As more leadership development shifts online, many of us ache for face-to-face contact – for the opportunity to gather in person, on the land, in a sacred space, for inspiration, belonging, and connection.
That’s why I hold deep respect for the leaders and teams who invest in retreats. Designing and facilitating them is among my greatest joys as a leadership coach. These immersive, beauty-soaked experiences leave lasting imprints – not just in our minds, but in our bodies and souls.
I’ve grown through many kinds of retreats – from long-weekend team events, to four-day vision fasts with the School of Lost Borders, to ten-day silent Vipassana retreats. Each offering its own kind of transformation.
For me, retreats are like the new moon – where we disappear from view, but are quietly, powerfully present in a fertile space, perfect for seeding new intentions.
When we retreat, we reset. We remember who we are. We become more intimate – with ourselves, each other, and the world around us. That intimacy fosters fresh perspectives, new possibilities, and yes, even strategic clarity.
Range of Retreats
In partnership with other leadership providers, and as Earth Converse, I offer retreats as spaces for healing, rejuvenation, development, and evolution. Through a whole-systems, mindful and nature-based approach, they are invitations to relax, renew, reimagine, and regenerate. Examples include:
Executive Retreats
Transformation is amplified when executive teams retreat. When we feel the disconnection, we are ripe to go deeper. In a safe, immersive space, I have witnessed leaders unmask, share their stories, and rediscover one another’s humanness. Trust deepens. Conversations shift. Strategy gains soul.
Through partnering with Impact International, I still remember the turning point when the Direct International team shared their life stories. Or when Google Cloud struggled their way to a mountain hut – humbled by terrain and weather, without Google Maps. Or when the newly appointed CEO of Scott Bader volunteered to be “the body” in a rescue abseil.
Strategic Retreats
Perspective requires distance. Whether reviewing a year, responding to global events, or shaping future direction, retreats help leaders step out of the noise and into meaningful dialogue – with skilled facilitation to guide the way.
I’ve helped support organisations like WFP in reviewing learnings from Ukraine, FAO in defining rural policy, IFAD in year-end reflection, and various corporates in co-designing bold strategies.
Team-Building Retreats
Research confirms what we intuitively know: the earlier and more often teams meet in person, the stronger they perform. Retreats help teams problem-solve, build trust, and have the conversations they’ve been missing. And often, it’s the unstructured moments, the meals, the walks, the shared laughter – that create the real magic.
I’ve led and co-led team retreats for the likes of the UN (IFAD, FAO, WFP, UNESCO), non-profits (Common Purpose, EURid), global brands (Nissan, Heineken, Google), and early-stage ventures to build stronger bonds and shared vision.
Leadership Programmes with Retreats
The most valued part of any leadership programme? Connection. Whether it’s a 3-day offsite, or a 7-day immersive, retreats create shared experiences that spark deep learning and lasting relationships.
From 3-day blended retreats with Nissan, Heineken, and Ericsson, to 4 day visionary paths with Original Intelligence 5-day immersive with Unilever and Common Purpose, to multi-day Earth Converse leadership journeys – these are professionally and personally, individually and collectively, enriching.
Earth Converse Coaching Journey
In a world full of online coaching programmes, the 6-month Earth Converse Coaching Journey stands apart – with a 7-day retreat in Mallorca at its heart. Rooted in connection, it’s about more than developing coaching skills; it’s about restoring our relationship with people, planet, and possibility.
“We need to re-learn how to be together on the land. To feel how forest air soothes us. How the sea evokes power and the horizon expands our vision. How mystery, story, and presence reawaken what really matters.”
Seasonal Retreats
Retreats designed in harmony with seasonal rhythms offer especially powerful opportunities. In March, Earth Converse hosted a Spring Reset in Mallorca – a regenerative space to explore challenge and change, guided by nature. A testimonial from a satisfied leader:
“The Spring Reset was the perfect opportunity to do just that. Penelope is an absolute expert at introducing activities and then getting out of the way so we could do the work. The organisation, setting, and food were perfect. Highly recommended.”
Susan Ring, Ring Interpreting
So an invitation
Do you want to enhance your leadership capacity? Do you want your executive team to lead in service of people and planet?
Then do what wise people have always done: Retreat.
Step into nature. Reconnect with yourself, your team, and your deeper purpose.
Whether here in beautiful Mallorca (where I live), or in a location of your choosing, I’d love to co-create something with you.
Let’s talk about retreating… to advance.
Like many freelance consultants, the majority of my corporate leadership work has been as an associate or collaborator with a ´bigger entity´. Respecting that the case studies and client relationship belongs with them (often in partnership with the likes of Impact Italia and Impact International), it is also important for me (and my potential clients) to understand the contribution I have made and can make in service of #peopleandplanet. Hence this piece. Looking forward to our conversation.