There’s something fascinating about leadership teams. They’re made up of talented people, each with their own skills and ambitions, but often, they don’t seem to be quite in sync. In fact, it’s not unusual to find teams where people are pulling in different directions, perhaps even competing with each other, rather than working together towards a common goal.

Often, leadership teams are also narrow-sighted—they focus on moving from A to B—creating rigid plans to hit specific targets. But when something unexpected comes along, they come unstuck, because their plans and ways of thinking are inflexible.

Now, I’m not suggesting that your team is like this (although, if we’re being honest, it might be). What I am suggesting is that, sometimes, making just a small shift—something that seems almost insignificant at first—can lead to a much bigger impact down the line.

So, how do you take a leadership team that’s maybe a bit disjointed, maybe a bit distracted and inflexible, and turn it into a cohesive, high-performing unit ready to adapt to new opportunities? Well, it starts with alignment. Let me explain.

Why alignment matters: getting everyone on the same page

I’ve spent a fair bit of time with leadership teams, and there’s one thing I’ve noticed—when people aren’t aligned, the whole thing can fall apart pretty quickly. It’s like trying to row a boat where half the team’s rowing forwards and the other half’s going backwards. The boat doesn’t move much—in fact it often goes round in circles—and everyone gets pretty frustrated.

Alignment is about making sure everyone knows where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. It sounds simple, but you’d be surprised how often teams get it wrong. One person’s focused on growth, another’s worrying about operational efficiency, and someone else is wondering why there’s no milk in the fridge.

Getting your team aligned isn’t always about grand gestures or revolutionary ideas. It’s often about small, deliberate moves—like making time for regular check-ins, bringing everyone together for offsites, and having those honest, sometimes uncomfortable, conversations.

When you’re aligned, you’re not just rowing—you’re all rowing in the same direction.

What alignment brings to the table:

• Clarity: Everyone knows what’s happening and where they fit into it.
• Efficiency: No more time wasted on duplicated efforts or miscommunication.
• Motivation: When everyone’s on the same page, it creates a sense of purpose.
• Accountability: People actually know what they’re supposed to be doing, which makes it easier to hold them to it.

Alignment isn’t just about solving today’s challenges—it’s about preparing your team for the opportunities that lie ahead. When everyone’s on the same page, it creates the space for creative thinking and experimentation. And that’s where the real potential lies—not just in reaching your current goals, but in discovering the bigger, better outcomes you couldn’t see before. That’s where something called B-prime comes in.

B-prime: thinking beyond the obvious

Most leadership teams focus on moving from A to B—creating strategies to hit targets.

But A-to-B thinking can be limiting. It’s linear, predictable, and often leaves untapped potential on the table.

I first learned of the B-prime concept from leadership coach Robert Ellis, who explains: “Once you start working on B, B changes, because you always learn something you didn’t know when you began the journey.”

It sounds obvious, right? Things never play out exactly as we planned - there are always opportunities to learn and improve along the way. But very few people think like this.

So what does that mean for your strategy? Does it become obsolete as soon as something unpredictable happens? What if you could achieve more than just hitting B?

B-prime outcomes are greater than what’s imagined at the start. It’s about moving beyond the obvious and reaching extraordinary results.

How to bring B-prime thinking into the mix:

• Question the obvious: Are you really aiming for B because it’s the best outcome, or is it just the most comfortable, familiar option? Sometimes we stick with what’s easy, even when there’s something better hiding in plain sight.
• Embrace a bit of chaos: Let your team try things that might seem slightly... unhinged. It’s okay if they don’t have all the answers. In fact, it’s probably better if they don’t. The magic often happens when you’re not quite sure what you’re doing.
• Have a hypothesis, not a crystal ball: As Roger Martin says in Playing to Win, strategy is based on hypothesis. You don’t know for sure how it will play out, but you can explain the clear logic behind it. The important thing is to have a strong rationale, then experiment, adapt, and refine as you go. It’s not about certainty—it’s about smart bets.
• Play the long game: Don’t get trapped in the next quarter’s numbers. Ask yourself: where could this business be in five years if we allowed ourselves to aim for something truly different? And—brace yourself—what radical moves would it take to get there?

