuable opportunity to bring people together and create moments of fun (without making it feel “dreaded” and “mandatory”).

Keep in mind different behaviour and personality styles. Some might love a high-energy problem-solving challenge, while others would rather bond over good food and a relaxed conversation. The key is to mix it up. If you need inspiration, check out our blog on team activities.

Examples of fun activities that Higson have organised over the past few years:

Here are two ideas for sessions you can incorporate as part of your strategy offsite:

Strategy focused session

Run a strategy-focused session with your team to align them to the bigger picture. This is essential to provide a vision for the months or year ahead. Linking to the visual above – rather than individuals just cutting stones, you can connect them to their wider purpose.

• How do they help build your team’s cathedral?
• How do everyone’s roles align to the wider organisational goals and what do we need to prioritise as a team to get there?

The way in which you will run the session and the degree of accountability that you will give the team will vary based on your role and organisation. We recommend making it as collaborative as possible.

To do this, it is first important to set the scene and define that bigger picture. This involves discussing various components and showing how they all link together.

Once you have defined these components, you can then discuss and get the team involved in building out the plan of how you will get there. Some prompts to structure discussion around:

• Purpose: Why do we exist as a business/ team?
• Priorities: What are the team’s priorities for the next year? What would success look like if those priorities were achieved?
• Plan: How will we get there? How might our ways of working need to adapt to stay ahead? 
• Perspective: How will we regularly realign as a team to that bigger picture and ensure we are going in the right direction?

Energisers and drainers session

As part of your strategy offsite, it is valuable to run teambuilding sessions focused on discussing and adapting to different preferences and working rhythms. 

Energisers and drainers can reveal a lot about what motivates your team and makes them feel fulfilled at work

Energisers: Tasks that individuals feel excited by and find fulfilling

Drainers: Tasks that individuals find unmotivating and tend to take longer to complete

These sessions can reveal surprising insights. For example, you might learn that while Noah is skilled with spreadsheets, the work has become their default task and in fact, this drains rather than energises them. Recognising this can lead to valuable lightbulb moments and smarter delegation.

How to run this activity:

• Ask everyone to write their energisers and drainers on individual post-it notes and put their initials on their post-its
• Stick them on a wall and categorise them by type of task (e.g. “Written communication”)
• In a group discussion, match up the energisers and drainers to identify potential task swaps across the team

The team then gains a clearer understanding of who they can ask for support with their draining tasks. This activity also helps create a more balanced and motivating approach, where tasks are distributed more effectively based on energy levels rather than just competency.

How Higson can help 

We have supported many of our clients with their strategy offsites.

Examples of types of sessions we can support include to:

• Help you define and cascade your strategy and priorities down to your team
• Define or review your mission, vision and values
• Align on working rhythms and adapting to different communication styles
• Build psychological safety
  
  

If you are interested in any of the above, please get in touch.

A strategy away day is more than just a meeting in a different location.  It’s an opportunity to inspire, align, and energise your team. With the right approach, it can set the foundation for long-term success. So, where will you take your team next?