"It was really beneficial to have something to focus our minds and conversation on - we actually ran out of time in our breakout because there was so much good stuff being shared!"
"It was comforting to hear that many others are going through some sort of mid-life or mid-career crisis - It always feels like I'm the only one!"
"Quite a few people have come up to me to share their ideas for how I can achieve my goal of a better work-life balance this year - I really wasn't expecting that"
These are just some of the comments and participant discoveries that have kept us smiling all last evening and into today. Not gonna lie, it was surreal to get back into in-person gathering mode; to have a top-notch community of INSEAD and international business school alumni experience the uncommon method.
There was honest sharing, joyful moments and a new meaningful connection or two. The workshop itself was about goal-setting, but the intended outcome was to deepen relationships, add a new dimension to what is usually a simple networking affair and create lasting shared memories. One of the participants, M, is sure to be asked at the next event how her work-life balance is going. J will be quizzed on if he's found his calling yet and C will be asked if he's managed to add those 10 new coaching clients yet.
It's the way in which we structure these conversations - how we use the space in a room and what sort of trust we build in the circle (literally) - that enables us to bring our true selves to a participant-led gathering. And it's these factors that lead to driving the change we want to see - either within ourselves, our organisations or our communities.
Julissa Shrewsbury, Group Manager, INSEAD / International Business Schools Alumni Perth had this to say about the event:
"Our cohort of highly successful business executives enjoy collaborative experiences where they are challenged to think differently and engage meaningfully, and the uncommon conferences' offering was a great fit. It was an opportunity to get to know new contacts in a meaningful way and to connect with familiar contacts on a deeper level. By the time we moved to free networking, the atmosphere was buzzing!"
