I recently experienced an approach to reflection for executive leaders and their teams with nature and listening at its core: A Walk in the Woods Experience.
Once you decide to go and schedule your team’s three-day retreat—I joined eight others for a complimentary two-day sample offering—your pre-work is minimal. Each participant completes a written biography to present during the retreat, after the gathered group has shared multiple interactions, brainstorms, discussions, personal stories, and meals.
Virtually all planning and forethought is handled after an initial consultation with the retreat center’s founder, Sam Dibert, Sr., a continuous learner, business leader, outdoorsman, and regional CEO roundtable contributor who represented multi-billion-dollar Swagelok Company as a sales advisor and distributorship owner for over 40 years.
Sam purchased the 444-acre Pamplin, Virginia property used for his retreat experience from retiring farmers Jimmy and Louise Rosser in the mid-1990s. The Land—a phrase Sam uses to describe the place—started out as a second home and gathering spot for family and friends.
But now the naturally restorative effect of this Central Virginia plot of land reaches much farther. Its abundance of thriving old-growth oak, hickory, poplar, maple, sycamore, pine, cedar, alder, and ash trees have expanded their responsibility beyond the plants and wildlife they serve or the air they clean. They form the backdrop of Sam’s effort to nourish leadership teams that are hungry for difference-making inspiration and newfound focus.
The Location
Driving to The Land carries you through some of Virginia’s most historically significant areas. It is a stone’s throw from Appomattox (11 miles), equidistant from Richmond and Roanoke (83 miles), and a little over two hours by car north of Durham and Greensboro, North Carolina.
My journey from Ohio was much longer—about eight hours—but worth every minute. Solo drives and commutes are gifted time to think, reflect, and wide-awake dream. Going somewhere (in my head) while going somewhere (in my car).
The Origin of Listening with Optimism
Sam’s professional development and growth over the last 10-15 years—adjustments he made to continuously improve himself—shaped his perspective on leadership and planted the seeds for the leadership program that he presents through A Walk in the Woods Experience.
He credits constructive feedback provided by Swagelok Company colleagues, self-evaluation work with business coach Dr. David G. Watterson, Jr., and guidance from Swagelok’s president and chief executive officer during that period, Art Anton, for enabling his evolution as an active listener and leader.
“I was lucky to be in the second half of my Swagelok career when Art was CEO,” Sam asserts.
He notes how the company focused on leadership development and recounts something Art once said that remains with him to this day: “It’s never too late to be the person you always wanted to be.”
It was around 2010, and situationally, Sam had already shifted from sales management to business leadership at Dibert Valve & Fitting Co., an independent Swagelok distributorship. Looking back, Sam says he and his team were not generating the results he thought they could achieve. So, he sought help.
“Through some 360-degree feedback and verbatim comments, a lack of listening came up. My poor listening was seen as a lack of respect. It was news to me. But in retrospect, of course.”
With new knowledge of how his respect for others was undercut by how he was listening, or not listening to them, Sam changed his approach by yielding to others at the outset of meetings and conversations. It is a key element of what he calls "listening with optimism."
“At that point, I decided I had to make things different,” he notes. Sam made it a goal in meetings to wait until someone asked for his thoughts. “When that happened—when someone asked, ‘Sam, what do you think?’—it felt like I was making progress.”
To be sure, he admits there is still work to do on his listening.
The Listening Tool
Sam developed a template of sorts to adjust his behavior and improve his listening and reaction to others. Heading into conversations—through what he calls The Three Don’ts— he reminds himself to listen longer and not immediately think:
“I tried that and it didn’t work.”
“I do that but I call it something else.”
“You don’t understand my business or my situation is different.”
He recognized how such sentiments could chill a conversation. “I would usually say these things about one or two sentences in,” he recalls. “If I listened about one or two paragraphs more, I would see it may be close to my approach, but it is different.”
To keep on track as a more patient and better listener in meetings, he would write “blind man sees” on the top of his notepad. It was a reminder to hold back on speaking up.
“Cutting off people in conversation risks leaving the impression that you believe they have no insight,” Sam observes, “and you might miss a good idea. I want to be the last person to speak.”
The Idea
Living on The Land for almost three decades surely planted the seeds for Sam’s latest business venture. “We have always loved hosting people and this was something I had been thinking about creating,” Sam says.
In the spring of 2022, he led a couple retreats, starting with the leadership team from his old high school, which came to him through a referral. “They came out and we had a really great time. Then we did five more for other businesses and organizations. This started as a thing to tide me over until I figured out what I wanted to do after retirement. It feels like a lot more than that now.”
Thanks to the results he has been able to produce for a wide variety of clients, Sam has discovered his next calling: helping leadership teams build a deeper understanding of each other and their mission through collaborative exercises that bolster trust.
“Vision development, the comical bios, and The Walk have proven to unlock the potential of these groups,” he says. “The Walk is the signature event and you have to experience it to appreciate the impact.”
