Six Needs Met: The Power of Intentional Women's Gatherings
One of my college friends, the amazingly smart and stylish Abigail, recently posted about her experience planning a women's retreat. I love the idea of the retreat because I could immediately see how such an event might help with a participant's Six Needs. Abigail has been kind enough to let me share her experience to inspire others to plan or participate in a similar event.
Abigail, who is a seasoned conference and event planner, had previously participated in women's trips and getaways and wanted to recreate the magic of those events: unique shared experiences that promote conversation, knowledge sharing, and bonding (social). She started planning her Just for Fun retreat six months ahead of the event. Her first considerations were the location, the participants, and the content.
For the location, she was interested in a place that had a certain vibe, that was easy to get to from all across the country (had a decent airport) and wasn't particularly a tourist destination. "I didn’t want any attendees regretting that they spent time in deep conversation with new friends instead of seeing the famous tourist attraction." The city she landed on was Alburquerque, New Mexico.
She was able to find a short-term rental in the nearby Sandia Mountains large enough that all eight participants were given their own room and that had open gathering spaces. Abigail gave consideration to the fact that some people are inspired by beauty, and it was important to her that both the rental and the views were picturesque.
For the participants, she pulled from her numerous contacts a shortlist of women who she thought would a) contribute meaningfully to the experience, b) benefit from the community, and c) had the means and opportunity to fit such a retreat into busy lives. The women were all within a certain life stage (35-49 years) but otherwise had diverse backgrounds. A few of the women knew other members of the group, but two of the women only knew Abigail.
Next up was planning the structure and content of the retreat. Abigail was intent on providing participants with growth and discussion opportunities. She met with individuals and the group during the planning to get their feedback on activities and discussion topics. For the daytime activities, she planned for experiences that made use of local resources. She invited a local expert to educate the group on perimenopause. A hot air balloon excursion was planned. The group toured the Georgia O'Keeffe museum and then took that inspiration into a private block printing art class.
The evenings were spent at the rental house, but Abigail put careful thought into how to promote discussion amongst the group. They kicked off the long weekend with icebreaker types of questions, so-called Magical Questions. Prior to the retreat, Abigail asked her participants to recommend a book that the group might enjoy and explain their thoughts. She provided print copies of these books for participants to peruse and scheduled a Silent Reading event (is it any wonder I am friends with Abigail?). Finally, a Slideshow Night was planned where participants could either share a topic they've researched (growth!) or allow the group to Ask Me Anything.
From Abigail's event planning experience, she knew to front load the schedule and then make way for flexibility. She planned extra activities, but she was pleased to discover that the group gelled so quickly that those extra guided activities were not needed. Towards the end of the retreat, there was an organic quality to the group's movements. Abigail did also schedule in downtime so participants could work, contact family, have their introverted moment, have private conversations, and so on (autonomy).
Because Abigail put such careful consideration into who to invite to the event, she orchestrated a group where each individual was able to support the others in various ways. One participant did all of the meal planning and cooking (physiological), another was responsible for the photo and video capture (reflection), another provided emotional support (checking in on the other participants), etc. What's more, the women Abigail selected were all invested in the experience and eager to see it succeed. Their enthusiasm and positivity made for a safe environment where each participant was valued (esteem).
From the sound of it, Abigail's Just for Fun retreat was a roaring success, the outcome exceeding expectations, and I enjoyed the vicarious pleasure I experienced reading about and seeing (through photos) how happy the event made its participants. Have you been on a retreat like this that had a magical quality to it? If not, does this retreat sound like the sort of event you'd derive happiness from?
