What do Unicorns and great leaders have in common?

By Lucy Cox, Director & Lead Coach at The Acadame (led one of our personal development sessions at our one day event, Engage in February)

Here goes….

Anyone with any experience of running events, especially corporate events, will understand the mental gymnastics and energetic and emotional investment it takes to pull them off.

A complicated web of spreadsheets, lists, doom piles, email threads, ticket order tracking, meetings, briefings, contracts and telephone chasings that monopolise your time; especially as the big day draws closer.

And then it’s here.

Before you know it, you are sliding tables and chairs around, tittivating table displays, cursing the AV, checking everyone knows the plan for the umpteenth time and all the while trying to manage your own sanity (and remember to eat!)

Yet, despite all the effort that goes into them, I am certain we can name events where the day ran without a hitch, the goody bags were moderately interesting, and all the event mechanics happened exactly as they should, but, if we are honest, as an attendee, the event simply gets filed in our minds as a ‘nice’ thing to have attended. It ticked a box and in all likelihood, it will probably be largely forgotten about.

Nothing ‘wrong’ with it. It was just another corporate event.

But every now and again you attend an event that feels different. A ‘Unicorn’ of a day that stays with you (along with the people you meet at it). The learning, conversations and relationships continue to resonate long after you have handed in your delegate badge and got back to your desk.  Is that simply luck, or is there something else we need to pay attention to and learn from?

The reason these ‘Unicorn’ events happen may not be what you think, and (take note), it is the exact same reason some people are great leaders when others are just great at ticking boxes.

Put simply, it’s human-ness. Authenticity, honesty and a deep respect for what makes us all human.

We all need connection, psychological safety and the opportunity to contribute, and these were on offer in bucket loads at the HR in Travel ENGAGE event, and why you may be feeling that this event was…well, different.

You see, it’s not just about having perfectly organised round tables, it’s about facilitating great conversations with humour and vulnerability.

Same with great leadership.

It’s not just about having relevant or knowledgeable speakers, it’s about having speakers that are honest about their struggles and mistakes and can share personal stories that are relatable and trigger emotion (cue Mr April!).

Same with great leadership.

It’s not about perfection, it’s about having the courage to trust in others, trust yourself, be vulnerable and be open to learning and adapting as you go.

Same with great leadership.

It’s not just about having a great buffet, it’s…. oh, hang on. No, always make sure delegates are well-fed! Buffet stays!

Being invited to run the ‘Hidden Saboteur’ workshop at the event demonstrated to me how amazing this community is. My lovely group came with an open mind, shared courageously and genuinely connected over their human-ness.

After less than an hour together we felt more self-aware, better connected, more energised and empowered; and this is the power of giving space to what makes us human in the workplace.

So, thanks to Kathy, Gail and the Grant Thornton team for hosting such a great event and for inviting me to be a part of it. It was a Unicorn of an event that is still resonating.

For those that didn’t attend the Hidden Saboteur workshop, hello. This is what we do at The Academe. We develop teams and leaders to bring more human-ness into the workplace for better productivity, creativity, retention, collaboration and mental health.

We run award-winning high energy team workshops covering everything from toxic comparison to navigating neurodivergence and offer accredited leadership programs building deep self-awareness and the courage to bring humanness back into the workplace.

It all starts with a great conversation, so let’s get something penciled in - email me at hello@theacademe.co.uk.