Photo courtesy of lumaxart
Planning a conference, whether you know what you’re doing or not, can be an incredibly overwhelming responsibility. There are lots of things in the event and conference planning world that will not only assist in the successful execution, but will also save time and energy while holding off potential headaches.
Let’s not fool ourselves. Meeting planners attempt, time after time, for the same results. We are all striving for the successful organization, planning and execution of all things meeting and conference.
But one factor that can make or break you is your conference planning team.
Planning a Conference – Okay No Fun and Some Headaches – Really?!
Coordinating and executing a vibrant and successful conference requires a great deal of top notch expert work. It entails an unbelievable amount of time, organization, planning and spot-on implementation. We can toil and work our fingers to the bone. We can review and work and re-work our plan, but it really doesn’t matter how much effort we put forth and how on top of everything we are, if the right team isn’t in place to assist you during execution, you don’t have prayer in obtaining that ultimate goal…SUCCESS!
Planning a Conference – GO Team!
One of my favorite work situations, that I consistently thrive in, is to travel to a city that I have never had the pleasure of working in (or even been to for that matter) and planning and coordinating a big conference. To arrive and be knee deep in all things conference without having my go-to companies right at my fingertips. To be completely out of my comfort level, way out. To be forced to work with professional service companies as well as individuals that I have never worked with before. To push myself outside of the proverbial box and to learn new things and achieve that natural high you get from starting with nothing and building to the ultimate. So eventually, when we finally we land at the finish line, and it’s all done, we can then analyze all that went right (yippee) and the parts that didn’t.
In this situation, you rarely know the people that end up working on your team.
Planning a Conference – An Important Ingredient for Success!
The cold hard facts are that only the top will endure today’s unfortunate economic environment. And we all strive to be the top, the best of the best and we want to align ourselves with the same type of team members. It’s important for your sanity as well as to the success of your events, to have the best team on board as possible.
They say “You get back what you put out” and in our industry, no truer words have been spoken. If you want the best team on board, be sure to provide them with all the tools needed for victory. You can’t be at all places at all times so it is imperative to provide your team with the proper tools to coordinate all your hard pre-planning work.
Planning a Conference – Take Your Conference from Good to Great
I don’t know a meeting planner that can delegate smoothly. We all want our hands on everything and in turn want to know what is happening, when and where at all times. So number one, learn to delegate and to be okay with it. Make your mantra delegate, delegate, and delegate.
Trust your team. Provide them with all the detailed information required and don’t hold back because you think they shouldn’t be privy to it. Hand over absolutely everything they need to know. And provide them with all, and I do mean all, the tools to accomplish the tasks at hand successfully.
It’s not okay to micromanage but it is okay to expect reports and to check in with your team. Over and over again, I have been told by my regular on-site team, how much they appreciate the information packets I provide. Each and every time, I give them so much (some may say too much) information making them prepared to effectively handle any and all situations on-site.
I do my best to ensure they know I am available for them 24/7 while at the same time empower them to be the great team member that magnificently triumphs and is ultimately successful.
We are all on-site for the same reasons, so have faith and trust your team members. By respecting each individual and concentrating on their own strengths and believing in them, you are that much closer to a successful conference!
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