You don’t need another rushed meeting.
You need time to breathe.
To reflect.
To regroup.
To move forward.
To adapt to the ongoing changes, together.
In most organizations, meetings are go-go-go. Strategy sessions get cut short. Retreats turn into task lists. And too often, people walk away feeling more drained than energized.
This free, practical guide offers a different path. One rooted in reflection, inclusion, and intentionality. One that helps your team slow down just enough to find clarity, connection, and momentum.
This Guide Can Help You
Whether you’re leading a 30-minute team huddle or a multi-day retreat, the ideas in here can support you to:
Break the cycle of extractive meetings and build space for restoration and recalibration
Center inclusion and accessibility in every element of planning—physical space, emotional tone, and power dynamics
Templates and examples to adapt your meeting or retreat to what your team really needs right now
Show up with more clarity around goals, group dynamics, and facilitation choices
Help improve team morale—re-energized, reconnected, and more ready to move forward
Who It’s For…
This guide was made for the people doing the behind-the-scenes work to hold teams together:
HR Leaders and People & Culture professionals
C-suite Executives and Executive Directors
Professional Development Coordinators
Internal Facilitators, ERG Leads, and Team Managers
Anyone responsible for convening people with care and purpose
Get the guide!
What’s Inside
This is not another "how to run a meeting" guide. It’s a flexible, inclusive toolkit you’ll return to again and again.
You’ll get:
✅ Core concepts that reimagine meetings as spaces for reflection, creativity, and recalibration
✅ Planning strategies for accessibility, psychological safety, and hybrid engagement
✅ Real-life examples and mini case studies from nonprofits, org leaders, and facilitation professionals
✅ Templates for quick check-ins, quarterly intensives, and full team retreats
✅ Built-in reflection prompts to help you slow down and take stock
✅ A printable one-page planning checklist to keep your prep focused and flexible
✅ An invitation to partner with Erin-Kate for tailored support
Sample Use Cases
Got 15 minutes at the top of a team meeting? Use a simple check-in ritual to surface what’s working and what’s not.
Planning a quarterly regroup with your staff? Use the included format to align on priorities, re-ground in values, and celebrate small wins.
Hosting a full-day retreat? Tap into embodied processing, opt-out spaces, and creative co-design—without sacrificing clarity or goals.
Hosting hybrid retreats or meetings? Use our hybrid-specific tips for making virtual participants feel fully included, rather than an afterthought.
Why Stepbacks Matter
This guide is grounded in the belief that meetings don’t have to be extractive. We can design gatherings to be spacious, generative, and deeply supportive of human needs. That shift requires intention, but the result is powerful:
More trust
More clarity
More room for honesty and collaboration
When we give our teams time to pause and reflect, we make space for wiser decisions and more sustainable progress.
Ready to Begin?
Fill out the form below to get your free copy of Making Space for Stepbacks and Intensives.
Whether you're starting small or planning something big, this guide will help you show up with more clarity, confidence, and care.
© 2025 Erin-Kate Escobar Consulting. All rights reserved.