He is arming participants to address their effectiveness with situations and initiatives they identify as priorities through his special brand of reflection blended with listening, goal setting, learning, laughing, walking, cooking, and eating together.
The Results
When asked what people gain from the experience, Sam says it varies. “Executives get a good look at their teams. They get immersed in the experience because it’s turnkey and there’s nothing to worry about ahead of time. Everyone talks and there’s a lot of introspection. We get down to it—really by 11 a.m., the second day.”
Feedback from CEO participants tells Sam he is making a difference and fostering a better sense of team cohesion. Reflecting back what he has heard, participants have told him:
“I have more here than I thought."
“I learned a lot about the people around me.”
“I feel great about this team.”
“We got some things out in the open.”
“We are a lot more aligned than we thought.”
“The trust thing is important between a leadership team and the rank and file,” Sam adds. “You have to be exemplary to earn that.”
The Unique Selling Proposition
Reflection can happen anywhere, but it lands differently on The Land. There are no classrooms, development of a vision for the experience is collaborative, and Sam handles notetaking that he summarizes for participants throughout the experience and in the weeks following the retreat.
“My premise is that when you are immersed in nature, you learn in a different way, at a different pace, and through a different lens. Teamwork, collaboration, and sense of mission come into clearer focus. You feel refreshed and energized.”
The Participant Experience
One of the first people I met on arrival at The Land was David Barrett, a two-time founder and CEO of businesses in two very different industries: Mid-Atlantic Medical, Inc., now owned by Johnson & Johnson Healthcare, and Barrett Capital Management, LLC, a registered investment advisory firm serving high-net-worth individuals and families.
As the current regional executive of the Virginia Council of CEOs (VACEO), charged with recruitment, retention, and ambassadorship for VACEO’s brand and mission, he works to support learning, growth, and connectedness among area CEOs.
David nearly knocked me out of my camp chair when sharing his life story during our communal lunch at The Camp on our second day together. Like other participants, he decided ahead of time that his biography would paint a full picture of what shaped him as a person and a professional. It was equal parts comical and vulnerable.
He came in trusting the process and came through trusting the hearts and minds of the eight other participants.
“Every person has a story and I love hearing new stories because they always impact my life,” David says. “Small groups can be not only interesting, but also therapeutic, leading to a healing for the body, mind, and spirit. The reading of our biographies and all the honest sharing that took place was spectacular.”
He says The Land—where it is—was the most positive differentiator from other retreat experiences.
“What a beautiful place to chill and heal,” he concludes.
Another participant in my group was a former nurse and healthcare marketer. Justine Young, CEO of Piedmont Senior Resources, Area Agency on Aging, Inc., came to The Land in search of a retreat for her leadership team. They are preparing for her one-year absence due to a military mobilization in Texas. She plans to send them to experience The Land this fall, about three months into her deployment.
“I think it will be good for my staff, and thus myself,” she says. “I hope it will help keep the team cohesive and in a positive frame of mind. It should give a good indication of how things are going.”
Cooking breakfast together at The Camp proved impactful for her. “I was fascinated that we did it so smoothly when none of us had cooked together before and certainly not on an open fire,” she recalls. “Of course, the biographies added much to the breakfast and were a reminder that everyone’s life has not been a bed of roses.”
Retreat participant Charles McCarthy, project director, Brinkmann Constructors, has worked in construction since the ninth grade. His civil engineering degree from the Virginia Military Institute cemented his career trajectory. He has been a crew foreman, project and division manager, and part owner of the companies he has served. Chuck’s special skill: starting and growing a construction office.
One driver for his participation in the retreat was to evaluate its effectiveness for a challenge his company faces: seizing opportunities and maximizing their potential.
“My main goal was to experience the process Sam has developed to see how it could work for our management team,” he says.
Chuck’s interpretation of Sam’s advice to listen with optimism: “Don’t go into a conversation with preconceived opinions, attitude, or biases that could hinder your ability to listen for certain words, phrases, or inflections. Listening more closely and with patience can lead to optimistic outcomes and new or exciting discoveries.”
Our tallest fellow participant, Barry Moore, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving central Virginia, graduated from Seton Hall University and spent most of his career in the automotive industry in sales, management, leadership, and minority partner roles.
He participated to see whether A Walk in the Woods Experience would be a good place for accredited business owners to attend through future VACEO roundtables. His assessment: “I believe it is that type of experience. Participating showed me there are options in our state for team building and retreat-style events.”
The Inquiry
Click here to initiate a conversation with Sam about your specific interest in A Walk in the Woods Experience.
About the Author: Dave Schuellerman is a professional writer and communication consultant with 30 years of experience helping B2B and B2C companies inform and influence targeted audiences. Learn more about his background, perspective, and available services such as executive and corporate communication, thought leadership content strategy and program management, and feature writing at FEND Communication. Ready to engage on a project? Reach him directly at schuellerman@gmail.com.
