In order to keep it together, you need space to safely fall apart.

Ours is an industry that, in many ways, demands perfection.??

For every event, the space has to be set up just so. Layout, temperature, lighting, A/V. If there’s food, it needs to taste great and be served at the right time. If the event spans multiple spaces, the delegates need to know exactly where they’re going and how to get there. The staff need to anticipate potential needs or problems, and solve them before they become a real issue.?

And every day our team pulls together to flawlessly execute it all.

But ours is also an industry that is human. And that means we can’t always have it all together. In fact, I believe one of the reasons for our team’s continued and consistent successes is that we’ve created a space where we can get curious about where other people are at, and hold space for them to not be okay. To not have it all together.?

Everyone has a story that they're not telling out loud. We all have our own struggles, challenges, and vulnerabilities. And pretending that we don't is not only exhausting, but it also prevents us from forming genuine connections with each other.?

It doesn’t take much to hold space for other people. Sometimes, it’s as simple as making a brief phone call or popping by a colleague’s office. But it does require a willingness to listen to understand, rather than listening to respond.?

And, it requires curiosity. In the absence of knowledge, perception is everything. Let’s say you’re in a team meeting and you see one of your colleagues or employees constantly checking their phone while you’re speaking. You don’t know why they’re on their phone, so you start telling yourself a story: This person isn’t engaged in the conversation. They don’t care about what I’m talking about. They’re not being a team player.?

Or, you get curious. You connect with them after the meeting and check in. Ask them if everything is okay. You find out that they’re waiting for news about a loved one who is currently ill, or that they just got an email from their child’s teacher about the struggles he or she is having in class.?

And in that moment, you provide that colleague with a safe space to fall apart. Space to acknowledge that maybe they don’t have it all together. In doing so, you’ve reminded them that it’s perfectly okay to not be okay. And together, you can find a way forward.?

As we ramp up into what is typically the busiest season of the year for convention centres, I want to remind you all of the importance of holding space. Space to pause and breathe and reflect. Space to check in on others—and check in on yourself. Space to remind yourself and those around you that, at the end of the day, we’re only human.?

“We’re all just walking each other home.” - Ram Dass