B-prime isn’t about throwing your goals out the window. It’s about recognising that sometimes, the best path isn’t the straight one. And that’s where the real breakthroughs happen.

In fact, it's about realising you're not on a path, you're on a quest. And this is where it's crucial to get your team working closely together, otherwise people are going to get lost.

Embracing B-prime thinking doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a shift in mindset and approach. And often, the best way to start making that shift is by stepping out of the daily grind and into a space where your team can think more creatively—where you can start that journey of transformation.

This is why a team offsite can be so powerful. It’s the moment you and your team cross the threshold into something new.

Crossing the threshold

To be on a quest, you need to know how to journey.

There’s a moment in every classic story where the hero steps out of the ordinary world and into the unknown. It’s the moment they cross the threshold, and begin their hero’s journey. It might feel daunting or a bit dramatic at the time, but without it, they’re stuck, repeating the same patterns, never quite moving forward.

And this, strangely enough, is what organising a team offsite can feel like.

You’re sitting there in the day-to-day grind—meetings, deadlines, firefighting—and the idea of gathering everyone for an offsite feels a bit like stepping into the unknown. Do you really need to leave the office? Isn’t there a risk it’ll all just be small talk and awkward icebreakers? Maybe. But like any good hero, the magic happens when you leave the safety of the known and cross the threshold into something new.

A great team offsite, much like the hero’s first step into a strange new world, is where transformation begins. It’s the space where your leadership team stops just surviving and starts making real progress. And while it might seem like just another meeting on the calendar, this could be the pivotal moment that changes everything—where you and your team come together, align on a winning aspiration, and start working in sync.

It’s not dragons or mythical beasts waiting on the other side, but something potentially even more challenging—honest conversations, strategic thinking, and, dare I say it, a bit of team bonding. And that’s where the real adventure begins.

A well-run offsite can be transformative. You get everyone aligned, clear on their roles, and focused on the same goals. And it doesn’t hurt to throw in a bit of team bonding too—there’s something about getting people out of the office that helps them loosen up, talk more freely, and, dare I say it, actually enjoy themselves.

What makes a good team offsite?

• Focus: Don’t try to solve everything in one go. Pick a few key areas and explore them deeply—but leave space for experimentation and creative thinking. The aim isn’t just to address today’s challenges, but to explore what might be possible beyond the obvious.
• Honest conversations: This is where the magic happens. Get the real issues out in the open and tackle them head-on. Encourage the team to challenge assumptions and think about what’s holding them back from something bigger—something better than they’ve imagined. B-prime thinking is about letting go of limitations and embracing what could be.
• Actionable outcomes: Make sure everyone leaves with clear next steps, but don’t stop there. Think about actions that create the conditions for breakthrough moments. What can you experiment with? What small, strategic moves could lead to big changes down the line? No vague, feel-good statements—real, actionable steps that move your team forwards.
• Team building: Let’s face it, people work better together when they actually like each other. But it’s not just about getting along. The better the team chemistry, the more open they’ll be to new ideas, challenges, and creative thinking.

Looking back: the moment that made the difference

Imagine yourself years from now, looking back and thinking, “That offsite was the moment everything started to change, and our real journey began.”

It might seem like just another offsite at the time, but it could be the small shift that leads to a much bigger impact. It could be the moment your team made that small but crucial shift—got aligned, started experimenting, and opened up to the possibility of something bigger.

The thing about these small shifts is that they don’t always feel dramatic at the time. But they build momentum. And before you know it, they’ve led to something much bigger—a more cohesive team, a clearer strategy, and a business that’s not just surviving, but thriving.