Designing Meaningful Team Experiences Part IV: Planning a Team Experience That Works for Everyone (and Keeps Working)
Over the past several weeks, I’ve shared frameworks and mindsets to help you lead team development experiences that are meaningful and impactful.
We started by defining the goal. Beyond interpersonal connection, what’s the deeper purpose behind bringing the team together? And if connection is the goal, what value does that bring to the team, the function, and the business? How will you know when you’ve achieved it?
Then we talked about knowing your team—looking closely at individual roles, the maturity stage of the team as a whole, and the needs of the teams your leaders represent.
Most recently, we explored how to connect it all to the big picture. By the end of your time together, your team should understand how the investment they just made connects to why the business exists and why the team exists.
In this final post of the series, we’ll hit the last two steps:
Plan an experience that works for everyone
Make team connection a lasting habit
Plan an Experience That Works for Everyone
The conversation around inclusion can feel weighty. It’s been politicized. And sometimes it’s portrayed as synonymous with activism. But at its core, inclusive leadership is simply good leadership.
Study after study after study has shown: inclusive teams perform better. They’re more innovative. More engaged. More resilient. Inclusion drives business outcomes and team satisfaction alike.
Still, some leaders feel overwhelmed by the pressure to “get it right.” And yes, sometimes inclusion does call for advocacy—especially when structural barriers get in the way. If a team member uses a wheelchair and your offsite location isn’t accessible, inclusion might mean advocating for a new venue, partnering with HR, and making sure that person never feels like an exception or a burden.
But often, inclusion is far simpler. It looks like thoughtful, human care. It looks like planning ahead. It looks like asking yourself: Will this experience work for everyone on my team? And if not, what small shift could I make to ensure it does?
Here are some tactical ways to build inclusion into your next team experience:
Share pre-reads ahead of time so reflective team members can prepare
Include a mix of formats: individual reflection, small group dialogue, and full group discussion
Build in meaningful breaks (15+ min) so people can recharge
Give team members control over how much they share—especially when the group is new
Choose a space that feels safe and accessible for all. If there’s a risk component, get full consent before moving forward
And most important? Bring in a skilled facilitator.
An experienced facilitator will design an inclusive experience by default. They’ll anticipate needs, adjust in real time, and create a space where everyone can engage fully. (I’d love to help design and run your next session. Just reach out.)
Make Connection a Habit
You’ve set a clear goal. You’ve designed a thoughtful, inclusive experience. You’ve connected it to the big picture. The session is over, your team feels energized, and you’re proud of what you built. Now what?
One-off experiences are great for warming relationships. But to see real movement—in trust, in performance, in strategy—you need consistency. Ongoing investment. Habits.
Here’s how to make team connection stick:
Build in accountability. Wrap your session with specific next steps. Assign owners. Add timelines. Schedule follow-ups.
Reinforce the experience. Bring a piece of it into your regular team rhythms. Maybe it’s a check-in question. Maybe it’s referencing personality assessment insights in team meetings. Keep the thread going.
Create a cadence. In-person time is precious. Design a rhythm that fits your reality. That could be one annual offsite, supported by virtual touchpoints each quarter. Or twice-yearly retreats with lighter monthly check-ins.
Keep your goal front and center. A clear goal gives your team something to rally around. A fresh one keeps it relevant.
Share the ownership. Once you’ve built a strong foundation, invite others to help lead future sessions. Rotate planning roles. Let newer team members step in. Make the experience theirs, too.
When you know your goal, know your team, accommodate their needs, connect your work to the big picture, and make it a habit—you unlock new levels of performance and impact. Your team grows. Your business benefits. And your people thrive.
Final Thoughts
This post wraps up a four-part series on designing high-impact team experiences. At the start of the series, we named what’s at stake: the quality of your team’s conversations, alignment, and momentum depends on the intention and care you bring to moments of connection. Team building isn’t a side activity. It’s one of the primary ways you strengthen performance, clarity, and trust.
Over these four posts, we explored how to design sessions that deliver real value. We began with setting a clear, meaningful goal. Then we looked at how to design for the team you actually have, how to connect every moment to the big picture, and how to create inclusive, sustaining habits that help your team grow stronger over time.
If you're ready to start planning your next team experience, use this one-pager to leverage the framework. And if you want a thought partner to help shape something truly transformative, I’d love to hear from you.
Let’s build something meaningful—together.
