I recently spoke at Keep Austin Agile. The conference was sold out with 700 attendees. It was an exciting and powerful experience. Attending conferences and other community events enables people to tap into the power of sharing ideas.
At these community events, people have different ideas and perspectives. However, they often share similar goals. Sharing similar goals is what makes the positive energy happen. At Keep Austin Agile, we were there because we want to work in a more agile way. We want to help organizations achieve the benefits of agility. We want to improve our profession.
The naysayers and the complainers don’t usually go to community events, which means there is more space for the passionate believers who aren’t giving up on finding a way to achieve their goals. We are here because we want be part of making the change happen.
Innovation usually does not happen when you are sitting alone at your desk. That may be where the seeds of your idea start or where you experience that breakthrough moment, however, innovation rarely happens solo.
Sometimes I choose to attend talks that are not directly related to my professional experience and what I do. I always find interesting insights and connections that I can either apply to my area of expertise or to simply broaden my perspective.
Thomas Edison is widely known as one of the greatest inventors. What many people don’t know is that had a team of 21 people and believed strongly in the power of collaboration.
Sharing ideas enables a growth mindset. We are there to learn from others. We are there to practice what we learn in a safe environment. We are there to share our own (sometimes crazy) ideas seeking to both help others and to get feedback on those ideas in order to improve and learn.
In my talk, I put forth my theory that organizational agility starts with sustainable teams. I also shared my ideas on the minimal elements of change management needed to sustain agility in an organization. At the end, we do a group exercise where I ask the audience to add their own ideas to mine and to those I have gathered from past audiences.
Of course when we are sharing ideas, we are then able to steal them. Many techniques I have used teaching courses and coaching agile teams are based on the ideas of others. This simply speeds up the learning and experimentation cycle because you are leveraging what others have done before you.
If you want to steal ideas for how leadership can affect organizational agility, I captured the audience exercise results from Keep Austin Agile.
Feedback is important for growth. As a speaker, I am looking for feedback on how I can improve the ideas I am sharing, the coherence of my message, and how I am engaging the audience. As an attendee, I’m participating in interactive sessions and discussing those sessions with people I meet at the event.
I learn how to give constructive feedback and how to receive feedback.
I felt powerful. I was inspired by the presentations I attended. I was encouraged by the support I received from my peers. I was energized by the openness and participation of the audience during my talk.
I spoke with many people who were curious about my business approach to training and advising. I received encouragement, validation, suggestions, and offers to help make connections and find opportunities.
If it has been a while, attend a community event this month. Share ideas, and enjoy the power.
