Career Development · Team retreat
Professional Development Retreat for Teams in Vienna
One day in which your team understands how it ticks, works better together, and every person leaves with a concrete development step. Evidence-based, confidential and free of boxes.
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What this is about
Teams rarely fail for lack of competence. Friction arises where different ways of working remain unspoken: one person wants the big picture first, another the details; some think out loud, others share their best analysis after the meeting.
The professional development retreat makes these differences discussable, on a scientific basis and with respect for every working style. At the same time, it connects team development with individual career development: each person clarifies where their strengths lie, where their defaults can work against them, and which next step in their role would make the biggest difference.
Science, not types
Big Five instead of boxes
The basis is the Five-Factor Model, the most replicated model in personality research. Traits are tendencies, not abilities, and every default is a strength first.
Confidential
Group results only
The team works with the anonymous group profile. No individual profile is shown or discussed. What anyone shares about themselves remains voluntary.
Outcome
A playbook and a plan
The team leaves with its own communication rules, written together. Every person leaves with a personal 30-day commitment.
The day: three sessions
The day follows a clear line: from a shared understanding, through how the team works together, to each person’s own development.
Session 01
How we tick
What a century of personality research says about differences at work, and a shared language for them. In an exercise, the team lines up along the personality dimensions in the room, based on self-perception alone.
Session 02
How we work together
The aggregated team profile: where are our collective strengths, what blind spots does this mix create, which perspective is rare? Plus a toolbox for making your voice heard, within the team and towards other departments.
Session 03
How we grow
In stations, the team translates its profile into concrete communication rules. Then the focus shifts to growth in your role, a personal development compass and one concrete commitment for the next 30 days.
Career development within your role
Professional development is often equated with the next promotion. For most people, however, growth happens in the role they already have: through expertise and standing, bigger mandates and projects, mentoring and knowledge leadership, and by actively shaping the role itself.
The retreat uses the concept of job crafting (Wrzesniewski & Dutton, 2001): choosing tasks more deliberately, shaping collaboration and reframing what one’s work means. For HR, this makes development tangible even where promotions are not the only path.
At the centre is the principle of broadening your repertoire. Nobody is asked to become someone else. A more reserved person practises prepared visibility. A harmony-oriented person commits to a position in advance. A very precise person defines what good enough means. Every default remains a strength, complemented by one trained behaviour for chosen situations.
Why personality matters in teams
- Conscientiousness is the most dependable single personality predictor of job performance across occupations (Wilmot & Ones, 2019, PNAS).
- Extraversion relates more to who is seen as leadership material than to actual leadership effectiveness (Judge et al., 2002). Quieter profiles therefore need deliberate, prepared visibility.
- Trait is not destiny: targeted interventions produce measurable, lasting change (Roberts et al., 2017, Psychological Bulletin).
- If-then plans substantially increase the likelihood that intentions are carried out (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006).
Confidentiality and the personality profile
Before the retreat, all participants complete the Master Person Analysis (MPA) online. In the workshop, only an anonymous group profile is shown. Three ground rules apply all day: group results only, personal examples stay in the room, and what is written down together is what the team takes away.
Each person can receive their own profile graphic confidentially and in person from the trainer. Anyone who wants to go deeper can book the full personal profile with a 90-minute one-to-one feedback session.
Format at a glance
- Duration: one working day in three sessions, easily combined with an offsite
- Venue: at your premises or a seminar or retreat venue in and around Vienna
- Language: English, including all materials
- Preparation: online personality profile, plus an optional preparation of no more than ten minutes
- Materials: exercise cards, personal development compass, 30-day plan, take-home toolbox and a photo record of the team results
- Optional: individual profile feedback (90 minutes), one-to-one coaching, follow-up session with the team
Most recently delivered as a full-day team retreat for a specialist team of an international organisation.
Which teams the retreat suits
- Specialist teams and departments that want to put their collaboration on a shared footing
- Teams after a reorganisation, with new leadership or many new members
- Organisations that want to offer development even where promotions are not the only path
- International teams where different working and communication cultures meet
- Teams that want an offsite or team day with real substance
Your trainer
Dr. Judith Girschik
ICF PCC · Vice President of ICF Austria · 15+ years of leadership experience
Dr. Judith Girschik combines 15 years of her own leadership responsibility in international companies, including as managing director of a software company, with executive coaching up to C-level and long experience in working with personality profiles. She lectures at universities and works evidence-based, without guru approaches.
She designs every retreat personally with you and facilitates the day herself. More about Dr. Judith Girschik
Frequently asked questions about the retreat
What is a professional development retreat for teams?
A full-day workshop in which a team works on collaboration and professional growth together. It is based on a scientifically grounded personality profile that every team member completes beforehand. The team works with the aggregated group profile, develops its own communication rules, and each person leaves with a personal development plan for the next 30 days.
Does the team see individual personality profiles?
No. Only the aggregated, anonymous group profile is shown in the room. Individual profiles are neither shown nor discussed. Each person can receive their own graphic confidentially and directly from the trainer. What anyone shares about themselves is always their choice.
Which instrument do you use?
We use the Master Person Analysis (MPA), a personality instrument that describes work-related personality along the dimensions of the Five-Factor Model (Big Five). The Big Five is the most replicated model in personality science. We deliberately do not use typologies that put people into boxes.
Is this about promotions?
Not primarily. Career development here means growth in your current role: deepening expertise, becoming more visible, taking on bigger mandates, sharing knowledge and actively shaping the role. That makes the format particularly valuable for organisations where moving up is not the only way to grow.
How long is the retreat?
The core format is one working day with three sessions, roughly from 10:00 to 15:00. It fits well into an existing offsite or team day. Participants complete the personality profile online beforehand.
What language is the retreat held in?
The retreat is delivered in English, including all materials, which makes it a natural fit for international teams and organisations where English is the working language.
What does a professional development retreat cost?
The fee depends on team size, duration, venue and add-ons such as individual profile feedback sessions. After a short, free conversation you receive a transparent proposal.
How is the retreat different from team coaching?
The retreat is a compact, structured development day with a clear outcome. Team coaching accompanies a team over several sessions on specific issues. The two combine well, for example the retreat as a kick-off and coaching for implementation.
A development day for your team
In a short, free conversation we clarify team, goals, format and venue. You then receive a concrete proposal.
Related
All formats at a glance: Leadership Training Vienna. For individual leaders: Personality & Leadership Seminar. For individual career direction: Career Coaching and Personality Assessment. For taking a clear position in meetings: Assertive Communication Workshop.