As we look ahead, retreats remain an integral part of our leadership development approach. With the challenges organizations face today, retreats provide a powerful tool to bring people together, foster connection and understanding, and create actionable solutions. Whether it’s guiding teams through strategic planning or guiding leaders navigate complex transformations, retreats will continue to be at the heart of our work.

Here’s to 30 more years of leadership, transformation, and the power of retreats.

For 30 years, Continuum Consulting has been at the forefront of leadership development, organizational transformation, and human-centered design, adapting to the ever-shifting landscape of the business world. From its humble beginnings, the company has grown into a beacon of resilience, innovation, and purpose, partnering with organizations to not only survive but thrive amid shifting sands. As they celebrate three decades of pioneering work, Continuum's co-founders Lisa Marie Main and Wendy B. White, along with their partner Morgan Daniels, reflect on the challenges that have shaped their journey and the road ahead in an era defined by "novel unknowns."

Public health has been on the front lines of extraordinary change over the last several years. In the wake of already strained capacity from the pandemic, staff across North Carolina's Public Health Departments have weathered a storm of the pandemic, shifting priorities, policies, funding challenges, political scrutiny, and relentless demands. While the endurance of these dedicated professionals has been remarkable, so too has the cost—rising burnout, disengagement, and turnover have taken a toll on the very teams working to protect and promote the health and well-being of the communities they serve.

An international pharmaceutical client had spent the last several years at the epicenter of the global effort to create and deliver a life-saving vaccine. As the immediate crisis subsided, the organization transitioned into a new and equally demanding phase: reorganization, re-prioritization, and rebuilding.

Not Just a Getaway—A Strategic Investment
When thoughtfully planned, retreats are not just about relaxation; they’re about realignment. Teams return not only rested, but refocused—ready to move with greater unity, direction, and energy. Leaders walk away with insight into team dynamics, communication styles, and what’s needed to move forward together.

Supporting Workplace Mental Health Through Regenerative Leadership: Strategies for Today’s Leaders.

Did you know 60% of leaders say they feel burned out at the end of every day? As leaders, we often prioritize performance over personal well-being. But what if our ability to lead well starts with how we care for our minds?

We are living in extraordinary times. The pace and scale of disruption—pandemics, geopolitical instability, climate disasters, systemic injustice, and economic volatility—create a constant swirl of uncertainty. The 24/7 news cycle amplifies every shock, and the noise can be deafening. If we’re not mindful, it’s easy to get swept up in the storm—emotionally, mentally, and even organizationally.

How do we cultivate our own "eye of the hurricane"—as individuals, teams, and organizations—so we can respond with clarity, resilience, and purpose, even as the world churns around us?

There was a time when being an "expert" meant you had arrived. Your degree, your title, your years of experience were the stamps of authority that told the world: Listen to me. I know best. But in today’s world of rapid change, digital disruption, and shifting paradigms, expertise alone is no longer enough.

In 2008, Glen Warren founded the Raleigh based nonprofit, Fathers Forever: Healing Fathers, Saving Families. Glen has been championing the empowerment of men for over 25 years and has seen the difference it makes when fathers take an active role in their children's lives. Glen and his team at Fathers Forever believe every child deserves the positive presence of a father. Their 12 week program works to restore the relationship between children and their fathers, by equipping fathers with hands-on activities to help set a new path as an active parent.

FDA-regulated companies often face the challenge of balancing Time, Money, and Quality—an interplay commonly referred to as the “project management triangle” or “triple constraint.” Imbalances in these areas can lead to significant challenges, including compliance issues, cultural problems, and low employee morale.

We’re continuing to study megatrends emerging right now and today are naming the fifth one in our ongoing research into what’s creating major impacts.
We consider something to be a megatrend when there’s a major shift in policies and/or activity across a wide spectrum of organizations and cultures, enough to rewrite our shared stories on a global scale. The most talked-about megatrends are usually the ones seen as global threats, but we focus on solution-focused trends that show great promise of doing good, solving key societal issues, and advancing future generations. These aren’t ‘weak signals’ on the horizon but enormous emergent shifts that show up in our everyday worlds of work and family.

According to research, the world’s coaching industry is expected to reach a value of $20 billion in 2023, and in the United States alone, the industry is worth $14 billion.  To support these numbers, 99% of individuals and organizations that have received coaching state they are satisfied or very satisfied with the outcomes.

There we were … sitting in a crowded restaurant in downtown Banner Elk, NC, waiting for someone to come take our order. As we waited, we did what any two organizational development consultants tend to do, we observed people going about their work. We are always observing what leaders, teams and organizations are doing well and what could be improved, even when we go out to dinner.
How were people doing their jobs? Were they happy, proactive, supportive of each other? Well-trained? What was the customer experience like?

I have to admit, I love retreats.

Our first company, RETREATS INC, was designed around them. RETREATS was an acronym that stood for Reaching Excellence Through Recreation, Education and Adventure Training Strategies. Yes, it took an all-nighter to come up with that! We were one of the first companies to take corporate groups onto ropes courses or use catamarans and kayaks to teach about change. ‘Trust fall’ anyone?

However, over time we began to hear …

TOOLS FOR COMPANIES DEALING WITH THE UNKNOWN

As part of our series on the megatrends we see emerging globally and locally, today’s focus—within the megatrend of Regen—is on the importance of regenerative systems and design into the future.

The climate is changing, requiring fundamental shifts of focus and mindset at all levels of society. The science and approaches to planetary healing continue to emerge as does the language to talk about it, making it difficult to wrap our arms around what’s needed. We can get lost in the terminology. We hear about green and sustainable businesses that consider a wide array of environmental, economic, and social factors when making business decisions, including the triple bottom line and corporate social responsibility. Is there farther to go? Leading from the edge, offering the most innovative solutions means we must go beyond sustainability and begin to understand the importance of the regenerative.

started the Let’s Choose Love [LCL] movement at the beginning of the pandemic. One of the goals was to bring encouragement and new ideas to others in hopes of inspiring positive action. The invitation was for people to leverage their gifts and talents to bring solutions that addressed challenges they were passionate about. 

A megatrend is something that has current or potential impact on a global scale. The most talked-about megatrends are usually the ones seen as global threats, but we are choosing to focus on huge solution-focused trends that show great promise of doing good, solving a key societal issue, advancing future generations. These aren’t ‘weak signals’ on the horizon but real, enormous, emergent shifts that show up in our everyday world of work and family.