Leadership – One of my favourite subjects!

Leadership is something that affects all of us whether we are the President, an at-home mom, a 12-year old school kid or a manager on a company’s mobile escalator. 

Leadership is about how we conduct ourselves in the world – towards ourselves, our families, in our communities and as a citizen.

Event specialists lead both the tasks as well as the process. They lead themselves, the teams that support the event, their clients and stakeholders and the attendees. A lack of effective leadership becomes particularly evident as timelines get tighter, budgets need to be respected and stress levels rise. A solid, calm and experienced leader can think on her / his feet, treat people with kindness, compassion and grace while asserting, respectfully, what needs to be accomplished in the given time frame.

There are many leadership models and many of them have valid and valuable insights that, when adopted, can change the outcomes of events or any project management.

One of my go-to models is Kouzen & Posner’s “Five Practices for Exemplary Leadership” (The Leadership Challenge).  The practices are simple, but require vigilance, self-reflection, awareness and a willingness to change our leadership styles in favour of a model that engages, inspires and heeds positive results.

In brief, The Five Practices are:

• Model the Way, in which the leader sets the example by behaving in the way that reflect our shared values and celebrates small wins to create confidence, commitment, and consistent progress

• Inspire a Shared Vision, in which the leader enlists the team by appealing to their values, interests, hopes and dreams. The team needs to be able to speak to this vision and refine it as their own.

• Challenge the Process, in which the leader seeks continuous learning and improvement; challenges assumptions; experiments and takes risks.

• Enabling Others to Act, in which the leader delegates power, believes in others, and fosters training and education. She or he builds a climate of trust and collaboration, shows vulnerability and offers genuine support.

• Encourage the Heart, in which the leader acknowledges everyone’s contribution, and recognizes and celebrates their success and accomplishments.

There is a lot more to this model, but the essence is a caring, kind, compassionate and human approach to leadership where there is an understanding that the project would not succeed if you acted alone. A team is a gift that should be led and nurtured to execute the project-event at hand. This is done not only because it works, but also because it is the right thing to do.

Building a culture of connection

For teams to thrive, every person on the team needs to be highly engaged in his or her work. The good news is that team engagement is not the result of expensive perks or time-consuming programs, but of having a company culture where people care about each other and about their work.

In these “connection cultures,” people invest time to develop healthy work relationships, and the resulting bond creates a sense of connection, community, trust and unity that energizes the team and spurs productivity and innovation.

As a team leader, foster this culture of connection by:

Cast a clear vision - Team members are more engaged when they understand the company’s or project vision, are united by its values and are proud of its reputation. Communicate goals clearly, frequently, and keep everyone in the loop.

Recognize the value of each individual - Your team members need to feel respected and valued. Encourage team members to express appreciation for their colleagues’ contributions and help others to achieve their potential.

Give people a voice - Having a voice in decisions empowers people to make a difference. You achieve a higher degree of buy-in. In teams where there is a connection culture, team members seek the ideas of others, share their ideas and opinions honestly and work on any conflicts productively, safeguarding the connections by not cutting others out when disagreements arise.

Be a servant leader - Connected cultures need leaders who are willing to put the needs of others before their own. Tame the ego and by doing so, you gain the respect of team members and encourage them to do the same.

Celebrate committed members - Team members who are committed to excellence and connection are the heart of your team and should be recognized, encouraged and celebrated.

Adapted from Michael Lee Stallard – Connection Culture: The Competitive Advantage of Shared Identity, Empathy and Understanding at Work (Association for Talent Development 2015)

Silent, “unspoken” skills for event planners

Hiring an event planner often comes with the “unspoken” expectation that they automatically have certain skills. It is assumed and expected that, as professionals, event planners will handle all and every situation. However, there are opaque and unspoken skills that are rarely mentioned on a written list of key deliverables and the need for them only surfaces when the event is in full throttle and you are presented with a problem. 

You hire corporate event planners for their Einstein-like problem solving skills, their “I’ll-do-anything-it-takes-to-make-this-event-work” attitude, their Zen flexible and smiling composure and their set of ninja skills that can only be attained from experience after a few years executing complex corporate events.

Besides the obvious logistical tasks these are some skills that event planners need to have under their belts:

Communication and team building skills
The most effective event planners are good communicators. Corporate event planners who are worth their salt continuously communicate with their own team, with their suppliers, and with their clients. Event planners should have a high attention to detail in their communication, process and task.
The ability to communicate those details to the team, and then adjust the plan based on their feedback, will ensure a much more satisfying, smoother, stress-free event.

