I love the hustle and bustle of the city; the natural momentum that occurs as so many people converge, with ideas, music, culture and beautiful architecture to wow all the senses.  I am London based, as I find that this is a hub for work, access to the arts and where there is a natural flow of friends, colleagues and always a new connection to be made…. But I only moved here aged 40.  Prior to this, I had been brought up in the wilds of Dartmoor (open rocky moorland area with harsh weather), and the Scottish Highlands (long open sandy beaches and awe-inspiring mountains). My parents believed that you shouldn’t travel abroad unless you could be a good ambassador for your own nation - so I spent my childhood visiting remote islands like Lundy to see the puffins, last growing peat bogs in the Highlands, burial sites in the Orkneys and other obscure locations along the way.   As a result, I have a deep appreciation for the impact that each of these communities has on the way we live - the ecosystem and activities that enabled some of these communities to thrive…. and others to become extinct.  Once you are consumed by the sensory over load of the city, there is barely time to think - let alone consider the micro-communities in far flung parts of the nation, and the impact that you may be having on them… and they on you….the new space launch stations for the UK are being built in the Highlands and Islands, and a significant investment in sustainable power generation continues apace in rural areas across the UK.

 

So to the retreats.  As my own career and business developed, I have found that at times, we risk becoming all consumed by the ’now’ - the treadmill and intoxicating adrenaline rush of achievement, focused on what we perceive 'needs to be done', often in short time frames, and that feels as if it is a MUST, not a nice to have.  But as we start to run on adrenaline, our own well being or priorities may start to inadvertently take second place… and be put to the back of the priority list.  In London I work out ways to exercise early before the city awakes, or take evening walks to clear my head - but these are short term fixes, and finding space and time to really get away and THINK in peace and quiet - can be challenging.  Even when I was in the Army (a 20+ year chapter), I would send my team off to beautiful locations or quiet spots to write their reports, or do strategy development and planning - as I wanted the most from their brains - and that rarely comes from being in a busy office or operations room.  High tempo arenas can be fantastic for brain storming, and crisis response - but not for that deep thought that good strategic thinking and report writing needs.  

 

And today…. I do this with myself and with clients - I take them to as calm and relaxed an environment as possible - so that they can get space to think, plan and reflect - so that we can help them work out their focus and next steps - and how to achieve their short, medium and longer term goals.  But I have nowhere to go I hear you say… and that is hopefully where we can be of service.

 

Having developed my own teams - throwing them off hill sides, mountain edges and getting them to the brink of exhaustion in the Baltic Sea - myself and our team have lots of experience of team development in oblique, fun locations.  But I have never enjoyed having to put myself though hell for the sake of it.  My philosophy has always been that if you can put someone in a place so beautiful that they can do nothing but wonder at the beauty of it - they will not even notice how much they are growing and developing…. Development by stealth :) Even prior to going to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, I took myself up into Udrah Predesh in northern India, to go to the source of the River Ganges…. Using altitude and walking to develop my body strength - rather than a gym… and now, post COVID, I have done the same - using time in the Himalayas to get my mind and body in shape for the next chapter of business growth - and while finding other great locations to bring you to as well.  

 

Do you have a bucket list? Or remote random location you think you could never get to?  Well for every operational tour that I went on, I would then get a period to travel afterwards - usually solo - so if you are looking for awe- inspiring locations to visit - to work, strategise, write a book - or just rejuvenate and recalibrate - give me a shout - we have no doubt got somewhere that we can suggest that will fit your needs - or know someone that can help.  The key thing for me - is helping you find somewhere where your mind can be at ease, you can be at peace, and you have space, time and freedom to THINK.  I see ridiculously stupid things being undertaken every day - and usually they occur not from any malicious intent - but a lack of thought, or depth of thought - and that is a global problem we would like to support you in solving - one thought at a time.

 

Our retreats are all designed around areas that I have visited, and thought too beautiful and inspiring not to share - and where we have also made connections with the local communities so that you will truly be hosted and looked after by the local people, in their local traditions, in their local areas.  The retreats revolve around the four key elements of Resilient Leadership:

 

1.  Clarity of Direction - including developing your strategic intent, working out what will help create a unifying purpose for you and your team, and really getting to the heart of how determined you are to achieve your goals.  (Often we find that we think we are set on achieving a set of goals or aspirations… until we dig into the next level of motivators and find that you may actually be truly driven to achieve something different). This often happens when we feel we SHOULD be doing something - rather than because it is an intrinsic part of us achieving our own goals in life).

 

2.  Resilient Decision Making - how flexible, dynamic and creative are you being? And how are you approaching looking at the second, third order and longer term impacts of your decision making… This is an area that many of us do not take the time to consider, as we are too busy in ‘production mode’ - whereas looking at a problem in the round, and undertaking some critical thinking activities can really help ‘flush out’ what seems like a good idea…. In comparison to an idea that you have considered more deeply, and so commit to fully.

 

3. Awareness - off ourselves, others and our environment.  Often we seek to be understood rather than to understand - so if you understand yourself well, including how you like to communicate, what conditions allow you to optimise your thinking and performance, and then how you respond to others, and how and why they respond to you in the way they do - you are bringing yourself closer into the high performance space where you can really bring your strengths to bare and lead with authenticity, calm and prowess.  Time spent developing your awareness, however strong you may already think this suite is, is never wasted - as every day we are evolving, and so are those around us.  Awareness is an art, as well as a science - and can be great fun in evolving.

 

4 . Leadership Presence -  The final, but pivotal part of the programme - as we help you develop that next stage of authentic, serving and intentional leadership - so that you can lead with confidence, flair and aplomb - bringing all your individual strengths to bare - and in a manner that feels completely authentic to you. We are all individuals after all - the way you lead - is driven by you - being, and feeling comfortable, in being you.

 

Whilst we have our Highland retreat that has very limited dates, as the lodge that we use is a private family home, and so needs to be arranged to fit their needs, the other locations we have more flexibility on.  They are all private and limited access areas, but by their nature, the availability is more flexible.

 

If you would like to explore coming on one of our retreats, or us designing one to fit your team or personal needs - please DO get in touch.  We are NOT a travel agency - we use trusted partners for this - we are the ones that will help you develop your programme to optimise your resilience and leadership whilst you are having an experience of a lifetime.

 

I look forward to hearing from you, and there is never a better time to start giving yourself time and space to think than today.  The wonderful part about giving yourself space to think? Its never too early… and its never too late.  We just need to make sure that we do it:)

 

 

 

Alice Bromage

Founder Empowering Success