Another Successful Conference

This past weekend, I had the honor of overseeing the Annual Meeting of the WV Division IAAP. As Division President, it was my responsibility to approve the final decisions. It was also my duty to allow the planning committee to work.

It can be difficult to stand back an allow others to control something that means so much to you. It was my last Division Annual meeting and I wanted everything to run perfectly. We had guests coming in from Virginia and members attending from all over the state. We had a reception planned for Friday night (featuring solo performance of John Kuhn) and a full agenda for Saturday, including the business meeting, keynote speaker Mary-Margaret Chandler of Certus Scientific, and our presenters Jim Strawn and Chuck Stump, authors of “The Sad, Glad, Mad Book”. We had video presentations from our International Board of Director members, vendor displays, handouts, meals, breaks and awards to coordinate.

Did it run smoothly? Yes. Did it run perfectly? No. Did the attendees know there were problems? Absolutely not!

The committee chair was inexperienced. She had never arranged anything more than a meeting of a few managers at her previously employer. However, her willingness to take on the challenge gained her some valuable and marketable experience. My standing back and letting her work, answering her questions and catching a few errors, allowed her to learn without fear. She is a long, long way from being a professional meeting planner, but she now knows how much more is involved in the process.

This is the exact type of thing association membership is for. In addition to the networking and continuing educational aspects, learning new skills valuable to the profession is tremendously important. Learning how to be a leader, and not a manager, is also important.

Great leaders point the direction you need to travel and allow team members to work toward that goal. They do not do all the work. In fact, they are happier when team members step forward to take on a challenge. I have worked for many managers, people who focused on the tasks and who tend to step in because ‘it’s easier if I do it myself.’ I have rarely worked with a good leader.

We held the meeting at the Charleston Marriott. They were great to work with. I arrived at each event at least 45 minutes early, caught some of the things my committee chair had missed and took care of them. I helped my chair to understand the items she missed, but was able to get them addressed before the attendees arrived. That helped to impress upon the chair that arriving early was very important to the smooth flow of the event.

Flexibility is also important. My chair had agreed to a room that was really too small for our event, but only by a little bit. Vendor displays took more room than she anticipated so the placement of the food carts became an issue. When I allowed the banquet staff to use their expertise, they resolved the problem instantly. Was it what we had planned? No. Did the attendees know? Absolutely not.

I am pleased with the work the committee did, the learning that occurred with the chair and the happy chatter and supportive comments received by the attendees. I will be giving my treasurer a few weeks to get the bills paid then we’ll pull the Board of Directors together for an after action review.

Would I agree to let this minimally experienced person set up another meeting …in a heartbeat!