What is it?

This is a 2-hour interactive workshop that helps teams identify what genuinely matters to them and consciously let go of what doesn't. Drawing on principles of selective focus and values-based decision making, participants work through practical exercises to clarify their priorities, distinguish between productive and unproductive struggles, and commit to specific changes in how they spend their time and energy.

Why is it useful?

Teams often spread themselves too thin, treating every task, metric and stakeholder demand as equally important. This leads to burnout, diluted impact and frustration. This workshop gives participants a shared language and practical tools to make better choices about where to direct their collective effort. By the end, team members will have identified specific commitments to drop, reduce or protect, and will leave with clearer alignment on what success actually looks like for them.

Target Audience

• Leadership teams looking to sharpen strategic focus
• Project teams feeling overwhelmed by competing priorities
• Departments going through change or restructuring
• Teams experiencing burnout or decision fatigue
• Managers wanting to improve team alignment and reduce wasted effort

Workshop Objectives

• Help participants distinguish between what they care about by choice versus habit or obligation
• Enable the team to identify and name their core values and priorities
• Build shared understanding of what the team should stop, reduce or protect
• Create individual and collective commitments to act on insights
• Develop practical language for ongoing priority conversations

Summary

Duration: 120 mins
Group Size: 8-16 people
Format: In-person, highly interactive

Materials Needed

• Flip chart paper or whiteboard
• Marker pens (multiple colours)
• Sticky notes (at least 3 colours, enough for 20 per person)
• A4 paper for each participant
• Pens for each participant
• Timer or phone for timing activities
• Printed handout: Personal Priority Grid (one per person)
• Printed handout: Team Commitment Charter (one per team or breakout group)
• Blu-tack or tape for posting flip charts

Process

Step 1: The Overwhelm Audit (15 mins)

Goal: Surface the current reality of competing demands and help participants see the cost of trying to care about everything equally.

Activity:

1. Welcome the group and explain that this workshop is about making better choices regarding where we put our time and energy, both individually and as a team.
2. Give each participant a stack of sticky notes and ask them to spend 5 minutes writing down everything they currently feel they "should" care about at work. One item per sticky note. Encourage them to be honest and comprehensive: projects, metrics, relationships, tasks, expectations, standards.
3. Ask participants to stick their notes on the wall or a large flip chart, clustering similar items together as they go.
4. Once complete, stand back and have the group look at the wall. Ask them to count (roughly) how many items are displayed.
5. Facilitate a brief discussion using the debrief questions below.

Debrief Questions:

• What do you notice when you look at all of this?
• How does it feel to see this laid out visually?
• Is it realistic that everything here can receive equal attention?
• What happens when we try to treat all of these as equally important?

Step 2: The Values Underneath (20 mins)

Goal: Help participants identify the deeper values that drive their choices about what matters, distinguishing between chosen values and inherited expectations.

Activity:

1. Explain that behind every "should" is either a genuine value we hold or an expectation we've absorbed from elsewhere. The first step to better priorities is knowing the difference.
2. Hand out A4 paper and ask participants to draw a line down the middle. Label the left column "Values I've Chosen" and the right column "Expectations I've Absorbed."
3. Give participants 8 minutes to sort through their sticky notes mentally and write down the underlying drivers. For example: "I should respond to emails quickly" might stem from a chosen value of "being reliable" or an absorbed expectation that "availability equals commitment."
4. In pairs, have participants share their lists for 5 minutes. The partner's job is to gently challenge: "Is that really your value, or is that something you've been told to care about?"
5. Bring the group back together and ask for a few volunteers to share one thing they discovered was an absorbed expectation rather than a genuine value.

Debrief Questions:

• What surprised you about this sorting process?
• How did it feel when your partner challenged whether something was truly your value?
• What's one expectation you realise you've been carrying that isn't actually yours?
• How might the team be carrying collective expectations that aren't serving us?

Step 3: The Productive Struggle Test (20 mins)

Goal: Teach participants to distinguish between struggles worth having (aligned with values, leading to growth) and struggles that drain without reward.

Activity:

1. Introduce the concept: Not all difficulty is bad. Some struggles are productive because they move us toward something we genuinely value. Others are unproductive because we're fighting for things we don't actually care about or can't control.
2. Draw a 2x2 grid on the flip chart with axes: "Aligned with my values" (Yes/No) on the horizontal and "Within my influence" (Yes/No) on the vertical. Label the quadrants:
   • Top right (Yes/Yes): Worth the fight
   • Top left (No/Yes): Why are we doing this?
   • Bottom right (Yes/No): Needs acceptance or escalation
   • Bottom left (No/No): Let it go
3. Ask participants to individually pick 3 current struggles or frustrations from their work and place them in the grid on their own paper. Give them 5 minutes.
4. Form groups of 3-4. Each person shares one struggle and where they placed it. The group discusses whether they agree with the placement. Allow 10 minutes for this.
5. Bring everyone back together. Ask each small group to share one insight about a struggle that was misplaced or one that the conversation helped clarify.