Ability to think on their feet, creatively and to react quickly
Planning events can sometimes be a very straightforward, routine business. Anyone with a bit of time can handle a brief with clear deliverables. However, the event experts are separated from the juniors when you get hit with curve-balls at a live event. Those with experience, who can think on their feet, creatively, without derailing, are the ones that distinguish your event from other cut-and-paste events and deliver something that is memorable and has impact.

Handling catering in a busy kitchen

Anyone who has served as a waiter in a busy restaurant knows how many moving parts are involved in getting the food out of a busy kitchen, onto plates and onto tables. Your event planner should have kitchen experience as they are the main go-between for the waiters and the kitchen staff.

Knowing how to operate a kitchen also allows your event planner to optimally match the venue’s kitchen capabilities with your desired catering needs. This incidentally means that venue contracts should never be signed until you have decided on your food deliverables. Some venues are simply not designed for a busy kitchen.

Understanding audio-visual equipment
Your event planner doesn’t need to be a pro in sound engineering, but should have taken the time, at some point, to crawl under a table to find out how the A/V setup is connected to the network, or how microphones work, or how the big screens connect with the data source. They will better understand the differences between issues with the A/V booth, with the speaker’s microphone  technique, or the equipment you have chosen, and will calmly find or provide solutions.

Working the bar
Event planners should be able to step in and fill any gaps should the need arise. An event planner who has spent some time behind a bar at some point in their career they will be able to confidently ascertain how many bartenders, drinks, cups and glasses are required in order to keep event attendees happy and your lines flowing smoothly.  It would not hurt if they also can step in and mix a good cocktail should the need arise.

Working the desk for onsite registration
It is amazing to me how few event planners know how a badge printer, the registration software or even the check-in process works. All event planners need to walk through the registration process as an attendee, the day before any event, to flag any issues, and to ensure all registration staff are capable, friendly, and informed.

Reversing a delivery truck
As strange a skill as this may seem, if your event planner knows how to handle a big delivery truck, they will understand what it takes to manoeuver a huge truck in narrow town streets, or onto the highway, or to that remote location.
Their knowledge will allow you to make better decisions when you are choosing a venue and give you insight as to whether or not you can get your equipment into that location. Plus, once a truck is parked with no driver in sight, event planners need to be able to move it, re-position it and re-park it without wasting time.

Passion for checklists and spreadsheets
Most event planners work off of checklists and spreadsheets. They note and document every detail. Work is delegated within their team and controls are put in place so that the leaders can remain focused on the big picture and lead the event operations. Software and apps are available and easy to use to keep track of the budget and visually show timeline progress towards the deadline. Checklists and spreadsheets are necessary to always have a helicopter view of the entire event.

Remaining Zen-like calm while coping with multiple changes
During any event, unplanned things happen and changes to the programme or logistics have to be implemented at a moment’s notice. An event planner needs to be able to adapt and stay calm during the execution of these changes. This skill usually only comes with a fair amount of experience at thinking on one’s feet, as experienced  event planners have a reserve of options, alternative solutions, and suppliers to keep the show on the road without panicking. Experience develops the confidence needed to know that all will be well and handled professionally.

Having a backup plan ready

Corporate event planners are always two steps ahead with a few contingency plans up their sleeves. They need to be prepared for the worst possible situation while aiming for your best event. They have backups of most things so that, should disaster strike, the two main elements of your event remain on track: A/V and catering. The presentation will go on! And the food and drinks will be served. No matter what. These are the two things that will keep your attendees happy and will ensure your event is a success.

Time Saving Tips for Event Management

Event planning requires juggling many tasks, priorities and stakeholder relations all in a relatively short period of time. Having a detailed plan of all tasks required and being organized from the outset is key to reducing stress levels, mistakes and ensuring that your event goes off without a hitch.

Start early

In any event there are a number of tasks that need to get done at the last minute. To avoid having a long list left until the end, I recommend that you complete all the tasks that can be done, in advance, just as soon as you can.

 Give yourself as much time as possible to complete every detail, no matter how small, as the quality of your event is often defined by the details.

