Conscious leadership, the "secret sauce" of trust and emerging workplace legislation were all explored at IMEX America today.
The second day of the show offered a new Emergent Leadership program with a series of conversations led by Holly Ransom, a global authority in leadership. Throughout the day she moderated discussions with C-suite executives including the three CEOs of Access DMC.
Danielle Phippen, Heidi Brown and Jennifer Miller revealed the inner workings of their unique leadership model in “Are three CEOs better than one?”, agreeing that trust is central to how they work together.
“Trust is core to our close collaboration – it means that we’re rich in innovation and we aim to model that everyday so the rest of the business sees what collaboration looks like,” said Heidi. Knowing when to lead and when to take a back seat also matters according to Jennifer, who added, “You have to know when to get out of the way.”
In “The impact of conscious leadership”, Kim Napolitano from Hilton Worldwide Sales, shared examples of how to lead with empathy. She cited the importance of active listening plus the ‘power of the pause’ – allowing people time to digest and respond to questions. This point was picked up further by Holly Ransom who introduced the concept of the ‘emotional labor of leadership’ which calls for a new skill set. Napolitano responded that being more compassionate does not mean having to become a therapist but finding a balance between supporting employees and looking after your own well-being. “And we want people to bring their whole selves to work – it’s about putting the human being back into the employee ID,” she said.
- Photo (L) : Holly Ransom moderates session - Superb sports infrastructure: Building a future of unique event experiences. Download image here.
- Photo (R) : Connecting face to face at IMEX America. Download image here.
Legislating the right to disconnect from work
Is employee well-being something which should be legislated? There was a lively debate in “The right to disconnect in an evolving workplace” when attendees learned the right to disconnect is gaining traction, backed by legislation in some countries including Australia and France. Nicole Walker from Arinex shared her experience working in Australia, where new legislation mandates the right to disconnect from work. In response, she created a 17-page policy. She explained: “The law says common sense will prevail, so I question the need for it. Still, I’m pleased with our new policy because it offers clear structure and expectations. However, it doesn’t solve the underlying issue of poor leadership practices that lead to out-of-hours communication and overworking. The focus should be on training our leaders to be better leaders.”
Nicola McGrane from Conference Partners International, shared her views: “There are no time restrictions on work in the global events industry – that’s not to say legislation isn’t the right thing, but it wouldn’t work. Flexibility and trust are essential for the work we do.”
Trust is secret sauce
Trust is also the ‘secret sauce’ behind the many face-to-face meetings taking place across the show floor this week. Meeting in person is a valuable way of establishing a depth of knowledge and genuine connection, as hosted buyer Brian Cmiel from Monster Energy explained: “IMEX is a huge time-saver because it offers networking at a granular level. Meeting in person means you quickly get a feel for how a hotel or company works and how they will take care of your group. Trust is important for us - we would never take a group somewhere that we hadn’t experienced. We also need that fine detail on a destination so we can sell it to our audience.”
IMEX America 2024 continues through to tomorrow, October 10, at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas. www.imexamerica.com
ENDS
Notes to editors
IMEX America 2024 takes place at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, and opens with Smart Monday, powered by MPI on Monday October 7, followed by the three-day trade show October 8 - 10. www.imexamerica.com
The latest news and high-res photos: https://imexamerica.com/press-and-media
For interviews, press events and other enquiries contact the PR team: [email protected] or head to the on-site Press Center, sponsored by Tampa Bay, open from 0800 each day of the show.