Q.
How does a business conference exceed all expectations?
A.
Everyday leadership, of course!!
We
recently had one of those ‘aha moments’ at Vantage and it’s a story worth
telling:
Several
weeks ago, I had the privilege and pleasure of sharing some leadership insights
with a group of extraordinary women and men at the Network of Executive Women’s
New England Conference. Great people. Great experience.
It just
so happened that our videographer was there to get some fresh material for our
websites. After the event, several of us at Vantage reviewed the entire video
to make final selections on the short clips to share with prospective clients.
Blah. Blah. Pretty routine stuff….. Not so fast!
As we
intently watched that video for content and style points, we saw something much
more valuable that we hadn’t been looking for – We saw the critical role that
everyday leadership played in the event’s overwhelming success!! The video
captured a portion of the preparation period before the event took off. NEW
members swarmed the huge ballroom. They were genuinely engaged, energetic and
enthusiastic!! Every role had meaning and importance. The small stuff mattered.
Everyone led from her seat! The chatter was punctuated by the language of
everyday leadership –
“I’ve got that covered….What can I
do to help….Do you need anything?....Great idea…Looks good….It’s gonna be
GREAT!”
And,
while this was all gratifying to take in, it wasn’t the only aha moment for us.
Here’s Lesson #2: If we hadn’t changed the lens through which we viewed the
video, we would have missed Lesson #1!
It was a simple but effective reminder of how easy it is to become so
fanatically focused on the task at hand that you miss opportunities hidden in
plain sight!
Pretty cool, huh? I love moments like these!
