Let’s face it. Event planning can get prickly sometimes. Really prickly. Making the right choice can be crucial to an events’ success. Event planners experience countless challenges that can make and break their events. Some of those challenges can also distort relationships between the planners and suppliers involved. Other challenges can be circumstantial like sticky attrition situations, spotty event space challenges and client relations. Whatever the circumstance, ensuring that you are equipped to make the right choices while leading a project is important. Here are a few tips that can help you in making the right choice and leading others to do so.

Find out who you are and agree with it

Some people stumble on figuring out who they really are. In order to find out who you are you have to become aware of your true character, and let’s face it, it isn’t always pretty. Once you realize the type of person you really are, you will start to observe your reactions in different situations. Going through this process can make you become very aware of what you believe in, and why you respond the way you do. When you think about it, after everything in life is stripped away from you, what choices will you make that define the core of who you really are. When you become innately aware of who you are, you have to believe yourself. Looking at yourself in the mirror doesn’t lie. If you don’t agree with what you see, then that means you have some self-work to do. Understanding ourselves is a continual process, and we should always strive to be the best version of ourselves that we aim to be. Believe it or not, understanding your character help you make key choices, and lead others to make the great choices that have even better consequences.

Right and Wrong

I believe there is a firm indicator of right and wrong. However in a world filled with many choices, it may seem as though right can be wrong and wrong can be right. We all have a natural instinct to know if someone is doing wrong or wronging us in any way. If someone stole your dog from your yard, you would think that person did wrong (this happened to me by the way). When we apply this insight to the choices that we make, there should be something stirring inside of us that begs to us to do the right thing. We need to quiet ourselves to pay attention to our conscience. We should not be afraid to speak up and speak out when there is a gap between right and wrong. Knowing when to speak up for right and wrong will define you as a leader, and help you lead others to be able to stand in this gap as well. It takes humility to agree with who you are and stand firm for what is right versus what you may want to do.

Connect with your purpose

Everyone has a purpose in life, even event professionals. I believe that event planners have to be uniquely aware to what their purpose is, otherwise you lose track of the true purpose of your impact in others’ lives with each passing event. If you know what you are being called on to do with your life, it does makes you more capable to handle the decisions that are given to you. Find and connect to the purpose that you are called for in this industry and in your personal life. When you find your purpose, then live it out with every decision that you need to make.

Stand apart and speak up

It takes a lot to stand apart and speak up for what is right, especially when there is an impending pressure to take the popular route. When confronting situations of moral disagreements, I find it is best to go through the steps of understanding who you are, remembering what is right from what is wrong, and making your decisions based on your reflection of those areas. For many leaders, this can be tough to do, especially when your team or even your boss might be leading you to make other calls. In this industry, there are countless conversations about being ethical in your practice of event planning. We can feel challenged to speak out, when doing wrong might benefit others. In my own experience, speaking out sooner rather than later always helps make the situation smoother. You find clarity after your decision is made, and things get much easier. If you stick to standing apart and speaking out, you will find that you will build yourself up to be a strong leader that knows the boundaries in which you will operate. That can be very valuable for yourself, your team, and your clients.

Wrong decisions and consequences

Wrong decisions happen, and not all wrong decisions are intentional. Sometimes the waters of a situation can be very murky. It can be quite hard to figure out which side of the pond you need to be on. However, not too much after a bad call has been made, you will find out the consequences of the choices that were made. Sometimes those consequences can be dire. In these types of situations, we learn from them, we learn to listen to our inner voice a little more, so that the next time we are confronted by these situations we choose wisely.

On the other hand, there are people that intentionally make wrong decisions. If you are this person that makes unethical calls, to benefit from them, then wake up. Usually when someone is intentional about the bad decisions that they make, the foundation of this person or business is unstable. They are usually looking to benefit from the situation in a unethical manner, or they are using the wrong means to accomplish their ultimate goals. These individuals need to be aware of how their actions harm other people and companies and start the road to making better choices.  If you know that you are working for a leader such as this you might see that your personalities or styles clash. You may have a choice to make. You have a choice to align your job with a leader that also shares your same sense of purpose and vision for ethical situations.

Summary

When you make the right choice, you feel real good. You feel good about who you are as a leader, and where you are leading others. You also show the example to others that might one day be leading like you. Leaders once and a while make bad calls. If that happens, admit to it, work through the consequences, and try to set things straight. Learn from the experience so that one day you will make a better call.

Do you have difficulties making the right choice? It’s your turn!