 Good starting points are deciding and booking a venue and sourcing event staff and volunteers

(Yes, volunteers! More about this in another post…)

Define event objectives.

In order to plan effectively, you need to know what you are trying to achieve.  How do you make your event a truly interactive learning experience? What will constitute a “successful event”? How will you know when you have achieved “success”? How will this be measured? Once you know what you need to achieve, it will be easier to plan every step to ensure that you are including all the measurable success beacons and milestones. Put your concept on paper and get consensus from all stakeholders involved.

Create a Project File

Produce a clear project overview file that summarizes the entire conference into the smallest detail (including briefings for all suppliers involved). This step is really worth the initial effort.

Create an organigram

This needs to clarify who is responsible for which tasks so that going forward there is no confusion around expectations and deliverables. Once work streams are developed, ensure that they are managed carefully via planning and indicator tracking for various event deliverables  - programme elaboration, communication and promotional campaigns, registration management, venue management, audio-visual and technology…

Use event software

Whenever possible, I advise to use event software to plan and manage a complex event. This type of tool will save time and make it possible to create a more unified brand experience for your attendees. Investing in essential event tools like project management, marketing automation, software integration, or event streaming software tools should be considered depending on how many events you do and your particular event needs and budget.

Create lists

To plan and manage successful events you need to become a “list person” even if this is not who you are by nature. Determine every single thing that you will need for this event, big and small, and start a list of all these items. Then prioritize the list in order of importance and sequential reasoning.

Create a schedule of each day and each task. Set deadlines and who is responsible for the tasks according to your organigram. I have heard this called a Prioritizing list, a Schedule of Activities, an Event Timeline etc. Whatever you choose to call it, it needs to be created right from the beginning.

Hire a good Event Project Manager and Team Builder

While some organizations have internal resources to unfold a complex event, very often, these internal resources are stretched very thin with other tasks and / or they simply do not have the expertise necessary to create effective teams, negotiate with suppliers, foresee possible issues or problems and have the know-how to prevent these from happening. There are substantial savings to be made from hiring a good event planner in professional negotiations, no wastage, and a focus on sustainability and efficiency.

Recruit volunteers

Event staff does not have to always be “paid staff”. I am a great believer in volunteering and have found that there are many volunteers who are very willing to help deliver an event in exchange for training, a great team building experience, exposure to a well-organized event, possibility of attending some of the sessions, and networking. Start your search for volunteers early and determine, in advance, which benefits you are going to be offering and what the time and work expectations are going to be.

Communicate effectively

Considerable time can be wasted when communication is not at its best. Ensure that you are clear in your communication and insist that all the members on your team up their communication practices. If necessary, deliver a communication skills workshop where expectations are clearly defined. As a rule, always ask yourself: “Who needs to know this information?” If in doubt, rather add an extra person rather than exclude someone. Ensure that every member of your team has all the information. Create Group e-mails so that all information is circulated to all members. Bi-lateral conversations for confidentiality reasons need to be kept to a minimum. Inclusion creates buy-in so include and communicate. Use collaboration tools to share files and timelines as it makes everyone more efficient.

Organize your e-mails

Organize your Inbox. Filter your messages. Start a folder called “Respond Later”.

Hit the unsubscribe button – reduce the amount of messages coming through your Inbox. If it is stuff that you are not going to read, unsubscribe so you remove some of the clutter. Use canned responses for certain topics to people who essentially all require the same reply or information.

Prepare for your project meetings

Prepare an agenda and focus on key points. Make clear decisions and take minutes. Work via conference calls, if necessary as this usually ensures that meeting participants log on, on time and only speak when relevant.

Measure, measure, measure

Collect feedback and evaluate your events. Act on the feedback wherever possible.

Measuring event ROI (Return On Investment) is an important practice so that you can determine what your company is gaining in return for all the time, effort and expense to host an event. Gauging an event ROI is not always easy and for more accurate and analytical data business intelligence software can be used.

 Remember that you are aiming to create value with your event so do not only measure direct monetary gain. An event that loses money, but generates a large amount of high-quality leads or brand recognition may still be deemed successful.

 Expect the unexpected

Give yourself extra time to deal with last minute tasks, changes and requests which inevitably occur as you get closer to the event. Add this to your schedule. Think of all possible scenarios so that you are not caught off guard. Learn to flow with the changes and to become agile and resilient. Breathe deeply and control the stress levels for a clearer head and increased energy.