There’s a unique synergy when you bring people together, and yet I find people often leave gatherings fried. To maximize time together, you may pack an agenda and try to get many things done. But when you slow down together you can actually increase effectiveness and energy.

Last year, I worked with an international group of ministers who were skilled at running between projects, but struggled to slow down. So during the first night of our retreat in the desert, my co-facilitator and I had the ministers just sing and tell stories. The results were palpable.

Unexpected stories were shared. New relationships were built, which increase trust among the whole group. And some people identified solutions to problems they had been mulling over for weeks.

People lingered after the session before slowly walking back to their rooms, and the next morning there was a light in people’s eyes. They were able to dive into discussions, name emotions, and welcome challenges to their thinking.

If you live in a society that values deliverables and productivity, slowing down is a challenge. Yet when you slow down to be present, you make room for unexpected connections to form. So if your goal is maximizing creative thinking, give your people a chance to slow down.

The first night of that ministers gathering went so well that we integrated more free time into the full retreat, which had a surprising result: we still completed our agenda. The shift in pace gave people space to tend to the thoughts and tasks that were running in the background of their mind. This freed them to be more present and zoom through material during sessions.

Quickness has it’s usefulness as a creative catalyst. But add slowing down to your options for creative thinking. Comment below with a space where you want to welcome more slowing down.