2021 08 30

Reflections after Beyond Retreat in Fulufjället national Park 2021

Busy is the new stupid. Those words flashed by on LinkedIn a while ago. And it stills seems legit. The last year has taught me the importance of unscheduled time. Not without direction. But with focus on my own inner direction. This autumn started with the possibility to come back to that inner direction in the best way possible. Together with Siri Wikander and Niklas Lindhardt, I brought 10 leaders from different businesses to Fulufjället national Park for Beyond Retreat. And these are my key takeways from this cocreated journey.

Calibrating the inner compass is essential for authentic leadership. It needs time and focus. Things often taken for granted but that does not come for free. Being with my longings and dreams for three days with almost no network coverage gave us a special start of this autumn. A well needed one!

People often ask me for tools for personal development and how to build a learning culture in their team and their organization. I return to two tools that are essential for me. First – reflection. Just being with me, myself and I. Sometimes this might be structured as a meeting, sometimes meditation and sometimes reading and reflecting. Second – meet others. Talk. Be present. We made these two practices our routines at Beyond Retreat, the feedback from the participants was overwhelming. So much wisdom that just needed this space to form and put in words.

Nature is a gift and it is in our hands. In times of climate changes and extreme weather, returning to the mountains makes me feel small and vulnerable, but also strong and capable. We have the privilege to belong to nature, and it cannot just be seen as a bottomless well of resources. Spending time with it strengthens my belief that I can contribute to both a sustainable work culture as well as a sustainable business and growth, which was mirrored by several of the participants at Beyond Retreat.

Needless to say. Participant’s evaluations were better that I could ever had hoped for. An NPS of 10! With that start, I’m ready to take on the 20 trainee programs that I manage this autumn for Handelsbanken, Scania, ICA, Volvo Cars, Folksam, Länsförsäkringar and many more. What a blessing to contribute to the personal leadership of the next generation and let my inner compass guide…

Johan Norrfjärd
I work with people driven business development. Simply because I want to give momentum to the right kind of transformation. The transformation coming from vertical development that creates a better world for current and coming generations. I strive for trust, happiness and freedom in all collaborations and co-creations.
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