You would think it is the #apocolypse in the #eventindustry right now. There is fear, uncertainty and just a few options for anyone that has an upcoming event. Its hard and I’ve long believed that our platform as an event company comes with an obligation to share facts alone, support our clients and work together as a community. In my role, I’ve committed to not just helping clients but helping everyone with this uncertainty, on the events I’m undertaking, how I use our network, and the successes and failures we experience — to help guide each other.
This is a messy, complicated, real-time, situation, and leaders are looking for guidance.
As I’ve been working through several different events with varying impact, and talked it over with others, a few points have stood out.
Gather facts & pause before you make the decision
When new obstacles and an overwhelming amount of details come at you, making decisions can feel paralyzing. Giving yourself space to think and process becomes critical. Time is of the essence, but pressure — especially in our already distracted and busy world — doesn’t generally lead to decisions you can stand behind. Make sure you give yourself time to pause, breathe, and digest the information. To gain that clarity, it is important that you process and decide rather than react. Remember it will come down to moving forward until there is a government mandate, full cancellation of the event or postponement. I feel empowered at how the event industry is coming together to assist our events and clients and controlling everything that can be controlled
Authenticity
Be your authentic and genuine self. If you have doubts, fears, and uncertainties, let others in to talk through the situation. You may be the boss but you dont have to make people feel like they have no input. Imagine how your clients and family must feel right now. Imagine how your staff feels, lets keep their best interests in mind and try to be in their shoes.
Transparency
You are likely about to make decisions that some people in the company won’t agree with; that’s a practical reality of any highly tense situation. Be willing to explain your decision-making process and help others understand how you weighed the options. As an example, here are some questions I thought through yesterday before sending an all-team email. How are you thinking about the situation, are you acting out of fear, selfishness or helping people. What decisions have you made and do you still need to made. What do you have yet to monitor and make a decision on.
Sit in front of the options and be decisive
You’ve given yourself the space you need to process; you’ve been transparent and authentic; and you are committed to treating your people with great care. You are now in the right place to make bold decisions with clarity and confidence.
We will get through this and I hope we are all better at the end of it!
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