Here are a few tips for looking at your holiday work event as a unique opportunity to strengthen your leadership skills.
Two things to do BEFORE the event:
1. Pick 3 people to make a point of saying hello to.
Select people you don’t see often and don’t know very well.
Why pick 3 people?
- In the short term, it helps you practice your skills of talking with strangers.
- In the long term, it helps build potential peer alliances.
- It also adds to your visibility with influential colleagues.
- It gives you a sense of purpose for being at the event.
- And it gives you a release to leave after you’ve connected with all three, if you want to.
2. Frame a conversation topic that blends gratitude and curiosity.
Ex: “As a kid, one of my favourite ways to play was ___. I’ve been thinking about how to describe to that younger self, what my job is now. It might be that I ____. What did you enjoy playing with as a kid, or what would you tell your younger self?”
Ex: “If I could snap my fingers and have three people join us right now, I’m imagining what it would be like to have A, B, and C appear. They could share their perspectives on ___ and I’d ask them ___. What would you ask them, or who would you have appear?”
Why frame a scenario for conversation?
- In the short term, bringing up something other than the weather and sports, makes you more memorable.
- In the long term, people will remember if you made them feel something, more than they’ll remember if you intellectually debated something.
- It can also help you practice your storytelling skill. (Note, practicing the skill is in real time. I’m not saying that you need to memorize a monologue beforehand and repeat it verbatim throughout the event. Expect and notice that it will adapt and change along the way.)
DURING the event:
In-person, you can enlist the help of others to get introductions to your 3 people. And you can pull other people into the conversation.
At virtual events, you can enlist the help of the break-out room coordinator to share screen time with your 3 people. And you can leverage the event coordinator’s suggestions for ice-breakers, as opportunities to do some storytelling, based in gratitude and curiosity.
AFTER the event:
Send notes, even if you profusely said thank you at the event itself.
- To your 3 people, it can say that you are glad you could connect during the event.
- To the person who authorized the event, it can say that you appreciate the investment and commitment to connection.
- To the person who organized the event, it can say that you are grateful for their efforts to create the opportunities for connection.
- They can be handwritten notes, emails, or direct messages. Follow your instinct.
Why follow-up with a note?
- Expressing your gratitude in an alternate media than in conversation, reinforces your message and makes you more memorable which builds your influence.
- It affirms that you are aligned on a core value like connection.
TL:DR
- Pick 3 people to make a point of saying hello to
- Speak from gratitude and curiosity
- Send follow-up notes
- Enjoy the event while expanding your leadership skills
