What happens when 12 directors come together for a two day leadership retreat in the Blue Mountains? You build better leadership through deeper personal connections, alignment of values and goals, and commitment to effective leadership behaviours. Personal connections build better leadership Better leadership requires trust, honesty, and accountability. To achieve this, individual leaders must be self aware, true to their own values, and willing to improve leadership skills. Getting to know each other, and sharing events that have shaped your beliefs, builds trust and more honest conversations. It also reveals common experiences, highlighting our similarities as a team instead of our differences. Aligning personal values and goals Taking the time to reflect on your personal values and goals in life also enables leaders to appreciate the level of alignment with business values and goals, areas of potential conflict, and how to resolve this. Often leaders lose clarity about what they are trying to achieve and how the business can enable it. Sharing your personal values, goals and concerns with other leaders helps further build trust and shared understanding about what is important and what can be achieved as a team. Commitment to better leadership behaviours It is difficult to be effective as a leader unless you understand what leadership means at both a personal and business level. Assessing your leadership ability is a good starting point for understanding your leadership style and areas for improvement. But it is critical to explore and agree on the leadership behaviours that are needed as a team to reinforce business values and shape culture. Understanding the difference between managing and leading enables you to identify these desired behaviour. Then create a leadership team charter to build commitment and accountability within the team.