Letting people make it happen

Chris asked me earlier what's my takeaway from the When Great Minds Dream event. I told him it's seeing how great things can happen if we just allow people to step up and do their thing.

I never thought that an idea I shared can actually see the light of day, that some people actually supported and believed in it. It all started when we got word that the executives are possibly coming to PH for the GK. We were immediately asked to churn out ideas for events for each executive. I was thinking, it's good that we're planning ahead. I was pretty confident that we'll be ready for the visit given our lead time.

However, not everything turned out as planned. To make the long and crazy story short, we ended up with only ten days to prepare for the event. Ten days and we had no venue yet and no clear picture of how the event would turn out.

It didn't help that this was also the time that I was going through a really rough patch. Suffice to say, those who knew of my plans wouldn't have imagined I'd still do what I did with unbridled passion. But for those who know me, they would know that I'd do this without reservations - regardless of the circumstances.

For ten days I got to work with people from different teams. I think it's seeing them stepping up and doing their best that added to my unwavering belief that we could do it. I think my personal triumph in all of these is to have led the group by trust. I trusted everyone to do their best and let them make things happen their way.

It's not easy to let go. There's always that moment that you'd want to do things yourself. But one thing I realized from all the grief I've been having lately at work is that I don't want others to feel how I feel. I want them to know trust. I want them to embrace teamwork. I want them to explore and stretch themselves. I want to see them triumphant at the end.

If there is one thing I value most from having nurtured this event from thought to execution ~ it's knowing that I have led a group of great people who stepped up and delivered.

It always feels good to believe.