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Workshops for leadership teams: why I distrust any workshop that starts with slides

November 4, 2026 · by Nathalie Buschor, psychotherapist FSP & executive coach in Zurich

Workshop methods for leadership teams: LEGO models, figures and cards in a constellation and a drawing – Buschor Coaching

Why good leadership teams need real encounters – not a battle of slides

Recently, in a workshop with an executive board: the team urgently needed support and relief – but it was unclear how. Everything seemed settled, and the discussion within the board kept going round in circles. Only when the team was asked to set up its own vision using figures did it become clear what was needed: someone placed a Scout Smurf figure in the constellation. Suddenly everyone understood what the company was missing and how the position had to be advertised to find the right person. Words had not been enough for that. At the next workshop the Scout was there – and the atmosphere in the board improved immediately.

For me, this is the core of my work with leadership teams: good slides, a clean agenda and a great vision do not add up to good leadership. It takes real encounters.

Where things really get stuck

Often it is not about strategy or numbers. People no longer understand each other: how the other person is coping with leading, how they lead, what is expected of them. Executive teams see each other every day and still lose sight of one another. The schedule slips, the energy drops, and at some point the development of the company suffers.

That is when you have to pause. Not in every meeting, but regularly:

Where are we heading?
Is our attention still in the right place?
Do we stand for the same values?
Are we still good role models?
What does AI mean for us, in concrete terms?

This needs no forms and no screen. It needs people who look each other in the eye, question themselves, show appreciation – and can still give and take critical feedback. That is harder than you might think, and we practise it less and less. Everyday life calls for a lot of diplomacy, nuance and interpretation. But when it comes to developing the company, to real joint work, better not.

Two partners, no words

In another executive team, two partners were complete opposites and understood each other less and less – because they no longer wanted to. The rest of the board was powerless. We built a company vision without a single word. Within ten minutes, bridges appeared – many bridges in different colours, first between the two sides and then across the whole team.

For the first time the two of them talked about what was actually missing despite all their disagreements over the numbers: a real connection. They had been good friends for a long time before they founded the company. Sometimes friendship ends, and you still keep working together. That is sad, sometimes disappointing – but, and this may be the most important thing: it remains a bridge on which professional collaboration can continue to be built. The material on the table brought the whole team back to what connected them – despite, and precisely because of, their long history. Especially in SMEs and partnerships, this connection is often the real capital.

Why this matters right now

Today anyone can create wonderful slides in minutes or build agents that design a workshop agenda. That is practical, and I use such tools myself. But the more tools there are, the more important the question of what they cannot replace (see also my article «AI – Hold me tight!»). And that is exactly the moment when people in an executive team truly meet as equals.

That is why I never start with slides, but with a clear framework:

What should participants have told each other by the end?
What needs to be said and heard so that people understand each other?
How can we try out something new and make the right decisions?

What a team "recites" all day long to employees and customers anyway does not belong at the core. No battle of slides, no long Excel spreadsheets. Interventions that go beyond logic and language achieve far more in my workshops. The surprising and the unseen, the unspoken and sometimes the unconscious move people forward.

Variety keeps people awake

Even good content loses its impact when a group stays in the same format for too long. Listening, reflecting, discussing and trying things out engage different forms of participation. The change of pace creates movement and small aha moments. For executive teams this is also a learning process: they get to know methods they can later use in their own meetings.

The methods do not have to be spectacular. Every exercise needs a purpose, a clear task, a realistic time frame and a short debrief.

Silence and detours are part of it

What do you do when nobody answers? Or when a contribution pulls the conversation in a different direction? A pause for thought or an exchange in pairs helps. I also work with constellations, cards, figures and images – for example with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® or elements of systemic structural constellations. Talking about a "third thing" makes it easier to get started and often leads to conversations that seem to miss the point and hit right at the centre. This third thing holds a lot of unconscious information.

When discussions sprawl, a friendly redirection helps: "That is an important point. I'll note it down, and we'll return to our question." And when time runs short, you need to know what can be cut and what is indispensable. That takes experience and sometimes courage – for instance to say: "The time wasn't enough. You need more of it, and you have to take it – not for me, but for your team and your business."

The view from outside

Anyone coming from outside has to understand the group dynamics, know what moves each individual, and make sure everyone gets space. After the workshop there should be a review: what was stuck, and what is already working well? Instead of long memos, a summary in the style of an infographic works well. It shows at a glance which topics were addressed, which are urgent, and where time achieves more than another explanation – and it can be briefly reflected on at the next workshop.

Company development, team development and especially collaboration within the executive board are a path and a learning process. Some things repeat themselves, and it is important that business owners see how they are moving forward. Important and difficult topics come back. That is not a sign of failure, but of staying with it and continuing to try. Otherwise life as an entrepreneur would be truly boring. If you are looking for a sparring partner between workshops, you will find one in executive coaching.

A workshop doesn't have to be perfect

If everything runs smoothly and there is no controversy, it was probably more of a lecture. When people engage wholeheartedly, take a risk and go home with a clear thought or a next step, it moves them forward. When the team can mull over open questions and has found a common language, the workshop was a success – and that moves the company forward.

That is how I understand company development.

When did your executive team last take the time to truly listen to one another?

If you are planning a workshop for your leadership team, feel free to contact me directly. Workshops are available in German, English and French.