How to Build Trust Through Off-Site Events

I'll never believe you can build a strong culture in a Zoom room. It doesn't work. We're accustomed to it. Remote work builds efficiency, and sometimes speed. In-person meetings build TRUST. Last week, we ran our first Docebo marketing offsite since I joined in April: 40+ people, 2 days together, 1 goal... build an experience, NOT a slide deck. What made it work: >> Group activities: workouts (OrangeTheory), a game show, and real laughs (no FAKE LAUGHING). Shared experiences beat another presentation. >> Start / Stop / Continue: simple, only powerful if you follow through. >> Breaks: real downtime, which will always create the best conversations. You can't force it. >> Working styles: personality profiles (DiSC) so “collaboration” becomes concrete. Our agenda was simple but effective: connect, align, plan, commit. Day 1: kickoff, alignment sessions, Start/Stop/Continue, working-styles workshop, social evening. Day 2: reflections, GTM/ops/product marketing deep dives, Q4 priorities + 2026 vision, execution breakouts, clear commitments. Dos and don’ts that kept us sharp: > Do keep sessions short and interactive. > Do balance strategy with connection. > Do make space for reflection. < Don’t overstuff the agenda. < Don’t make it a one-way broadcast. < Don’t skip the follow-up. You don’t build culture through emails and Zoom calls. You build it by showing up and hanging out together. Twice a year isn’t a luxury for a remote team. It’s the cost of building one worth being part of.

Most offsites are a waste… Team bonding activities with no lasting impact. Here’s how I run in-person offsites for my fully remote team that go beyond bonding (to create breakthroughs, uncover bottlenecks, and move the company forward): ~~ I’ve found that the best offsites blend two things: 1. Vulnerability: Address personal patterns that hold people back. 2. Strategy: Align on the goals and priorities that matter most. We meet 3–4 times a year, and here’s how we structure them to get exponential value: == Morning: • Coffee + light breakfast. • Physical activity: Yoga or hiking to set the tone. • Mental clarity: 15-minute group meditation. • Icebreaker: Book discussion (e.g., The Obstacle is the Way). • Work focus: Full group session to plan the 1-year product roadmap. == Afternoon: • Lunch. • Execution: Breakout sessions or paired programming using tools like Notion and Asana. • Personal development: Review Enneagram results or discuss individual growth areas. == Evening: • Group dinner. • Unstructured time for drinks, conversation, and connection. This balance of work, reflection, and downtime creates space for breakthrough ideas and deeper relationships. == What makes it work? It’s personal and professional: Your team’s beliefs and habits affect their work. Address both. It uncovers bottlenecks: Personally and operationally, where are people or processes stuck? It creates trust: The right conversations can transform how people show up for each other. == If you want my full weeklong offsite playbook (including tools, activities, and templates), comment “OFFSITE”. Offsites aren’t just meetings in a new location. They’re a chance to create breakthroughs that drive real growth.

Back from a successful leadership offsite. After 4+ years working remote at Meta and now at LTK I learnt that not all offsites are productive. Here is what makes a GREAT one: ❌ Booking rooms for meeting, setting up an agenda and booking dinners reservations ✅All the above are great but doing prep work will 10x the value of an offsite. Work with analytics on an overview of the topline metrics, key hypothesis and feature launch performance. Set key goals you want to achieve daily and review those as the offsite progresses. Chances are you will go off track. These will keep you focused. ❌Putting everyone in the sane room to “work side by side” ✅ Plan artificial” team building activities. Yes you can go the organic way but scheduling those will accelerate the trust building. We used the CliftonStrengths assessment this time, with an HR leader guiding us through how our strengths and weaknesses complement each other. It was awesome! ❌ Sitting down 9 am to 5pm with minimal breaks ✅On top of bathroom and lunch/coffee breaks throw in some quick stretching after lunch. It is not only a fun way to bond but it actually helps get the body back to work. We found 5/10 min videos on youtube that are perfect for the office. ❌Have everyone take notes ✅Designate a single note taker per session that then shares with the rest of the group. It helps keep everyone present. Designate another person to share next steps after each day and share with the rest when back. This second piece is essential and often overlooked. ❌”Let’s get as much work done in person as possible” ✅ Working 9 am to 5pm is enough. Balance is out with some fun. No work conversations post 5pm. This will create fun memories and your team will bond in ways that you can’t in office. This time, we went to Top Golf and took a stroll through the Stockyards in Fort Worth—great moments that brought us closer. ❌”Let’s find a time to get together once a quarter when it works for everyone” ✅The “when” actually matters, especially if you are fully remote. We scheduled this one two weeks before Q2, which was perfect for reviewing roadmaps, aligning on overlapping features, and revisiting our vision and strategy. ❌Let everyone bring their “true self” ✅Set clear ground rules like no laptops allowed when there are debates, be respectful with one another, back up opinions with data, don’t interrupt others, keep things discussed in the rooms confidential. They seem simple but reinterating them makes a huge difference in creating psychological safety. What other things made your offsite a great one?