Debrief Questions:

• Did anyone find they'd been fighting hard for something that landed in the "Let it go" quadrant?
• What makes it difficult to stop struggling with things outside our influence?
• How might we as a team be investing energy in the wrong quadrants?
• What would it take to redirect that energy somewhere more productive?

Step 4: The Priority Protection Round (25 mins)

Goal: Move from analysis to commitment by having participants name what they will protect, reduce and release.

Activity:

1. Distribute the Personal Priority Grid handout. Explain that each person will make three lists:
   • Protect: Things I will fiercely guard my time and energy for
   • Reduce: Things I will do less of, with less intensity, or with clearer boundaries
   • Release: Things I will stop doing, stop worrying about, or let someone else own
2. Give participants 10 minutes to complete their grids individually. Encourage them to be specific and realistic. "Reduce meetings" is too vague. "Decline meetings without agendas" is actionable.
3. Pair up participants (different pairs from earlier). Each person shares their grid and gets 2 minutes of feedback from their partner. The partner's job is to ask: "What would make this easier?" and "What might get in the way?" Allow 8 minutes total.
4. Ask 3-4 volunteers to share one item from any column and what they learned from their partner conversation.

Debrief Questions:

• What was hardest to put in the Release column?
• Did anyone's partner help them see a blind spot?
• What patterns do you notice across what people want to protect?
• What would change in your week if you actually followed through on this grid?

Step 5: The Team Alignment Conversation (25 mins)

Goal: Translate individual insights into collective commitments and create shared agreements about team priorities.

Activity:

1. Explain that individual clarity is valuable, but teams also need shared agreements about what matters most.
2. Form groups of 4-5 (these can be natural work teams if applicable). Give each group a flip chart and the Team Commitment Charter handout.
3. Each group completes the charter by discussing and agreeing on:
   • Our top 3 team priorities for the next quarter (be specific)
   • One thing we will stop doing as a team
   • One thing we will protect from interruption
   • How we will hold each other accountable
4. Allow 15 minutes for group work. Circulate to help groups move past vague statements to specific commitments.
5. Each group presents their charter in 2 minutes. After all presentations, facilitate a brief discussion about common themes.

Debrief Questions:

• What was easy to agree on? What caused debate?
• Did any group struggle to name something to stop?
• How confident are you that these commitments will stick beyond today?
• What support would you need to follow through?

Step 6: Personal Commitment and Close (15 mins)

Goal: Lock in individual commitments and create accountability for action after the workshop.

Activity:

1. Hand out index cards or small pieces of paper. Ask each participant to write down:
   • One thing I will do differently starting tomorrow
   • One thing I will say no to this week
   • Who I will tell about this commitment
2. Give participants 5 minutes to write.
3. Go around the room and ask each person to share their "one thing I will do differently" in one sentence. Keep this moving briskly.
4. Thank the group for their participation. Remind them that choosing what matters is an ongoing practice, not a one-time decision. Encourage them to revisit their grids and commitments in 2 weeks.
5. Close by asking participants to find the person they named as their accountability partner and schedule a 10-minute check-in for 2 weeks from now before they leave the room.

Debrief Questions:

• How does it feel to have named a specific commitment?
• What might tempt you to abandon this commitment?
• How can the team support each other in following through?
• What's one thing you'll remember from today?

Secret Sauce

• Normalise the discomfort of letting go: Early in the workshop, acknowledge that releasing things we've cared about (even things we shouldn't have cared about) feels like loss. This helps people stay engaged rather than getting defensive.
• Watch for the "everything is important" trap: Some participants will resist prioritising, insisting everything matters equally. Gently push back by asking: "If you had to cut your list in half, what would go first?" Forced ranking reveals real priorities.
• Handle the "but my boss expects it" objection: When someone says they can't release something because of external expectations, ask: "Have you tested that assumption?" Often, perceived expectations are stronger than actual ones. Encourage one small experiment.
• Keep the energy moving: The Overwhelm Audit can bring energy down as people confront their overload. Have Step 2 ready to go immediately and frame it as "now we do something about it."
• Protect psychological safety during partner work: Remind pairs that their job is to help, not judge. The question "Is that really your value?" should be asked with curiosity, not scepticism.
• Be ready for emotion: This workshop can surface genuine frustration about workload, organisational dysfunction or personal stress. If someone gets upset, acknowledge it simply: "This stuff matters, and it's hard." Don't rush to fix it.
• Make commitments specific: Vague commitments like "work smarter" or "focus more" won't stick. Push for specificity: What exactly? By when? How will you know?
• Don't let groups off the hook on "stop doing": Teams often struggle to name something they'll stop. This is the most valuable part of Step 5. If a group can't identify anything, ask: "What would you stop if you had to?" or "What do you suspect is a waste of time but nobody has said out loud?"
• Address the power dynamics: If a senior leader is in the room, some participants may hesitate to name things to release. Consider having the senior person share their Release list first to model vulnerability.
• Follow up matters: The impact of this workshop depends heavily on what happens next. Encourage participants to put their 2-week check-in in the calendar before leaving the room. If possible, schedule a 30-minute team review for one month later.