Turn Shared Moments Into Lasting Culture
Gratitude Storytelling Retreats are immersive experiences where teams do the one thing they never have time for: slowing down enough to name what actually matters — and share it with each other.
What You'll Experience
Each retreat is custom-designed for your team. Here's what participants consistently describe as the most meaningful elements.
Structured Storytelling
Using the Story Spine and other narrative frameworks, participants learn to turn gratitude from a vague feeling into a specific, shareable story. The shift from "thank you" to "here's what you did and why it mattered" changes the room.
Peer Recognition Circles
In small groups and full-team formats, participants give and receive recognition that is specific, evidence-based, and forward-pointing — not platitudes, but real stories about real moments.
Culture Mapping
By analyzing the stories that emerge — what they have in common, what conditions enabled them — teams build a living map of their culture at its best. This becomes the foundation for future norms and leadership conversations.
Personal Reflection
Alongside team activities, participants have dedicated quiet time for individual journaling and reflection. Gratitude is a personal practice before it's a group one, and the retreat creates space for both.
Commitment Rituals
The retreat closes with a forward-looking commitment ceremony — each person names one specific appreciation practice they will carry into daily leadership. Simple, concrete, and publicly accountable.
Take-Home Toolkit
Every participant leaves with a curated set of tools — prompt sheets, templates, and practice guides — to sustain the retreat's momentum long after the day ends.
Is This Retreat Right for Your Team?
Gratitude Storytelling Retreats work for a wide range of teams and moments. Here are the contexts where they have the deepest impact:
- Leadership teams looking to deepen trust and model appreciation for their organizations
- Teams at the end of a significant project, year, or phase of growth
- Organizations investing in culture and retention in a high-turnover environment
- Intact teams navigating transition — leadership changes, restructuring, or rapid growth
- Groups that feel productive but disconnected — high output, low cohesion
- Teams where recognition exists on paper but doesn't land in practice
Retreat Outcomes
Participants consistently report three lasting changes:
- A stronger sense of being seen, known, and valued by their colleagues
- A personal practice of specific, story-based appreciation that survives the day
- A shared language for what this team values — and what "best" looks like in practice
- Clarity on individual strengths, named by the people who work alongside them
- Renewed sense of meaning and purpose in the shared work
- Concrete tools and templates for sustaining the culture beyond the retreat
Retreat Formats
Every retreat is custom-designed. These are the most common configurations.
Half-Day Experience
4 hours · 8–20 people
A focused introduction to gratitude storytelling — ideal for teams new to the practice or working within tight schedules. Covers the core framework, peer recognition activity, and commitment ritual.
Full-Day Immersion
7–8 hours · 8–30 people
The full experience: storytelling framework, culture mapping, individual reflection, peer circles, and a full commitment ceremony. Most popular format for annual offsites and milestone events.
Multi-Day Retreat
2–3 days · 8–50 people
For teams ready for deep transformation. Combines gratitude storytelling with strengths-based leadership development and Appreciative Inquiry elements. Custom-designed for each organization.
"Stories are data with a soul. They carry the evidence that humanity and culture actually exist in an organization — that it's not just a machine."
Let's Design Your Retreat
Every retreat starts with a conversation about your team, your context, and what you most want to create. There's no pitch — just a real discussion about what would serve your people.