Why Strategy Retreats Matter, and Why They Are So Much More Than an Away Day

By Marksteen Adamson, Founding Partner and Chief Creative Officer, ASHA

There is a familiar ritual in corporate life: the away day. A venue is booked, the team gathers, an agenda is followed, and everyone returns to work hoping something meaningful has shifted.

Sometimes it has. Often it has not.

The challenge is not intent. It is environment, pace and expectation. Strategy rarely benefits from being squeezed into the margins of already crowded calendars. Creative thinking does not thrive under pressure. Alignment does not happen when teams are still mentally tethered to emails, meetings and operational noise.

This is where a strategy retreat becomes something fundamentally different from a standard corporate away day.

Strategy Requires Space

Good strategy demands more than discussion. It requires perspective, distance and the freedom to think beyond the immediate. When leadership teams step out of their usual environment, they gain access to a different quality of thinking.

A strategy retreat is not time away from work. It is time spent working at the right altitude. It creates the conditions for leaders to engage with questions that are often postponed in the day to day rhythm of the organisation.

Where are we actually heading? What is no longer serving us? What needs clarity, not speed? How do we move forward together?

These questions are difficult to answer inside the office. They require space.

Why Environment Matters

Where thinking happens directly influences how thinking happens. Natural surroundings, movement and calm environments support cognitive flexibility, creativity and focus. When people are removed from constant stimulation, the mind settles. When the mind settles, insight emerges.

At ASHA Strategy Lab, our retreat programmes are intentionally designed to combine structured strategy work with time outdoors and moments of pause. This is not an indulgence. It is part of the strategic process itself.

Breaking workshops with time in nature allows ideas to develop rather than compete for attention. Conversations deepen. Connections form. What begins as discussion becomes understanding.Structure Without Pressure

A successful strategy retreat balances rigour with openness. We bring clear frameworks to help teams explore identity, purpose and direction. But strategy does not land through frameworks alone.

Some of the most valuable moments happen between sessions. During a walk. Over a shared meal. In quiet reflection. A retreat creates space for these moments to unfold naturally, without being rushed or dismissed as secondary.

This is where alignment is felt, not just discussed

The Human Dimension of Strategy

Strategy is ultimately carried forward by people. When teams step out of habitual roles and routines, different dynamics emerge. Listening improves. Assumptions soften. Trust strengthens.

Shared experience builds connection in a way meetings rarely do. Not through forced activities, but through presence and time. Teams return not only clearer on strategy, but clearer on each other.

This has a lasting impact on how decisions are made, how challenges are navigated, and how leadership is experienced across the organisation.

What Organisations Gain

For executive teams, senior leadership groups and HR leaders, the value of a strategy retreat is both immediate and sustained.

Clear strategic direction; Stronger leadership alignment; Renewed creative energy; Better decision making; Deeper trust and collaboration; A shared sense of purpose.

These outcomes shape culture as much as performance.

More Than an Away Day

A strategy retreat is not about escape. It is about intention. It is an investment in clarity, connection and organisational intelligence.

In partnership with Roam & Wonder, we deliver corporate retreats in the Cotswolds that remove the logistical and cognitive burden from leadership teams. The environment is carefully curated. The facilitation is purposeful. The experience is designed to allow leaders to focus fully on what matters most.

Teams leave with more than notes or ideas. They leave with direction, alignment and momentum.

A Final Thought

If your organisation is navigating complexity, growth or change, and if the way forward feels constrained by the everyday, it may not be more discussion that is needed.

It may be space.

Space to think. Space to connect. Space to decide, together.

That is what a strategy retreat makes possible.

To learn more about ASHA Strategy Lab retreats, visit ashaandco.uk/programmes/retreats To explore the retreat experience and locations, visit roamandwonder.co.uk/corporate-retreats