Quick Hits- Leadership Qualities

Wanted to draw your attention to this post by Gerald Baron over at Emergency Management Magazine. Although dealing specifically with leadership qualities necessary to be an effective crisis leader, I'd argue that the items listed are applicable to most leadership situations, especially those working within a fast-paced and ever changing event environment. Well worth the read, as are most of Baron's articles (which deal primarily with crisis communication and emergency management. You can learn much by stepping out of your discipline).

What does it take to be a successful crisis leader? (Emergency Management Magazine)

Managing Event Stress

Few can argue that producing and managing events can be a stressful occupation. In fact, most of us got into the event business for precisely this reason. We thrive on the intensity, the pressure, the constant change. Unfortunately, the things that drew us to the job we love are often the things that eventually drive us from it, create stress, or at a minimum cause us to adopt a less than healthy lifestyle.

Just a few short years ago, my diet consisted primarily of cigarettes and energy drink. I rarely slept more than 4 hours a night, and what free time I had outside of work was often spent with email and cell phone no more than a few feet away. It took the birth of my daughter (and the associated break) to make me realize how stressed out and unhealthy I had allowed myself to become. None of the work/lifestyle choices I had made were necessary to my role as an event producer. Rather, I had adopted them willingly, by making the same mistake as thousands of event managers before me. I was equating stress with productivity. If I was stressed out, I must be getting SOMETHING done, right?

In actuality, stress has the opposite effect on a person's productivity, by creating mental fatigue and leading to poor decision making ability. Over a longer period of time, stress can begin to impact our physical well being as well. So to do our best work, it is imperative that one control the level of stress we experience. But how can one do so in an event environment, with it's relentless pace, constant change, and difficult working conditions?

Plan, Plan Plan – Nothing creates unnecessary stress like not having a detailed action plan for your event. Although most of us have at least a rough idea as to how our event should flow , few of us take the time to map an entire event out hour by hour, move by move, and position by position. At first glance, such detail may seem excessive, especially since things rarely go exactly as planned. However, by “recreating” your event in advance, you'll be able to identify and correct resource and logistical conflicts before they arise during the show. And if your event schedule does happen to derail, your “road map” and understanding of all the interconnected pieces can save you time and take the stress out of getting back on course.

Don't be afraid to delegate responsibility – A major contributor to event stress is feeling as though there's just too much for one person (you) to do. So don't even try – if a task can be delegated to an assistant, an intern, or another staff member, do so prior to and during your event. Not only will they appreciate your entrusting them with the additional responsibility, it'll free you from many of the mundane yet time consuming aspects of event operations and allow you to focus on your big-picture functions.

Take short, frequent breaks to relax and reassess – During an event, few of us feel as though we can afford the time to step back and take a break. This in turn exacerbates physical and mental fatigue, contributing to stress and poor decision making. However, giving your mind and body the opportunity to rest is crucial to continued performance over the long term. Likewise, stepping back from the event for a short time will give you the opportunity to assess your progress without distraction or influence. Breaks don't need to be long – stepping back for five minutes every couple hours will do wonders for your stress and performance. Find a quiet spot, turn off your radio and phone, and just breathe. Think about the progress of your event. What problems have you encountered, or should anticipate? What needs to be done within the next hour? What is the most important? Can you delegate any functions to focus your attention on the larger issues? By answering these questions now, you're more likely to feel in less stressed and in control of your surroundings and less like a billiard ball bouncing at the whims of others.

Listen to your body – Our bodies are amazing machines. Just like your car, it's filled with warning systems designed to tell you that it's not functioning as it should. Pain, fatigue, and stress are all signs that something is amiss and should be corrected as soon as possible. Still, the operations of modern society have trained us to ignore these warning signals, and to hold them as a lesser priority than “outside” performance indicators created by society and our work environment. Nowhere is this more evident than in event management, where long hours, pain, and exhaustion are often worn as a badge of honor. However, just as ignoring a warning light in your car may result in decreased gas mileage or engine damage, ignoring your body's internal signals will eventually result in decreased performance, poor decision making ability, and an increased risk of personal injury. If your body is telling you to take a break, find any means necessary to do so. If your in pain, rest for a few minutes and get checked out by your medical staff. If you're thirsty, drink. It may seem obvious, but ignoring these signs of stress will not only affect your body, but ultimately your performance as a whole.

Eat for the long haul – To continue on with the automotive analogies, your car will only run as well as the fuel you put into it. The same goes for our bodies. Those candy bars and energy drinks you've been slamming all day may have been a quick fix to keep you going, but they're unlikely to keep you sustained for the duration of the event. As anyone with children can attest, the associated crash that comes with such high-energy, low substance fuel can severely impact your stress levels, attitude, and performance. If you can't sit down for a proper meal, make sure you have plenty of healthy “quick food” around (Fruit, granola bars, plenty of water). It may not give you the initial rush, but you'll likely go farther than you would on that carbonated rocket fuel you've been living on.

Remember the big picture – it's easy for all of us in the event industry to believe that what we're doing is worth all of the physical pain and stress we endure to “get the job done”. But the reality is that although special events can make life enjoyable, they are not the same as saving lives, rebuilding communities, or healing the sick. At their core, most events are held to inform and entertain the public, which although an honorable pursuit is not necessary for survival of the species. By allowing our work stress to control our lives, we not only cause damage to our well being, but impact the well being of our families, friends, and co-workers. We owe it to them to remain physically and mentally healthy. So when your schedule has gone off the rails, you're over budget, and the portable toilets are overflowing, take a moment to laugh at the absurdity of it all before taking care of business. After all, toilets aside, we event peeps have it pretty good.

