10 Ideas from a Room Full of Experts

Hey there -

You may or may not know this, but I am a big fan of professional development, yours and mine. 

A few weeks ago, I attended the Recognized Expert (REx) Summit in New York, which brought together nearly 100 advisors, coaches, speakers, and authors from around the world.

The goal was to build community, share best practices, stimulate thinking, and forge new relationships. Because everyone in the room had their own business, the overarching aim was to use this forum to strengthen our businesses, brands, and work in some way. 

I knew about ⅓ of the people in the room, and I was still a little daunted at first by being surrounded by so many smart, accomplished people. (Hello old friends - fear, doubt, and insecurity!) 

As my friend Rebecca said in her LinkedIn post about the event: “There’s something very special about being in a room where we’re all amazed by each other…” She was spot on. It felt very different than so many other events where people are posturing about. 

The content was geared to business owners, AND… A few ideas were also relevant to leaders and organizations. Including: 

• Scott Simon - “Do one thing every day that scares you.” A fitting comment since he just wrote a book of questions on courage. It was also the nudge I needed to - one more time - acknowledge that I can be uncomfortable and simultaneously have courage. Both things can be true.
  

• Chris Guillebeau - Talked about creating events and asked, “What’s the highest value for the client?” Internally, you likely have many ‘clients,’ aka ‘stakeholders.’ I also really appreciated the permission to continually reinvent. I interpret this as being for both my business and who I am as a human. The same is true for you. You can reinvent who you are, what you do, and how you show up in the world (if you want to).
  

• Julie Kratz - Discussed how to be a good podcast guest, and one thing she said was: “Be really clear about what you’re talking about.” A good reminder, whether you’re on a podcast or at work and drinking from a firehose. Clear is kind (thank you, Brené Brown!) 

• Dora Vanourek - “People like simple.” Now if you ask my husband, he will tell you I make things more complicated than they need to be, so I appreciated this reminder. This applies to my writing, my onboarding process, my attitude, and many other areas. My goal is to be easy to work with. One way to do this is to keep things simple for others. Where are you adding complexity where it isn’t needed?
  

• Jessica Stone - Jess is both a coach and psychotherapist, and we had a fabulous discussion on the difference between “therapy vs. coaching.” Sometimes clients come to coaching with personal issues and then apologize by saying, “I know this isn’t therapy.” Personal vs. professional is NOT the distinction between the two. The way we treat the subject is. If you currently have a coach, I am giving you permission to talk about personal topics. It's cliché, but you bring all of you to work. You don’t leave half of you behind in the kitchen with your morning coffee cup.
  

• Kim Rittberg - Being better on video translates to podcasts, webinars, facilitation, etc. Video isn't my preferred way to interact. I know that is also true for many others. And what Kim said makes sense… video gives us the opportunity to think about what we say, how we say it, how we use our body, our expressions, our vocal range, tone, and all the other things to make video compelling. You can apply all of this to other modalities. When was the last time you posted a video of yourself on LinkedIn, Insta, or FB?
  

• Alexis Redding - Raise your hand if you too get caught up in your head and say to yourself, “OMG! What will people think!” 🙋🏻‍♀️Yeah, me too. Alexis said, “The things you think matter don’t matter.” And she’s right. I keep learning that lesson over and over.
  

• Frans van Loef - “People want to put you in a box (e.g., coach, consultant, etc.).” This is true in organizations, too. We have a tendency to pigeon-hole people. And we are so much more than the labels that people ascribe to us. How can you help people see you outside of the box you might be in? 
  

• Ruchira Sood, PhD, PCC - “Meditation helps you take big risks.” Ruchira is a fellow coach. She also teaches meditation. If you’re not currently meditating, may I invite you to give yourself 60 uninterrupted seconds in the morning before you start your day? The goal is not to become a monk and meditate for hours on end. It can, however, help you down-regulate your nervous system and get you centered before you start your workday.
  

• And from the incomparable Dorie Clark -  “This will help someone.” It really can be that simple. And when I focus on that, putting something up on LinkedIn or sending you this note becomes that much easier. I shift the focus from my own self-centered fear to you. What could shift for you in the workplace if you tried this? 

All of this ties back to the work I do every day with clients. How can we build a personal foundation that supports us when the poop hits the fan? Because the moments that matter most are usually the ones we don’t get to prepare for. 

I’m all in on creating strategies, building habits, and shifting to mindsets that work whether you’re having a lazy Sunday afternoon at home with your family, or your CEO is chewing you out for something.  

I hope something here is useful, and if so, I’d love to know what resonated. Yell if you’d like to talk it through.

Have a great week! 

S

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