Learn how to support your leadership team from a place of personal empowerment
The past few years have been rough – to say the least.
From all the fallout surrounding the global pandemic, to pressing financial and other budgetary constraints, trepidation about travel to visit colleagues, loved ones, and friends, and unnerving political strife on the local, national, and international levels.
Our mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health have taken a beating, and sometimes it may seem like the proverbial “light at the end of tunnel” is merely a mirage.
Despite all of this, as a conference coordinator, meeting planner, board chair, or other key decision maker in your organization, it still falls on you to help your leadership team move forward in the best way possible and manage all of the people and details necessary in order to create a successful and memorable event.
So just how do you manage the health and welfare of those who have suffered greatly, while in turn advocating for yourself and your organization or association?
Following are a few tips on how to support your leadership team from a place of personal empowerment:
Tip #1
Although it’s easy to forget during times of stress or challenge, remind yourself that life has both steady and unbalanced rhythm and cycles to it, ebbing and flowing throughout the year (it’s not just during the annual solstices). By recognizing, honoring, and embracing the cyclical changes we experience on a regular basis, we can more fully live—and lead—from a place of personal empowerment.
Tip #2
Create a space and/or environment where others are given permission to feel whatever they are feeling - without trying to justify why they are feeling it. It’s important to feel safe and supported in being able to just feel what is coming up for them, and to be able to share it without judgement or criticism.
Tip #3
Our individual and collective gifts and talents should be appreciated, not taken for granted. Asking your staff or teams to list what they feel are their greatest strengths and accomplishments—in or out of the work environment—will help boost their self-esteem and sense of purpose, in turn enhancing a connection between their peers and in their work environments.
Tip #4
Do some journaling or sharing about the last time you or your team faced a daunting challenge. What did you do to overcome it? How did it change any organizational procedures or processes for the better? What unexpected or hidden blessings came from it? Did you discover an inner strength you didn’t realize you possessed? Answering these questions often remind you that every challenge offers an opportunity to cultivate a new way of being and serving others.
Tip #5
Create a company or organization Vision Board. This is very different from a strategic plan where certain hardline metrics are to be met within a specific timeframe. A Vision Board focuses more on what you would like to see, understand, and experience in your respective role(s) and the organization as a whole in the future.
Think things like implementing different work hours to facilitate better personal and/or family-time; increasing workplace diversity (gender, age, educational background, life skills, etc.); or even something as simple (yet no less powerful) as changing the colors, layout, and/or décor of the meeting or breakrooms.
Encourage everyone to tap into their childhood collage skills by cutting out related pictures from magazines, using crayons and glitter pens, creating eye-catching graphics or words in different fonts, and so on, and incorporating them onto a physical board or wall where everyone has access and can take shared ownership in its creation. Don’t underestimate the power of visioning and how it can change your team’s outlook, energy, and participation!
Tip #6
Come up with at least one thing you can do every day to encourage yourself and your leadership teams to support their own personal empowerment. Offering words of affirmation (e.g. “You are an asset to this organization.” “Thank you for being you.” “You are appreciated.” “Together we create AMAZING!” “You’ve got this!”).
Leading from a place of personal empowerment doesn’t just happen – it has to be nurtured, just like a child or garden. It’s never too early (or late) to start “tilling the soil” to plant seeds for thriving in the midst of change.