While I am a HUGE advocate of every leader must be a learner, I am not a big conference guy. I go to them because I know there is valuable information out there and almost endless networking potential. But, I don’t wake up every morning wondering what conference I can go to next.
I have found there are a few things I can do to make sure that I get the most out of the conferences I do attend:
- Take people on your team with you…especially people new to the team or people who you have not had a lot of time to build relationship with.
- Look for bullet points of useful information amid the mass of “I already knew that” and “That doesn’t help me”.
- Even if you have to skip parts of the conference, make the trip more about investing in your team than investing in information. Go out to dinner together at nice places. Stay overnight in a nearby hotel even if the conference is only an hour away. You’ll gain more from time together than time at the training.
- Shape what you DO take from the conference to fit your culture…don’t try to imitate an idea…improve it.
What have you found to be useful when you are at a conference?
