‘Awayday Slump’ - 5 ways to avoid it

Have you ever been to an awayday or event and had lots of ideas and energy, only to find it ebbing away when you get back to work, or worse those vibrant ideas becoming another thing on your to do list?  I call it the awayday slump.

At Brilliant Thing CIC we want you to avoid the slump and continue the momentum.  

Creative development space helps people connect to each other and your purpose, feel part of something bigger than their job and discover the innovation and solutions that were hidden under the stack of emails waiting back at the desk.

So how might we keep fuelling the energy and avoid the awayday slump? 

We have thought long and hard about this and held in depth conversations with community, NHS, Charity and local authority leaders, to shape our way of doing things.

Here are 5 ways we provide additional value

We listen

We start with a detailed conversation, and discover challenges, indicators of success and the things that matter to your organisation. 

We research ways similar challenges have been approached in other places and sectors and build a collection of inspirational stories to spark ideas.  We then produce a tailored proposal, framing the work we can do together, expectations and ambitions.

We coproduce

We invite people from across the organisation to attend our awaydays and spend time understanding everyone’s insight and value including staff, clients and partners. 

We have a focus on coproducing strategic products or documents (plans, frameworks, culture guides) using a ‘human-centred’ innovation process called design thinking. This gives multiple stakeholders a voice, encourages creative engagement and develops shared commitment to the work.

We reflect

We recognise that energy comes in cycles and people may need time and space to process following awaydays.  We provide all attendees with a Reflective Practice worksheet, to help everyone reflect on the process and experience.  This can be useful for personal and team development.

Following your awayday and any strategic documents coproduced we provide a detailed report, capturing the activities, ideas and insight shared, reflecting on learning and outlining next steps.  This can be shared with staff and leadership to keep the ideas on everyone’s agenda and inspire action.

We support

We can offer 1:1 or team coaching following the awayday to support leadership and action at all levels of the organisation, reflective practice and learning spaces and time for teams to problem solve using our solution focused design thinking framework.

This provides additional support and capacity for line mangers and HR teams and ensures that there is a collective focus and momentum.

People we work with say,

“One of Kerry's greatest attributes is bringing in all the 'voices' so that all of those involved own and believe in the change that is underway and are invested in outcomes with a lightness of touch , a big smile and bundles of energy.”

Sally McIvor - Independent Chair Rochdale Local Care Organisation / Bolton Integrated Care Partnership

If you are interested in discussing an awayday for your charity or purpose led team, please get in touch! Email abrilliantthing@gmail.com or Book a call and lets have a brilliant conversation.