Above all, Impact100 chapters depend on one critical resource to fulfill their mission: good people. Carving out the time to hold annual board retreats is a key step in ensuring that your board is informed and engaged. Effective board retreats take planning, preparation, and commitment, but they are worth the effort. The benefits of stepping away for a day or two to get to know each other and to focus on the work of building a thriving Impact100 organization is a best practice.

Alignment at the top helps to foster alignment across the organization. Forbes Magazine in 6 Steps For Improving Leadership Alignment, writes “Nothing guarantees mission failure more than a lack of alignment in a senior leadership team.”

Holding board retreats every year pays dividends in both the short term and the long term. When done well, board retreats build culture, foster teamwork and create connection and alignment to the values and mission of your Impact100 Chapter. In other words, annual board retreats can be your Impact100 Total Eclipse. Every. Single. Year.