* If you haven't already done so, take 30 seconds and donate $10 to relief efforts for the Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami by texting REDCROSS to 90999.

Lessons from the Japan Earthquake

As the situation is still very much ongoing, and the scope of the tragedy still not entirely known, I was initially hesitant to write a piece drawing lessons taken from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. However, I've concluded that the takeaways thus far are in fact hugely inspirational, and offer several lessons critical to anyone who deals with events and crowds.

Planning and training are absolutely critical – From the strength of their buildings, to the measured response of it's population, the Japanese have performed better than anyone could have possible expected given the magnitude of the earthquake. This is not by accident. The Japanese people are taught from a very young age the threat of such earthquakes, and are continually drilled on the proper response to them. Likewise, they have some of the most rigid and forward-thinking building codes on the planet, and have engineered most modern structures to respond well beyond an “average” earthquake. Sadly, this did not entirely prevent the widespread destruction that has occurred. However, one must imagine that the situation would be far worse had these procedures and codes not be continually examined, updated, and executed.

The take away – although it may seem a waste of time and resources, it is critical that you develop an in-depth response and training plan for your events. Your staff should have extensive training in all relevant aspects of the plan, and be drilled on their response as often as possible. This plan should be reviewed and updated annually or as often as circumstances require.

Do everything possible to maintain a level head – whenever a situation begins to spiral out of control, fear and chaos are your worst enemy. Whether it's a result of training or an aspect of their national character, Japan and it's people have seen little of the panic and looting that has befallen many other major catastrophes around the globe. This in turn has not only garnered the respect of the world, but has undoubtedly saved additional lives and assisted in relief efforts.

The take away – Stress to your staff the importance of keeping cool in high pressure situations, and train them in communication methods of doing so with large crowds. Regardless of their size, a panicking crowd is a dangerous situation.

A lack of information (or misinformation) can be your worst enemy – I wish I could sing the praises of the entire response to this tragedy thus far. However, the response of authorities and company representatives to the damaged nuclear reactors leaves much to be desired. Whether it's the lack of consistent, verifiable information being released, or the byproduct of our 24 hour news cycle's need to engineer stories, the relative lack of straightforward information has created concern not only among the Japanese people, but countries around the globe. In most cases, vague responses are met with skepticism. Couple that with the aforementioned news cycle and the proliferation of real-time social networking, and your attempts at protecting information will cause you to lose control of the messaging, which is nearly impossible to reclaim.

The take away – no matter how bad any potential event situation may become, the worst thing you can do is be vague and/or indecisive. It's better to get out in front of your messaging and be as direct and forthcoming possible, by whatever means necessary. As long as those speaking for your organization are properly informed and consistent, there's little to lose by being honest. Dishonesty, whether fact or implied by others, can cause you to lose the greatest asset you have. Your reputation.

Ultimately, we must remember that what we do as event producers pales in comparison to the thousands who dedicate their lives to helping others respond and recover to tragedies such as this. As such, I encourage all of you to donate whatever time and resources you can to the charity of your choice (I've included the link to the American Red Cross below)

The American Red Cross

Charlie Sheen Needs Help, Not a Live Show

(Note – this post is more commentary than instructive. Humor me this time.)

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've no doubt been following (or like me trying to avoid) the personal and professional travails of actor Charlie Sheen. For those who don't know (all two of you), Sheen's life has been undergoing a free-fall of sorts, marked by repeated police issues, drugs , prostitution, a messy divorce and custody battle, and the cancellation of his hit TV show “Two and a Half Men”. Whether the root cause of these difficulties are due to substance abuse, mental illness, or just the result of what Hollywood excess can cause a person to become, few can deny that Sheen is in need of assistance. At minimum, he should not be encouraged to continue the destructive patterns that will in all likelihood result in tragedy.

Unfortunately, concert promoter Live Nation has opted to profit off of this saga, and has signed Sheen to a performance and merchandising deal that will put him on the road in front of a live audience. Instead of taking the time to develop an actual stage act, they have instead opted to capitalize on the immediacy of this story and rush him to the stage in a matter of weeks, with the obvious intent of making short-term profits off of this very public meltdown. In my opinion, they're not only exploiting Sheen's personal issues for profit, but are in fact “legitimizing” his increasingly bizarre behavior. If Live Nation truly respected Charlie Sheen as an artist (as they have claimed), then they would do all they could to discourage such self-destructive behavior, offer any resources they may have to get him assistance, and allow him to develop a stage act worthy of his talent. The fact that they haven't shows their true intentions, which is to callously profit at the expense of another man's life and family. The fact that Sheen cannot see how brutally he's being exploited demonstrates how truly troubled he really is.

It remains to be seen what the out of this shrewd maneuver will be. I expect that the live shows will be a huge financial success. However, I also expect (and hope) that the public relations fall-out from this deal will discourage Live Nation and other companies from making such blatantly exploitative deals in the future.

For those event producers willing to place short-term profits above all else – remember they may come at the cost of your reputation.