What I learned from doing a TEDx talk
I achieved my goal of giving a TED talk!
I’ll admit it, preparing for last week’s TEDx talk took its toll on me.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a wonderful experience and the event team were supportive and professional. But it sure did require me to dig deep into my energy reserves in order to adequately manage the content revisions, complying with TED requirements, travel (2 visits), and learning the talk off by heart.
Part of my recovery process is to review, consider what I learned, and then relate that to the work I do… helping you be the most magnificent servant leader you can be.
I knew in advance that doing the talk would require a lot of preparation. To avoid burn-out, I did a significant amount of planning. I put off beginning any new projects until after the talk was delivered. In the few days before and after travel, I made my calendar unavailable. I blocked off the first two work days after the event as recovery time. Now, this may sound more like the actions of an organizing or productivity professional (full disclosure, that was me in a previous life), but it’s also good leadership practice. “Put on your oxygen mask first” applies not just to parents but to leaders as well. How can you possibly motivate, support, and have empathy for your team when your energy is depleted? Be transparent with staff about when you need to recover; you will come across as more human, and it also sends the message that looking after oneself is a valuable productivity skill.
Secondly, some of you know that I regularly bang on about giving your brain a rest by doing something different, even if it’s as small as taking a walk around the block. This experience was definitely something different for me! Not only was I in a city I’d never visited before (Santa Barbara), I was also doing something I’d never done before, giving a TED talk. It gave me the opportunity to see things with fresh eyes and a new perspective. Putting myself in a new environment reminded me that I’m resilient, and that I achieved the goal I’d set myself for this year. Being with my fellow speakers was a valuable reminder that, despite our diverse backgrounds, experiences, and talks, the common thread was that we wanted to make the world (or our own small part of it) a better place… there’s not much more motivating than that in these complex times.
It will be 2-3 months before the video of “The Solution is in the Problem” is available. In the meantime, I invite you to consider how you can look at a problem you’re trying to solve with fresh eyes, what factors you can put into place where you anticipate possible burn-out, and ways you can give your brain a breath of fresh air.
Go be great!
I believe that, with the right support anyone can learn creative ways to solve problems. If you’d like to see what tapping into creative potential could look like at your place of work, contact me at Ellia@ThePotentialCenter.com to arrange a call.