Recently I had the honor of attending MPA’s Women’s Leadership Retreat, held at Tea Pond in northern Maine. Nestled in an expansive landscape consisting of a stunning pond, trails used for biking, snowmobiling, and hiking, the setting itself invited us to slow down and reconnect. Over the course of three days, women from across MPA — from HR to accounting to program leadership — came together with a shared purpose: to reflect on our roles as leaders, and on the ways we show up for ourselves and each other. It was put on by  our extraordinary leadership – who, as usual, orchestrated a thoughtful and generous stretch of days. The intention was clear: treat the days as a step away from work to take care of ourselves, connect, and reflect. The generosity of how MPA faculty show up for the students, for their coworkers, and for the work itself is profound. This retreat offered us all a few days to take a breath and turn the energy inward to recharge.

Some of my favorite moments were as simple as gathering around together for shared meals. Every night a generous meal was headed up by someone with rotating sous chefs to support – from stuffed venison burgers to delicious homemade eggs benedict, to the most elaborate taco spread I have ever seen. The effort in the meals alone was incredible. The food was exquisite, but more than that it was the shared meals that allowed us to connect meaningfully, exchange stories, and get to know each other on levels we ordinarily don’t have the chance to do in our traditional work days.

We were led through a gentle yoga session and a powerful workshop centered around leadership. We each explored different leadership archetypes and discussed which styles felt most true to us. We then paired off to share how these archetypes show up in our lives. I had a particularly meaningful conversation, which reminded me of the power of slowing down and truly connecting.

One of the most moving experiences of the retreat was when everyone openly shared their leadership archetypes with the group and the ways they navigate different spaces in their lives. Hearing these stories reminded me to expand my lens and shift my perspective into a broader picture of a how we are all humans trying to do our best work for the ones around us – especially students whose lives are being changed every day with these efforts. It’s easy in the flow of our day-to-day responsibilities to lose sight of that, but it was powerful to take a step back and hear people reflect on their own archetypes, where their strengths exist, and how they best utilize them.

Being in a room full of women leaders was also deeply empowering. There was an energy of encouragement and mutual respect — a sense that we are not only shaping our own leadership, but also creating space for others to lead with confidence, compassion, and strength. I left Tea Pond feeling inspired and grateful — for the conversations, the shared meals, the paddles on the water, shared stories around the fire, and the reminder that leadership is more powerful when we make space to invite all the voices in the room.