This week we posted this DFT Tip, artwork by Lia Rothschild, on our Facebook page. The idea is, you shouldn’t have to be in the room with a group you lead for them to have positive experiences. Another way to think about this tip is the old adage
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
You could stand at the front of a room and call on the people at your event to chat with you. Everyone might be having fun listening to all the conversations you have with each person. But as soon as you leave, you’ve left those people with nothing, because the focus was them talking to you. But, you can break those same people into groups, give them a ridiculous task to work on together, or help them find a common interest. When the focus is on the connections and activities they can do without you, you can leave, or sit down and take a break (you deserve it), and the party will keep going. Remember, if you make yourself indispensable, you may feel powerful, until you realize you can never leave for your work to be successful. You want your organization and events to become breathing things within themselves, based on the culture you create.