Here’s how Aligned saved 6 weeks of Zoom Meetings: The first thing I did after Gal Aga hired me was ask for $10,000. Not to add new tech (sorry to all the ‘congrats-on-your-new-role;-buy-my-technology?' Cold emailers). But to fly the entire sales team to Utah for a 36-hour on-site. I bet he’d tell you, it was some of the best money he ever spent. Most startups (especially early-stage) underestimate the value of in-person time. But that two-day “slowdown” in Utah? That’s exactly what lets us move faster. Here’s what we gained in 36 hours together: 1. Solved three cross-functional blockers that had been in motion for weeks 2. Refined our entire pricing narrative in one morning 3. Built real team trust, the kind you don’t get from Slack and Zoom happy hours Now that we’re back on the floor? We're moving with clarity, urgency, and full ✨ alignment ✨. Thinking of running your own off-site? Here are my Do’s and Don’ts: DO: 1. Curate a mix of your must-haves along w your reps' key topics. If they’re not bought into the topic, this is your show and they’re observers, not active participants. Congrats- you’ve pulled them off the floor for nothing. 2. Make it known to the entire company to not book over this time. Calendar blocks, Slack reminders, carrier pigeons—whatever it takes. Protect the time. 3. Create space for unstructured connections. Whiteboard time, shared meals, spontaneous huddles—this is where trust builds and insights surface. DON’T: 1. Center the ‘fun’ activities around alcohol. Yes, there will be drinks, but I don’t want to smell it on your breath for our 9am Pricing Discussion. Make the ‘fun’ activity, indeed, an activity. My team went line-dancing and mechanical bull-riding post dinner. No one ever got fired for having too much ‘line-dancing!’ 2. Pack the agenda from 8am to 6pm. The most impactful conversations often happen between sessions, not during them. Schedule your most vital sessions in the morning when everyone is fresh, and expect a drop after-lunch. Free time in the same room is usually best for after eating. 3. Make reps share rooms. This isn’t summer camp. If you’re investing this much in the on-site, go the extra mile to let folks decompress and recharge. Want your team to move fast? Sometimes, you need to slow down—together. [Huge shoutout to Edison House for hosting us in their incredible space for 2 days!!]

Pro tip if you want to get ahead in life: build your relationships through shared, purpose-driven activities. I’ve found that some of the most powerful relationships in my career, ones that have led to real revenue and meaningful opportunities, didn’t come from a “networking mixer.” They came from volunteering, or from being shoulder-to-shoulder with others at a philanthropic event. The FIRST article I ever read when I invented my own pasta sauce ten years ago was in the Harvard Business Review (linkedin in bio) that showed that shared activities, whether it’s volunteering, serving on a nonprofit board, or even something as simple as playing a weekly sport, create deeper and more diverse connections than traditional networking ever could. It's called the Shared Activities Principle. They unite people from different backgrounds around a common purpose, rather than clustering like-minded peers in the same echo chamber. At our dinners, we would get people to work together to create the meal, essentially inventing a container for shared activities for strangers to meet, to serve others. HBR wrote that if more than 65% of your network is made up of people you introduced yourself to, your network is probably too homogenous to bring you new ideas or opportunities. Shared activities break that pattern. When you volunteer, you’re meeting other people who also have a giving mentality. They’re givers by nature. Which means when life or business gets tough, those are the people most likely to show up for you. That’s not something you often find in a transactional cocktail-hour exchange of business cards. So here’s my invitation: Instead of another “networking event,” try joining a fundraiser, a Habitat for Humanity build, or a nonprofit board meeting. Invest your time in something that matters. You’ll not only serve a cause you care about, you’ll build a network rooted in generosity, trust, and shared purpose. For the leaders reading this, try sponsoring a volunteer day for your team. An entire day where your team still gets paid, but gets paid to do good. Bonus points if you can get folks from different teams that normally don't talk, to volunteer together. That's when cross-functional creativity, innovation, and mentorship occurs. P.S. If anybody has any ideas for volunteering in NYC, my DM's are always open. Me, Andy Ellwood, and John Vatalaro love volunteering on Saturday's at a Food Pantry in nyc, but would love so many more opportunities, please!

Who says you can't mix deep work with deep connections? Not us! After a 3-day retreat with my team at Irrational Labs I can truly say that we've redefined what it means to "gather”. ✨ In a remote/hybrid world, doing retreats well can take a team from “great” to “amazing”. We got good at these by doing, learning, and iterating. And most importantly, by applying behavioral science principles (hey, it’s what we do 😉). Many companies struggle with how to weave connection and meaning into getting work done at an off-site. Our approach blends strategic meetings, group project work, and whimsy, proving that the best results come from a mix of focus and fun. Curious how we do it? Here are practical insights we use to help other teams run successful off-sites that energize and unite (yes, we can help yours, too): 🎯 Combine work + social activities. This mix ensures productivity while also allowing everyone to enjoy their time and connect as humans. 🏃🏽♀️ Treat the work part like mini sprints. Go deep on one thing as a team for that in-person magic and leave with concrete results (sales collateral, blog posts, GTM strategy, etc.) 👥 Be inclusive: Cater to all personalities. Plan large group activities to energize extraverts and smaller dinners for those who prefer intimate settings. Include unplanned time so introverts can recharge. This respects individual preferences and gets all team members to participate. 🕒 Do 2-3 days. This is enough time to do deep dives into projects without draining the team's energy. 📅 2-3x a year is the perfect frequency—enough to align and motivate teams without overwhelming everyone's schedule. 💥 Go out with a bang! Use the peak-end rule and end on a high note. A positive final impression can sustain morale and juice up productivity long after folks are back in the grind. Let's redefine off-sites to be a superpower for teams in these evolving work environments. Thoughts? Be vocal 🗣👇🏼 Need help designing your next team retreat? Send me a DM or reach out 📧 #offsite #teams #BehavioralScience