Edge Retreat sharpens leaders through reflection and accountability

Busyness is not a virtue. Left unchecked, it can be a trap. To maintain an edge in any craft, we must slow down long enough to evaluate, refine and improve. Haskell’s Edge Retreat offers this opportunity. A short respite from routine activities, it provides time and space to think and question, “What is possible? “What could be better?” “How can I improve?”

The Edge Retreat returned to Ponte Vedra Lodge & Club this year and welcomed 30 team members for two days of learning, reflection and networking.

This retreat is part of the Leadership Edge suite of programming, designed to serve as the master’s level of leadership development at Haskell. As a prerequisite, all participants were graduates of Leadership Series, Haskell’s three-year leadership development program, or LS Fast Track, an abbreviated version for senior leaders.

Team members gathered from various offices – Beloit, Wisconsin; Charlotte, North Carolina; Dallas; Jacksonville, Florida; Oklahoma City, Livermore, California; and Tulsa, Oklahoma – with the shared understanding that leadership development is a continual process.

This year, the theme was Personal Accountability – underscoring the need for leaders to lead themselves first to lead others well. Workshops explored how to make better choices by asking, “What can I do?” Simple but profound, starting with the self eliminates victim thinking, procrastination and blame.

Ryan Camer, Director of Virtual Construction, said, “The Edge retreat created a groundswell of accountability best practices that I believe will begin to impact the company positively amongst the individual departments and teams, as well as great takeaways for personal life.”

The Edge Retreat also stands out for its unique access to world-class business leaders and speakers. The keynote session featured the Lead Director of Haskell’s Board, Don Evans, in conversation with Haskell CEO Jim O’Leary on the role of Haskell’s board. Ari Jolly, Expert Counsel at GuideWell Mutual Holding Corporation and a prominent leader and change agent in the Jacksonville community, spoke on the importance of building relationships and strategic thinking. Other guest speakers included Ryan Sparks, a senior executive in finance and a battle-decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran, on leadership best practices, and Megha Parekh, Jacksonville Jaguars’ Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, on taking risks and rising to challenges as they are presented.

Haskell’s eight-member Executive Leadership Team hosted small, breakout discussions on the practical application of personal accountability at work, in addition to attending various events and attending the keynote dinner.

Haskell is unique for many reasons, and its belief in investing in its people is at the top of the list. Another participant, Peter Ferek, Senior Integration Manager, said, “Selfishly, I hope this is not one and done for me. This was an incredibly valuable couple of days. I’d do it every month if I could.”

This year’s Edge Retreat is just one of the latest initiatives that embody the company’s dedication to providing team members “the BEST Job of Their Life.”

About the author: Liz Powell is the Manager of Leadership Development at Haskell. She facilitates and coaches on a range of topics like how to be a super communicator, enjoy conflict, multiply time, etc. Previously, Liz led programming at the Council on Foreign Relations and served in the U.S. Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer. She received her master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, her bachelor’s degree from King University and is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Executive Certificate in Leadership Coaching program.